Chapter 17

Summary

• Yara arrives on campus Monday morning and reluctantly joins a faculty and staff meet and greet organized by Jonathan, feeling it's expected of her after a recent incident with Amanda.
• Inside the building, Yara hesitates but decides to socialize, noticing the lively chatter of her colleagues around her.
• In the food line, she encounters Silas, a fellow faculty member, who remarks that he rarely sees her at social events and they engage in a casual conversation.
• Yara tries to appear busy with her phone to avoid further interaction but ends up discussing their mutual preference for solitude with Silas.
• Silas shares with Yara that he is seeking joint custody of his daughter and is attending counseling, which the college advised during this process.
• Yara steps out of line for air, Silas joins her, and they continue talking outside, where Yara learns more about Silas's situation.
• In the conversation outside, Silas and Yara discuss her reason for seeing William, a counselor, after calling a colleague, Amanda, a racist.
• Yara vented her frustrations about how people, including the hateful Amanda, treat her due to her Arab background.
• She expresses her desire to relax on the campus grounds without responsibilities like work or caring for her two daughters.
• Silas and Yara chat about their children, with Yara revealing she has two daughters and Silas mentioning his three-year-old, Olivia.
• They touch on the topic of family origins, with Yara revealing her Palestinian background and critiquing the common question of "Where are you from?"
• Their conversation moves to the topic of biases and misconceptions, and Yara vents her frustration about experiencing prejudice, while Silas tries to show his understanding.
• A sense of warmth and possible attraction arises between Silas and Yara during their interaction.
• Despite feeling an inexplicable connection, Yara decides to leave, mentioning the necessity to make an appearance at the event to maintain her job.
• They part with the possibility of seeing each other again, leaving Yara uncertain but seemingly affected by the exchange with Silas.