Asem deur Jan Vermeulen | Chapter 9 | English Summary

Asem deur Jan Vermeulen

Chapter 9 Summary

Barries prepares to execute the plan to poison his father. He inspects the rat poison in his luggage and it is very much like Butcher said it would be – odourless and tasteless, although taste-testing anything beyond an amount the size of a knife-point would be dangerous. Suddenly, Paul’s voice booms in the hallway, asking for help in the kitchen. The perfect opportunity to poison his father arises, but Paul nearly sees the blue powder in Barries' hand and was a little bit suspicious. Barries assists with the meal, which is largely comprised of vegetables, to Barries’ chagrin. Paul challenges Barries to a game of chess and Barries flatly refuses, but when Paul wagers Barries a smoke should he win against him. They play best out of three, and Barries mentions the fact that he was actually the senior champion at his high school. Paul; however, is too strong an opponent.

 

Later, Barries sneaks into Paul’s room and takes a look around at the various pictures, furniture and stumbles upon a nostalgic teddy bear he used to carry around often as a child. He sees other nostalgic things like old drawings and cards and immediately feels a wave of resentment well up inside him. He reaches under the mattress and pulls out the bottle of alcohol his father has hidden in there, uncorked the spirits, and lightly dusted the rat poison into the mouth of the bottle, but he spills some onto the wooden floor when Paul’s voice echoes in the hallway. He appears in the room and asks Barries what he’s up to, and Barries covers up by saying he is just looking at the photos in the room. Paul asks him for assistance in the kitchen and Barries protests, saying he isn’t Paul’s kitchen-help.

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SummariesKeroshan PillayAsem, EnglishComment