Rafe doesn't like school, and living at home isn't great. It's not nice to have Bear around since all he does is sleep and is a nuisance in his and his sister's lives. Despite all his bad luck there was still a silver lining. Rafe was kicked out of school where he wasn't learning or making friends, and was even bullied by Miller. Most people would be shocked to be kicked out of school, but Rafe sees this as an opportunity for change. One of his teachers thinks Rafe would be better suited for an art school called Airbrook, “'Airbrook might be a perfect environment for Rafe…. School is a combination of visual arts and academics”' (267). Rafe's mom also manages to find a silver lining when she realizes that Bear, who is her abusive boyfriend, is not a good person to live with and is not the best influence in her life. He couldn't really see it because he works all the time, he had to work harder because Bear didn't do anything, so he was just one more mouth to feed "'Bear won't be living with us anymore, and hopefully that means I can afford to stop work double shifts at the diner