Fire Shut Up in My Bones

During his time at Grambling, Blow is recruited by the CIA. All goes well until the lie detector test. The agent asks if he’s ever used drugs, to which he replies “No”—a true answer, but the needle wavers, causing Blow anxiety. Then he asks Blow if he’s ever had sex with a man. He answers “No,” and again the machine registers the response as a lie. Blow desperately tries to justify his answer, telling the agent about Chester’s abuse. He takes the test again, but even with a “Yes” to the same-sex question, the machine still registers a lie, as if it can intuit Blow’s confusion. He does not get the internship, and he gives up on a political career, convinced a “liar” can never be elected to public office. Furthermore, the images of men return.

With his junior year nearing its end and no definitive career goal in sight, Blow focuses on journalism, landing an internship at the Shreveport Times in the graphic arts department. His hard work and long hours pay off, and soon his boss sends him to news meetings. One morning, he visits a house in which a family dies of carbon monoxide poisoning. On his own, he gathers details, sketches a layout of the house, location of the bodies, and specifics of the generator that emitted the toxic gas.