This chapter opens with a flashback to the beginning of the previous chapter, where the narrator explains that he is a student at a school in the south of France. He is a member of a minority ethnic group, and he is considered a threat to the established order of the school because of his beliefs. The narrator explains to the other students that he does not want to be a threat, because he is afraid of what others will think of him. He also explains that his family is facing financial difficulties, so he has to work part time to support himself.