Summary

In this section teenage Raja Haddad describes the night he accepts a ride with the most popular boys in his high school and is swept into the chaos of the Lebanese Civil War. Raja opens by blaming himself for getting into Joe’s car and trying to raise his social status through Micheline, the school’s most admired girl, whom Joe is dating (103). Earlier that year Micheline has chosen Raja as her dance partner for the school talent show because he can keep rhythm, and their tango rehearsals briefly lift him from his status as a lonely, awkward redheaded boy. He recognizes that Micheline’s attention is tied to Joe’s car and class privilege, yet he still follows her lead and feels as if he is rising in the social hierarchy whenever he walks across the schoolyard with her (104).

On the night of...