Upon her arrival to the Trade Center, Alia notices a tall, lean young man with long blonde hair. She believes that he is about to pickpocket a maintenance man on the elevator line in front of him, and calls out “Hey!” (110) to stop him. Inspired by this scenario, she quickly sketches what she imagines would have been Lia’s reaction to this situation while taking the ride to her father’s floor, only to find him missing from his desk. She meets Ayah’s colleague, Mr. Morowitz, who advises her that her father has left the office to vote and to attend a seminar. Alia realizes that she will be tardy for school, has not been able to talk to her father, and doesn’t “have a thing to show for it” (113).

This chapter opens with Jesse’s description of attending a school pep rally as Nick “[…] pulls my head back…to give me a kiss, as if saying, See, she’s mine” (114). Despite this, Jesse thinks about her attraction to Adam while Nick and Dave become increasingly irritated by students who are posting fliers advertising the grand opening of an Islam Peace Center in town.