Dave is a 17-year-old Black boy in Illinois. He asks a man at the local store for a gun catalogue, because he’s decided that, since he’s going to be a man soon, he should buy a gun. At home, he flips through the catalogue covertly. He gathers up the courage to ask his mother for the $2 he needs to buy a gun. She gives it to him but instructs him to bring it home to his father the second he purchases it. After buying the gun, Dave goes to a field to practice shooting it, but he accidentally kills a mule. The townspeople, along with his family, confront him. Although he tries lying at first, he eventually admits that he shot the mule. He’s forgiven, but he must now work for the owner of the mule for the next two years to pay it off. His mother commands him to find the gun that he threw in the creek so that they can get those $2 back. After retrieving the gun, Dave practices shooting it a little more before realizing he can’t bring himself to work to pay off his debts. He hitches a ride on a train and leaves his home, becoming a man.