Summary

The boy imagines violent scenarios from which he might rescue Noor. He feels “ready for them all” (123).

Noor decides she can forgive the boy for his violence, but not for his laziness or disregard. She realizes she felt chosen by him. However, she cannot understand why he did not date an Egyptian. She reflects on her relationship with her ex, Elijah. She is often “used by men who reject themselves" (124). She begins to understand what the boy got from her. She realizes “he was using [her] body” to escape (125).

The boy visits Sami to ask about the equipment he borrowed and lost years prior. The boy needs money. When Sami sees him, the boy realizes “how bad [he] must look” (126). He has “been downgraded” to a “hobo” (126). Sami offers him a job, but the boy refuses. Grandmother gave him a sense...