Bad To The Bone

He realizes that from his actions come severe consequences and penalties. By understanding that there are consequences for his actions, and maybe even feeling some remorse for what took place, the author makes it apparent to the reader how the narrator is beginning to mature from the incidents unfolding at Greasy Lake. .
             As the story continues, the greasy character's girlfriend steps out of the car screaming at the three boys. The three boys were just beginning to rape the young girl when another car pulls into the lot. Knowing that they are caught in the act, they flee the scene. The narrator bolts into the undergrowth at the lake's edge. Before he realizes what he is doing, he is knee-deep in water and decides to swim across the lake to take refuge in the thick woods on the other side. As he starts to take his first stroke, he bumps into a large mass floating in the water. It does not take him long to realize he is wading in the water next to a dead body. He stumbles back away from the corpse as multiple thoughts tear his mind in all directions. The narrator thinks to himself, "I was nineteen, a mere child, an infant, and here in the space of five minutes I"d struck down one greasy character and blundered into the waterlogged carcass of a second" (116). He realizes that he has no business being at Greasy Lake. He is still an innocent child and not the bad person he tries to portray through his image. Once again it is clear to the reader that the narrator is displaying signs of maturity. .
             After the two blond fraternity boys and the greasy character destroy the narrator's mom's Bel Air and flee the scene, the narrator circles the car examining the damage. Digby and Jeff return shortly after. After climbing into the car, another vehicle pulls into the lot giving the boys quite a scare. Two girls, noticeably intoxicated, approach the three boys and offer them to hang out and take some unknown pills.