Malian’s phone rings at midnight. It is the Three Muskrateers, friends whom Malian has known since kindergarten: Darrell Muskwas (Wabanaki for muskrat), and the twins Mark and Able. Even though Malian left the rez after kindergarten, she always hangs out with them when she visits. They good-naturedly call her “Macintosh,” referencing the insulting slang “Apple,” or someone who “looks” Indigenous “but acts more like a white person—red on the outside and white within” (29).

When Malian asks why they are calling at midnight, Darrell explains that they need her help—Malsum has them trapped up an old ash tree on her road. Darrell tells Malian that they were bored; they snuck out of their houses and were on their way to see if she wanted to join them when this big dog chased them up a tree. Malian understands their boredom and wonders whether it would really hurt to spend a bit of time with her old friends, but then she thinks about her responsibility to her grandparents. Malian questions Darrell about why they are out in the middle of a pandemic. When he answers that “[k]ids don’t get this disease,” she reminds them that they all have grandparents at home (34).