Even with all of her efforts, Daisy is just not getting through to Donny, and she now feels helpless. It seems Donny is becoming even more troublesome now. He is starting to develop new problems such as cutting classes, smoking and drinking during school hours, and he even helped a friend break into a freshman's locker. All of these actions have been causing Daisy to lose sleep pondering her self worth. She has been lying in bed and thinking about all of the words of encouragement she has said to Donny in the past and keeps telling herself that these must not have been enough, especially when his younger sister was born and took up a lot of the attention. "She longed "she ached "for a time machine. Given one more chance, she'd do it perfectly "hug him more, praise him more, or perhaps praise him less. Oh, who can say - (1171). This aching and wishing shows how much she truly cares about her son, and only wants the best for him. It would be easy for any other mother to sympathize with her in this situation.
Daisy's efforts have stopped working and she has no where else to turn to except to a professional. Even though it is heartbreaking for her to admit that she can no longer reach her son, it is the only other option. They decide to take Donny to a tutor named Cal, who was originally supposed to aid him with his studies, but ends up making matters much worse for Daisy and the rest of their family. It all starts when Cal takes away Daisy's rights to monitor Donny's homework and his teacher's phone calls. This closes all of the lines of communication with Donny's school, which doesn't bother Daisy until she learns that Donny is not improving. The teacher informed her of a frequent scenario with Donny. "'Donny, I say, a quiz is coming up on Friday. Hadn't you better be listening instead of talking?' That's okay, Miss Evans, he says. I have a tutor now. Like a talisman!- (1173).
