Malcolm finds a patch of marijuana outside of town and begins selling it. He associates with petty street criminals. Wilfred catches him but Malcolm doesn’t stop. One night, Malcolm is with two friends when they grope a woman. During the ensuing investigation, Malcolm isn’t named as a participant but is branded as a nuisance and disturbance. He is known to the police from then on.

He gets poor grades in school. He starts hanging out with John Davis, Jr., who comes to Lansing after an altercation with a young white man. Davis refused to step aside on the sidewalk to let the man pass. The man attacked him and Davis beat him in retaliation. Davis tells Malcolm that he knows someone who said Malcolm’s father’s death was an accident, but Malcolm clings to the idea that the death was a murder.

They start various hustles, including checkers. Malcolm’s daring gives him enough money to date older girls. Davis says Malcolm smoked every day, but he does not portray Malcolm as the addict that Malcolm describes himself as in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. He is impressed by Malcolm’s ability to look white people in the eye, speak boldly, and associate with white women.