Chapter 28 Summary: Day 24 — Key Events 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 at 6:40 a.m. when Anna's alarm goes off, and she realizes she and Grace are already late for their housekeeping shift. Anna is filling in for Miss Jenny, and she's frustrated that Grace didn't come home until after she'd fallen asleep. Grace is oddly casual about being late, skipping her usual shower and makeup routine, which Anna finds suspicious since those things have become so important to Grace lately.

As they get ready, Anna confronts Grace about the growing distance between them. She points out that Grace talks to Emily instead of her now, and that it feels like Grace is avoiding her. Anna reflects that her relationship with Grace is unraveling the same way her friendship with Megan Bradley did. Grace deflects, telling Anna she was at Emily's house the night before, getting milkshakes at the diner and watching for shooting stars by the river.

On their way to work, Anna tells Grace a Takoda story about a girl who climbs a giant tree to rescue a stuck armadillo. The tree keeps growing as she climbs, and she gets lost in the sky until the stars twinkle around her, reminding her she isn't alone. Anna explains the meaning: people reach for things that are out of reach and can lose sight of what they already have. Grace seems distracted and barely pays attention.

As they jog along the road, Anna spots a narrow strip of rusty red in the flattened brush. Grace dismisses it as a dead animal, but Anna smells death and feels uneasy. The grass seems to be moving toward her, and she's unsettled by the omen.

At the resort, they pass the Atrium Ice Bar, where Fox Ballard is sitting with a bored-looking woman. Fox calls out to Grace, offering her a Shirley Temple. Grace says she hasn't clocked in yet, and Fox tells her to go ahead—he'll have the drink ready when she gets back. Anna is disturbed by the exchange, but Grace dismisses her concerns, saying there's an easy way and a hard way to get through work at the resort.

Anna clocks them both in and they head to the third floor to clean rooms. Anna works steadily, but when she checks on Grace's progress, she finds Grace's cart hasn't moved in almost an hour. She discovers Grace has slipped away to the Atrium Ice Bar, where Fox is leaning close to her, talking in her ear. Anna is furious but decides not to force Grace back to work.

Later, Anna goes downstairs and finds a folded piece of paper that had fallen from Grace's timecard slot. It's decorated with Xs and Os and smiley faces, and it reads: asking whether their secret is still safe, telling Grace to keep her promise, and asking who the first person she's going to call is. The note is unsigned. Anna's hands tremble, and she wants to shred it, but instead she folds it carefully and slips it back into Grace's slot. Knowing it will anger Grace and potentially drive them further apart, Anna punches Grace's timecard.

Key Events

Anna wakes late and realizes she and Grace are behind schedule for their housekeeping shift.
Grace reveals she spent the night with Emily, getting milkshakes and watching for shooting stars by the river.
Anna confronts Grace about their growing distance and tells her a Takoda story about a girl who climbs a tree after an armadillo.
The sisters spot a rusty red streak in the brush along the road, which Grace dismisses as a dead animal but Anna finds deeply unsettling.
Fox Ballard offers Grace a drink at the Atrium Ice Bar; Anna objects, but Grace later slips away to join him.
Anna finds a folded note in Grace's timecard slot, decorated with Xs and Os and smiley faces, asking whether their secret is still safe.
Anna returns the note and punches Grace's timecard, knowing it will anger her.

Character Development

Anna is increasingly aware of the cracks in her relationship with Grace. She draws a direct parallel between Grace's withdrawal and the loss of her friendship with Megan Bradley, suggesting a pattern of abandonment that haunts her. Her decision to tell Grace the Takoda story about the girl and the armadillo reveals her desire to reconnect through their shared cultural heritage—but also her frustration when Grace doesn't seem to listen. Anna's reaction to the note is telling: she wants to destroy it, but instead she carefully folds it and returns it, choosing to preserve the secret rather than expose it. Her decision to punch Grace's timecard is a small act of defiance, a way of marking that she knows something is wrong.

