Demon Copperhead: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

When fifth grade starts, Demon and Maggot are excited to see each other again and to spend the first day of classes together. They hang out for a couple hours after school lets out, too. When Stoner gets home, he yells at Demon for tracking mud inside. Demon mops up the mess, but Stoner says that’s not good enough, so Demon washes the floor with Clorox. Stoner says it’s still not good enough and that Demon has to clean it again. Mom is there, but she stays quiet. Stoner then tells Demon to clean the carpet in the living room. The chemicals go to Demon’s brain, and he ends up shouting the X-Men theme song at Stoner, who puts him in a headlock, covering Demon’s mouth until Demon bites him. Demon ends up back in his room with a busted lip.

Demon is “on lockdown” for the next few days and over the weekend. The days blur together. Stoner and Mom go on shouting outside his door, and he imagines the Peggots can hear everything they’re saying. Demon draws comics in his notebook, coming up with ways to take down the Stone Villain. Stoner flings open his door one night and says Mom wants to show Demon how much she loves him. The statement’s strangeness makes Demon nervous. He runs through the house and finds Mom lying faceup in her clothes on her bed, still breathing, but surrounded by pill bottles. They’re not empty, though, so Demon thinks she had just been trying to get high, not the “total checkout.”