and Toycie used to go for weekly walks with Beka’s brothers down to the seaside. Not wanting to get in trouble, they would stay in areas where they were allowed to go, and when they returned home, they longed to one day live in a seafront house.

In another flashback, Beka remembers a conversation she had with her grandmother, who told Beka that nothing ever lasts in this town. Her grandmother told her about a time when she was a young girl and a circus came to town. A polar bear from the circus died after only being in town for two days, which greatly upset her grandmother.

As the rain outside grows heavier, Beka closes her shutters and goes to her grandmother’s room to check her shutters, too. She sits in her grandmother’s rocking chair and tries to remember everything that has happened since April. It is her way of grieving over Toycie and continuing to keep her wake.

Beka sits on her bed, stirring her coffee and looking out the window. She thinks about the town she lives in and is grateful that her house is high up enough that she's able to see over the other houses; many of the houses in town are built too low and boxed in to do so. The entire place looks a bit temporary and ramshackle due to the damage inflicted by frequent storms.

She sees Nurse Palacio outside, and it takes her back to when her friend was still alive. She remembers Toycie and the walks they used to take together. They'd bring her younger brothers and obediently stay in the safe areas. They didn't want to get in trouble, only to take in the scenery and watch things like boats, sailors, and the ocean. Both Beka and Toycie dreamed of one day living by the sea.

She thinks that coming home from the houses by the sea always made their part of town seem dirtier than before. They would dream about being able to stay in one of the nice houses by the ocean, though few actual Belizian people lived there.

She remembers a conversation with Granny Ivy where her grandmother explained that a doctor who had lived there returned to England. Granny Ivy says nothing lasts there and tells her about a polar bear who died when it came with the circus. She sits in her chair remembering, and decides to try to remember everything that happened since April as a way to hold on to Toycie.

Summary of Chapter Three:

In this chapter, Beka Lamb enjoys the surrounding view from her room up in the attic. A storm has just started, and as she looks across the town, she is thankful to be given such a birds-eye view of the streets, hawker stalls, and wooden houses. Because her town is prone to hurricanes and thunderstorms, it often takes on the appearance of a temporary camp. The town's inhabitants are made up of six races and various descendants from multi-racial unions.

Beka muses that when Toycie was alive, both enjoyed taking Chuku and Zandy (Beka's brothers) for walks every Sunday evening. Admonished to walk only in safe areas, Beka and Toycie often visited Fort George, a wealthy enclave. There, they sometimes waited for Toycie's boyfriend, Emilio Villanueva, who worked as a substitute waiter at the Fort George Hotel on sporadic Sundays.

Beka's favorite spot was the Southern Foreshore on Southside. There, the girls and Beka's brothers often caught glimpses of fishermen coming in with their catch in the mornings. While the boys enjoyed playing on the beach, Beka loved looking out at the boats around Custom House Wharf. On Sundays, when Beka could choose the itinerary, they often went to the Bliss Institute, where the boys could marvel at the artifacts, and Beka could catch glimpses of the books behind the locked, glass doors of the library. Another favorite destination was invariably Government House, with its imposing mansion, gorgeous flora, and secured grounds.

There were two clubs on Barracks Street, one for the creoles and the other for white citizens and expatriates. If Beka's father was on the veranda of the creole club, he often admonished the girls to stay on the side of the Southern Foreshore, which was safer. The girls always returned from their beachfront excursions longing for the day when they would be able to live by the ocean.

Back to the present, the rain has increased in strength, and Beka has to shut the glass windows. She sits back down and resolves to remember every single event that has happened to her since the previous April. In keeping alive her memories, she hopes to keep alive her own memory of her beloved friend, Toycie.

Chapter four opens with Beka remembering where the change in herself began; she decided to stop lying. This took place seven months before, in April.

Her parents are sitting there with her and her father says that she didn't pass and won't go on to the next grade. She argues with him, despite the fact that he can see the classes she failed. Beka explains that her teacher named her as one of the students who would be moving up, and her father says that the teacher must be helping her out.

She thinks that her parents dislike her tendency to lie more than almost anything else about her. She hopes that a hurricane will come along and blow the school away so that her records will get destroyed and they'll never know the truth. She thinks of her how her father punishes her with his belt and says he's doing it because she lied, not because of the action itself.

She does some of her chores, but shovels scraps into the backyard and her mother catches her. Beka starts crying and her mother cradles her, asking her if she failed her classes. Beka tells her that yes, she did. Her mother tells her to go find her father and tell him the truth. She says that she wishes Beka would stop lying.

The chapter begins with Toycie and Beka having a bit of fun parodying the politicians they see at Battlefield Park. Although afraid of falling into the water, Beka hoists herself up onto a thick post so that she can give a mock speech. Meanwhile, Toycie sings the opening song, and Beka tries to gather her courage. She sees her grandmother in the distance, hurrying towards Fisherman's Town, where Emilio's grandfather lives. Eventually, Beka begins her speech, and her unerring impression of Lady Radison prompts Toycie to erupt in uncontrollable laughter.

As Emilio approaches, Beka notices that Toycie appears to be nervous about meeting her boyfriend. She questions Toycie about the validity of Emilio's intentions to marry, but Toycie is dismissive. She fiercely maintains that it is 'nobody's business' but her own in how she navigates her relationship with Emilio. Beka remembers Granny Ivy's warning that Toycie's goal of raising her status may result in her winding up with 'a baby instead of a diploma' if she is not careful.

Emilio Villanueva is introduced to us in this chapter as a boy of seventeen, of Maya Indian and Spanish blood. He is a fantastic swimmer and a formidable diver. After he was accepted to St. Anthony's Jesuit College, Emilio's parents sold their property on Ambergris Caye to finance their son's education in Belize.

Despite her loyalty to her friend, Beka is worried that Granny Ivy's words about Toycie will prove prescient. As Toycie begins to walk towards her boyfriend, Beka frantically begs her friend not to go. For her part, Beka has always distrusted Emilio; his cruel teasing and disruptive manners have alienated her, causing her to often feel 'displaced in Toycie's affections.' Yet, despite Beka's desperate pleading, Toycie continues on with Emilio, leaving her friend behind in a state of utter dismay and frustration.

I would not be a good teacher If I did not advise you to get the book and read it yourself instead of relying on chapter summaries. Why don't you order the book online? There are many low-cost companies and they will ship it to you in a couple of days.

In chapter 10, Beka goes to her great-grandmother's funeral. Great-Gran Straker is her mother's grandmother. There is a long ceremony in the church, followed by the burial at the cemetary. Beka attends with her family and her Granny Ivy and learns a great deal about famly tradition at this event and the party that follows. Emilio's mother greets Toycie's aunt, Miss Eila, and speaks to her in a condescending way. She is not happy that Emilio and Toycie are boyfriend and girlfriend. She considers Toycie beneath them socially. In this chapter, the social differences between the Creoles and Spanish are illustrated, but if you have not read the rest of the novel, you won't have a clue what I'm talking about here. Get the book, dear.