Nueve
- Antonio dreams that his brothers lead him to Rosie's, which is a house of, shall we say, ill-repute. In the dream, Antonio is told by a priest that "You are innocent until you understand" (9.31), which sounds about right.
- The brothers tell their parents they are leaving, and daddy-o sees his plans to head west dashed. So much for California dreamin'.
- Antonio's brothers Eugene and León leave home, but Andrew decides to stay put.
- And when Andrew walks to school with Antonio, he tells him that it's too late for the older sons to follow their parents' dreams.
- Antonio loses another race across the bridge to the Vitamin Kid, but it's cool because Andrew tells Antonio that someday Antonio will beat the Kid.
- School is finished for the year, and Antonio learns he'll be skipping a grade, being a smartypants and all.
- Instead of going home, Antonio goes fishing with Samuel, who tells him the story of the Golden Carp.
- He says that their buddy Cico will find Antonio during the summer and show Antonio the Golden Carp. Antonio wonders if the Golden Carp is a "new god" (9.399).
- This is huge. Just the idea of the Golden Carp makes Antonio start questioning his views on God and religion. But then again, he does that all the time.