It is Sunday, and Aunt Pearl is thankful for one quiet day. Alfred did not sleep much, thinking about the gym, but he is more awake than usual as they walk to church this morning. They pass a nationalist rally, and a boy Alfred knew (and never liked) in high school tries to get him to join in the march they are having. Alfred is not interested and the boy insults him, calling him a “happy little darky.”

Alfred is angry. His eyes begin to sting and his stomach suddenly feels empty, but Aunt Pearl’s calm face temporarily calms him. Then her calmness makes him angry, for Aunt Pearl seems to be blind, deaf, and dumb.

The church is half full but Reverend Price is already behind the podium, preparing for service. Aunt Pearl and her daughters take their seats in the front row of the choir and Alfred takes a seat in the back of the room. Alfred tries to “slide into his soft, dreamy Sunday morning trance,” but today he is quite aware of everything around him. A man near him nudges Alfred and points to the door; Alfred turns around to see Major and Hollis hovering menacingly in the church doorway. Though Alfred is nervous, he tries not to show it; when he turns around again they are gone.

The service has never seemed longer, but he tries to concentrate on the sermon to take his mind off of Hollis and Major. The preacher is talking about “devil’s agents,” and Alfred wonders if he has met any. His thoughts turn to James, sitting in jail and perhaps blaming Alfred for his being there. The family rides the subway an hour to Aunt Pearl’s sister Dorothy’s house in Jamaica. After a big family dinner, Alfred joins his Uncle Wilson on the back porch.

Uncle Wilson talks with Alfred about taking advantage of every “opportunity for advancement” because the world is changing. His son Jeff thinks he might be a lawyer, and Uncle Wilson wonders if Alfred has thought about learning a trade. Alfred feels better when the subject turns to baseball and he almost tells his uncle about Mr. Donatelli, but it is time for dessert and then the long trip back to Harlem. Aunt Pearl and her daughters sleep on the subway, but Alfred remains alert, thinking about how he would defend them if another passenger tried to hurt them.

Later, Aunt Pearl tells Alfred he can always talk to her. In bed that night, Alfred thinks about how dirty the grocery store always is on Mondays, about Major, about the questions the Epsteins will ask him, about James, about the protest march, about being a champion, and about opportunities for advancement.

He sneaks his aunt’s alarm clock from her room and puts it near his bed on the kitchen counter; he sets it for five thirty. The last time he looks at the clock it is three forty-five and dawn is appearing.