Grace is becoming more evasive and dismissive. She deflects Anna's concerns, downplays her time at the resort, and seems drawn to the easy path that Fox Ballard represents. Her comment about the easy way versus the hard way shows she's adopted a cynical view of the resort's workplace culture. She's also careless—she doesn't notice the note falling from her timecard, and she doesn't seem to realize how much Anna is watching her.

Fox Ballard is portrayed as predatory and manipulative. He's unshaven, exhausted, and yet still working his charm on women, offering drinks and leaning close to whisper in Grace's ear. His behavior toward Grace is clearly inappropriate, and Anna's discomfort is palpable.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Sisterly estrangement is the central theme of this chapter. Anna and Grace are physically together but emotionally apart, and Anna's comparison to goldfish in neighboring bowls captures the sense of separation. The chapter shows how secrets and unspoken tensions can drive a wedge between people who were once close.

Tribal oral tradition is woven throughout the chapter. Anna tells Grace two Takoda stories—one about the elders deciding on a uniform fate for the dead, and one about the girl who climbs a tree after an armadillo. These stories serve as a way for Anna to reach out to Grace, but also as a commentary on the dangers of reaching too high and losing sight of what matters.

Stars as watchful spirits appear in both stories. In the first, the dead become stars watching over their loved ones. In the second, the stars twinkle to remind the girl she isn't alone. The motif suggests that even in isolation, there is a presence watching over the characters.

Blood as omen is introduced with the rusty red streak in the brush. Anna smells death and feels the grass moving toward her, suggesting that something terrible has happened or is about to happen. Grace's dismissal of it as a dead animal feels like denial.

Workplace corruption is explored through Grace's observation that the resort is full of people who don't work hard, and that there's an easy way and a hard way to get through the job. Anna's determination to work hard, following her father's example, stands in contrast to the culture of entitlement around her.

Secrets and promises are central to the note Anna finds. The note's questions—whether the secret is still safe, whether Grace will keep her promise—suggest that Grace is involved in something dangerous, and that Anna's decision to return the note rather than destroy it is a choice to keep the secret alive.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point in the novel's central relationship. Anna's confrontation with Grace makes the estrangement between the sisters explicit, and the discovery of the note reveals that Grace is keeping a significant secret—one that involves promises and possibly danger. The chapter also deepens the sense of foreboding that has been building throughout the novel. The rusty red streak in the brush, the mysterious stairwell girl Anna keeps thinking about, and Fox Ballard's predatory behavior all point toward a larger threat. Anna's decision to punch Grace's timecard, knowing it will drive them further apart, is a moment of quiet defiance that sets up the conflict to come.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Anna tell Grace the story about the girl and the armadillo, and what does the story reveal about Anna's concerns?

Anna tells the story as a way to reconnect with Grace through their shared cultural heritage, but also as a warning. The story's meaning—that reaching too hard for something out of reach can cause you to lose sight of what you already have—reflects Anna's fear that Grace is being pulled away by Fox Ballard and the easy path he represents. Anna wants Grace to remember that she has a sister who cares about her, and that chasing after something shiny could cost her everything.

2. What does the note Anna finds in Grace's timecard slot suggest about Grace's secret, and why does Anna choose to return it rather than destroy it?

The note, decorated with Xs and Os and smiley faces, asks whether a secret is still safe and references a promise. It suggests Grace is involved in something clandestine, possibly with someone at the resort, and that there are others who know about it. Anna's initial urge is to shred the note, but she instead folds it carefully and returns it. This choice suggests she's not ready to confront Grace directly, and that she's willing to keep the secret for now—perhaps because she's afraid of what exposing it would do to their relationship, or because she wants to learn more before acting.

3. How does the chapter use the motif of stars to comment on the characters' isolation?

The stars appear in both Takoda stories Anna tells. In the first, the dead become stars watching over their loved ones. In the second, the stars twinkle to remind the girl she isn't alone. The motif suggests that even in moments of isolation, there is a presence watching over the characters. For Anna, the stars represent the hope that she and Grace can reconnect. For Grace, who was watching for shooting stars with Emily, the stars may represent a different kind of escape—a way of looking beyond her current circumstances. The contrast highlights the sisters' divergent paths.