The Fourth Stall

Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. Christian Barnett (Chapter 1)

2. Staples (Chapter 2)

3. Barnaby (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. The East Wing is in a rarely used part of the school, and the fourth stall is where the toilet has been removed. Mac’s office is in this stall, and the janitor, whom Mac has worked for, keeps the location quiet. (Chapter 1)

2. Mac gets his nickname from the character MacGyver who has a reputation for fixing things. Mac, like MacGyver, solves problems for his classmates in exchange for favors, cash, or both. For example, when Mac meets Robert, a new client, he arranges for him to get an R-Rated ticket from Derrick, a teen who works at the theater and owes Mac a favor. (Chapters 1-6)

3. Not much is known about Staples aside from what Fred reveals to Mac. He is older than Mac, but how much older is unknown. His business functions around high stakes sporting bets and games where Staples bribes players to throw them. Staples is a particularly tricky adversary because he colludes with the local police. Fred believes Staples will send boys to hurt him, revealing that Staples has violent tendencies in his business dealings. Staples’s associates later attack Mac twice. (Chapters 2-6)

Chapters 7-12

Reading Check

1. Bella Vista trailer park (Chapter 7)

2. A loan (Chapter 8)

3. Justin Johnson (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Vince and Mac’s business began when Mike and Kristoff tried to prevent the children in their trailer park from playing on the playground. Mac and Vince decided to have Mac’s father arrive at the playground as the two moved onto Mike and Kristoff’s turf. Mac’s father yelled at Mike for trying to beat up Mac. Other children in the neighborhood recognized their ingenuity and began asking Mac for favors. Mac’s reputation is important for his business dealings because it draws customers to him to resolve difficult problems. (Chapters 7-12)

2. Mac is confronted with a new problem when Matt needs a loan from Mac to repay his gambling debt to Staples. Mac decides the best course of action is to take out Staples’s Collector, Barnaby. Mac gathers his nine most-feared bullies and pays them to take out the Collector. Later, Mac tries to prevent others from placing bets with Staples’s bookie. (Chapters 8-10)

3. Vince is concerned about the financial aspect of their schemes, while Mac is only worried about making progress and bringing down Staples, not the money. Vince twice voices his disappointment in how much money Mac is willing to spend on this project, but Mac believes he is progressing. (Chapters 1-12)

Chapters 13-18

Reading Check

1. Older red sports car with faded black stripes (Chapter 13)

2. Staples (Chapter 16)

3. A few hundred dollars (Chapters 16-17)

Short Answer

1. Vince and Mac are aligned in their goal to attend the World Series game. Mac is motivated to get rid of Staples to protect his business interests, while Vince wants to preserve the business funds to buy the World Series tickets. Mac tends to be careless with the money he spends, while Vince is more careful about money. (Chapters 13-14)

2. Vince believes Staples’s financial situation at home motivates him. When Vince and Mac scope out Staples’s house, they see a woman screaming at Staples’s father that it is pathetic he uses money from his son to support himself. Vince reminds Mac of their life and what it used to feel like when they didn’t have money, drawing a personal connection to Staples. (Chapter 14)

3. Aside from the previous attacks on Mac, his home is egged, and his garage door vandalized. Staples later makes his way to Mac’s home, where he charms Mac’s mother and offers Mac a job. Mac refuses, and Staples’s henchmen attack him in the shed. (Chapters 14-17)

Chapters 19-23

Reading Check

1. Staples (Chapter 22)

2. Barry Larsen (Chapter 22)

3. Tyrell (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. Mac’s relationship with Vince is strained because of the tension surrounding Staples, but when Mac is suspicious of Vince, the two watch the Cubs game but derive no joy from it. Mac makes a note of the relationship between them falling apart. (Chapter 20)

2. Mac suspects Vince may be responsible for betraying him. Mac has Vince followed and sees a video of Vince taking money from Staples at the playground trailer park. Mac returns to his home and discovers Vince has stolen his business funds. (Chapters 20-21)

3. Mac discovers that Staples has fallen on hard times. He sees a picture of Staples and a young girl at his house several years before when it was clean and well-kept. In the photo, Staples looks kind and happy, and it stirs a memory within Mac when Staples welcomed Mac to play football. (Chapter 23)

Chapters 24-29

Reading Check

1. Fred (Chapter 24)

2. Great White (Chapter 27)

3. The Cubs (Chapter 29)

Short Answer

1. Having discovered all he needs to know about Staples, Mac threatens to turn in the information to the police and kidnap his dog if he refuses to withdraw from Mac’s school. Mac is motivated to remove Staples from the school because Staples threatens Mac’s business and because Mac tries to do what is in the best interest of the other students in the school. (Chapter 24)

2. Staples kidnaps Mac and calls his henchmen to help in his attack on Mac. The henchmen are surprised that Staples would stoop so low as to kidnap a “little kid.” The bullies agree to help Staples, however, when he persuades them. The henchmen eventually abandon the scheme when six of Mac’s bullies arrive to attack the henchmen’s car. (Chapters 26-27)

3. Vince sympathizes with Staples’s financial difficulties and Staples’s motivation to help his father regain custody of Staples’s sister. Hearing this conversation, Mac realizes that Vince shares similar financial difficulties in his home, while Mac’s home is more financially stable. Mac offers a job to Staples and allows Staples to go unscathed when he refuses. (Chapter 27)