Never Fall Down

Arn meets Peter’s children, Kate, Doug and Donna, and Peter’s wife, Shirley, who also live in the big house. During the day, Arn enjoys his new, comfortable American life, but at night, he has nightmares about the war.

Arn does not understand the social dynamics of American high school. Sojeat and Ravi seem to adjust better, even laughing at Arn when he mistakenly goes into the girls’ bathroom. When Arn, Sojeat and Ravi are suspected of starting barn fires in the area, football players circle Arn and taunt him. Arn struggles to hold in his anger: “Inside my head I talk to them. You don’t know what I can do. Before, I shoot guys like you” (195). In his nightmares, the war and the high school bullies blend together, and he realizes that being in the U.S. is something he will also have to survive.

Arn starts to fit in more at school. He takes an ESL class to improve his English and joins the soccer team, which makes him a “hero” (197). The music teacher gives him a wooden flute and he masters it quickly. Peter also takes Arn on more speaking tours as his English improves.