Summary

In “Hackathon Summers,” by Coe Booth, Garry met Inaaya at a Hackathon at New York University when they were in high school. In the present, Garry is among the incoming freshman at that same school. He and Inaaya had promised each other they would attend that school when the time came. He looks for her but does not see her.

The time reverses three years to the hackathon when he first saw Inaaya Saddiq with her mother. Her mother was wearing a long dress and hijab. Inaaya wore no hijab. The two were in different hackathon groups so they never spoke to each other that first year.

The following year, Garry and Inaaya were again in different groups, but they talked as they walked through a nearby park during a shared break. During...