how do the Watson children help each other through the ordeal of having to wear layers and layers of clothing ?

Once they get to school, Kenny must help Joey get all her clothes off. Joey hates this entire setup, and says that maybe Byron can help them convince their mother that her measures are unnecessary. Byron convinces Joey that the reason she has to wear all the clothes is that, every morning, the streets in front of the Watsons' house are full of dead, frozen people. Garbage trucks come and pick up the dead bodies before anyone wakes up and notices. He says that the only people who freeze are those with thin Southern blood; the reason they have to be so careful is that their blood is half Southern. Kenny knows that Byron's explanation is untrue, but Joetta is horrified and no longer complains when she has to wear her winter clothes.