Summary

Chapter 24 takes place in November of 2018. Lou tries to prepare Sera for the culture shock of their brief stay in Qatar. Sera and Lou have separate hotel rooms, but Lou keeps a key to Sera's room to avoid standing in the hall shouting if she oversleeps. Sera is nervous about that and puts a chair against the door that night. She feels uneasy without her mother with her. She and Lou have a hotel separate from the rest of the American gymnasts. The next day, Lou warns her not to become friendly with any of the others. Sera notes that the arena in Qatar smells like all others with a mixture of “chalk, rubber, perspiration, hair spray, and feet” (254). Sera tries to talk to the other American gymnasts, but Lou stops that, reminding her that they are competitors. He says she can go...