Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with Ishu noting that her parents have been quietly angry all weekend following Nik's news about her engagement and decision to drop out of university. Nik keeps texting Ishu to check on the situation, but Ishu decides to wait, hoping her parents will calm down before she tries to advocate for her sister.

On Sunday, Ammu and Abbu take the day off work to have lunch with Ishu. During the meal, they deliver a pointed lecture about love versus security. Ammu warns that people make mistakes when they're young and think they're in love, while Abbu dismisses the idea of love as preposterous. They emphasize that survival depends on security, money, and a good job, not love. Abbu presses Ishu to keep her eyes on her future goals.

Ishu tries to reassure them by pointing to her good results and medical school prospects, but her parents aren't satisfied. They bring up Nik's past achievements—she was a prefect with good results—and suggest that if Nik had become Head Girl, she might have gotten into a better university like Cambridge or Oxford, and perhaps her life would have turned out differently.

Under the weight of their disappointment, Ishu blurts out that she will be Head Girl. Abbu is suspicious, noting that Head Girls aren't chosen until later in the year, but Ishu insists she's a top contender because of her results and popularity. Ammu's face lights up with pride, and she squeezes Ishu's hands, telling Abbu they don't need to worry about Ishu.

Ishu feels a mixture of pride and guilt—pride that her mother finally sees her as the daughter who can succeed, and guilt because she knows she likely can't win a popularity contest. She picks up both the prefect and Head Girl applications from the school office during lunch. The secretary, Anna, gives her a curious look, as if she already knows Ishu isn't popular with her classmates.

Determined to turn things around, Ishu decides to try being sociable. She walks into the base classroom where girls gather for lunch, pasting on a bright smile. She approaches a group at the front: Hannah Flannigan, Sinéad McNamara, and Yasmin Gilani. She tries to make conversation about economics homework with Hannah, who sits beside her in class, and asks to join them for lunch. The girls exchange looks and claim they have no space, even though there's an empty chair. Hannah says they're saving it for someone. Ishu rolls her eyes before remembering she's trying to be popular, and forces a smile, but Yasmin's tone makes clear there will never be a seat for her.

Ishu surveys the room, seeing only cliques she doesn't belong to. She's about to retreat to her usual spot by the lockers when she spots Humaira, Aisling, and Deirdre in a hushed discussion at the back. The strange conversation with Humaira from Saturday morning comes back to her—Humaira's desperation. Ishu realizes that desperation might be exactly what she needs. Normally she'd make a pro/con list, but seeing the three of them deep in conversation, she decides she doesn't have time. She approaches and asks to speak to Humaira privately. Humaira glances at her friends, then agrees with a wide smile, getting up quickly as if she was expecting Ishu.

Key Events

• Ishu's parents deliver a Sunday lecture on love versus security, using Nik's situation as a cautionary tale

• Ishu impulsively claims she will be Head Girl to reassure her parents

• Ishu collects prefect and Head Girl applications from the school office

• Ishu's attempt to join a lunch table is rejected by Hannah, Sinéad, and Yasmin

• Ishu approaches Humaira and requests a private conversation, which Humaira eagerly accepts

Character Development

Ishu — This chapter reveals the depth of Ishu's desperation to meet her parents' expectations. Her impulsive claim about Head Girl shows how far she'll go to avoid disappointing them, even when she knows the claim is false. Her failed attempt at sociability highlights her isolation and her awkwardness at performing popularity. The chapter also shows her pragmatic, almost transactional thinking: she sees Humaira's desperation as a resource she can use.

Ammu and Abbu — Their conditional approval becomes explicit. They measure their daughters' worth by academic and career achievements, and they view Nik's choices as a failure that could have been prevented by a better university placement. Their sudden attention to Ishu is framed as a response to Nik's