Cassie pretended to be Lillian Jean's friend. Then, after a month of pretending, she blackmailed her and made her apologize for everything. Otherwise, she would tell everybody the secrets that Lillian Jean had been telling her.
Falling Action/Resolution
Mr. Granger and Mr. Wallace fire Cassie's mom. Cassie and her brothers realize that T.J told Mr. Wallace and Mr. Granger because he was mad at their mom for failing him.
T.J gets in trouble because he was hanging out with the Simmses, a white family. They stole a pearl-handled gun, but they were caught. The Simmses blamed it on T.J and beat him up. T.J was caught in front of his house.
A fire occurs in Cassie's land, burning 1/3 of the cotton. T.J's life is saved, but he still has to go to prison. Later, Cassie realizes the truth: Sacrifices must be made. Her father had started the fire.