Sonny may feel as if having a small community comes to a disadvantage when it comes to having everybody knowing what he is doing. He does not like that fact that a majority of the people in his town will laugh at him for trying to build rockets. He also does not like that fact that anything that his mother says to her neighbor, the whole town will know is less than an hour. He expresses that “I knew within an hour all of Coalwood would know about my semi-sort of rocket and how if roped the other boys into more of my foolishness, and everybody in the town would have a good laugh at my expense” (Hickam 41). The fact that everybody would know and that he would be laughed for attempting to follow his “dream” of building rockets might discourage him. Getting laughed at by an entire town does not sound fun or enjoyable in any way, shape, or form. Sonny also may not enjoy everybody knowing what he is doing because when he asks Mr.Bykovski to build his rockets he is afraid that his father will find out and Bykovski will get fired or lose his current job position. This is where living in a small town can come at a disadvantage. If even one person finds out about this, it will be spread around like fire. Eventually, Sonny’s father will know and this innocent man will lose his position or even his job. Bykovski is no worried by his father finding out he even “shrugged. ‘[his] father will not find a better mechanist than [Bykovski], especially one who will work the hoot-owl shift’” (Hickam 90) Bykovski actually believes that Sonny should tell his father but Sonny’s inner conscience is telling him otherwise not wanting him to get in trouble. Having a small town and community may come with its perks. But, Sonny does not enjoy the fact that everyone will know his business at the drop of a dime.