Summary

Chapter 25 begins as Nishat comes down for breakfast, Priti already gone on the early bus. She asks her mother if Nanu is sick, and Ammu, her face stricken, nods. Nishat feels worried - wondering how she has missed so much about both Priti and Nanu. At school, Flavia approaches Nishat with a bag, their fingers brushing. Nishat opens it, unfurling a beautiful poster with Nishat’s Mehndi written in colorful letters in the middle, and a drawing of “joined hands with henna winding down the palms” (289). They smile at each other, and Flavia asks if she wants to come over that weekend. Nishat explains she is setting up her henna shop at her father’s restaurant that weekend, as they are hoping Nishat’s customers will become his customers. They feel the awkwardness of the ongoing competition, then the bell rings.

There is...