The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

An entry from Nella’s journal reveals that she had left the children in Doug’s care and that he neglected them. In her journal, she reflects on her worry and her anxiety regarding the safety of the children.

In the present, at a pizza parlor in Portland, Jesse, Brick, Lakeisha, and Rachel pick up pizzas to eat at the park. When Jesse pulls out beer that he purchased with his fake ID, Brick and Lakeisha decline. The four young people talk about their experiences with sex, but the tone changes when Brick’s confessions “sound like a meeting” (226). As the night gets cooler, the stars appear, and the friends decide to feed the pizza crusts to the ducks in the pond. Jesse gets into the pond, and Brick carries Rachel on his back so they can take a closer look at the ducks. When they come out of the pond, the boys are wet, and Jesse takes out some marijuana.

Uncomfortable, Brick decides to leave and Lakeisha goes with him; Jesse offers to take Rachel home, so she stays in the park with him and drinks more beer as Jesse gets high. Jesse and Rachel talk about race, and he tells Rachel that she is “black but not really black” (230). They kiss, but the sound of police sirens interrupts them. They run to the fountain where they both dip their heads in the water to sober up. They hear honking from several nearby cars, and voices from the cars shout the n-word at them (233). Back in Jesse’s car, Rachel compares their bodies and skin colors, and Jesse tells her that he has “never done it with a black girl before” (234).

Jesse laughs uncontrollably as he drops Rachel off at Grandma’s house. Brick had alerted Drew as to Rachel’s whereabouts, so he and Grandma are waiting up for her. They scold her for putting her future at risk with her risky behavior. When Grandma tells her to stop “act[ing] like trash like your mama” (237), Rachel loses control of her emotions. She remembers what happened on the rooftop, when she jumped off the roof after her brother and her mother and the baby, and she tells Grandma and Drew that her future does not matter because she was not supposed to have one in the first place. Rachel takes a shower, and sits with her painful memories.

Back in Chicago, six years have passed since the death of Nella and the children. Laronne sits in a diner with Doug to talk over what happened. Doug is now in Alcoholics Anonymous again, and he wants to make amends. Doug wants Laronne to know that the baby who died in Nella’s arms was not his child. Doug breaks down in remorse.

One of Nella’s journal entries describes Doug calling Rachel the n-word and hitting her legs for watching television. Afterwards, Nella and Doug fought physically as she screamed at him to leave them. Nella laments that Roger was right—her children would always be treated badly for being Black.

In the present, in Portland, Brick and Rachel go to the amusement park, where Brick apologizes for alerting Drew and Grandma after he left her in the park with Jesse. Rachel tells him that she wants to run away from Grandma’s house, and he promises to keep her secret. They ride the Ferris wheel, and the movement of the ride hurts Rachel’s damaged ear. Brick tries to help Rachel as she tries to get out of their carriage, and he catches her as she tumbles out onto the ground. Brick tells Rachel that he knows her, which leads her to tell him the whole story about what happened on the rooftop. Brick tells Rachel about Charles and the fire that killed him, just as he had promised Roger, and Rachel is surprised to learn about that she had a brother who died. They talk about Rachel’s mother; Rachel is certain that her mother loved her despite her actions.

At the end of the summer, Brick and Rachel go to the park again. It is Brick’s last day in Portland before heading back to Chicago. Rachel gives him a valuable nickel from Grandma’s coin collection. Birds mingle near the pond, and Rachel tells Brick that she hopes he finds his mother. Brick tosses the nickel into the pond so they can both make a wish. Rachel’s secret wish is that her family had been able to fly.