Between Two Kingdoms

Suleika arrives at the hospital for her first chemotherapy session. Her mother gives her a charm necklace, and Will gives her a journal. The doctors insert a catheter into her chest for the chemotherapy drugs. When Suleika sees the catheter on her body, she vomits. At her room, Suleika notices that her name has been misspelled: “the sign outside my hospital room read S. JAQUAD—with a q where the o should be” (67).

Two nurses, one of whom introduces herself as Younique, give her antinausea medication through her IV. Afterward, Will and Suleika’s parents sit with her. She eventually tells them to go home with a cheerful wave, but bravery disappears when they leave. Suleika wakes up to her roommate moaning in the middle of the night. Afraid, she calls Will. He arrives and they sleep together in the hospital bed.

Suleika meets her roommate, Estelle. Estelle tells her to walk around while she still can, and Suleika explores the unit and meets Dennis and Yehya, who are also undergoing treatments for cancer. Yehya is from North Africa.

After a week, Suleika’s parents still visit every day. She plays Scrabble with Will. Other friends come by too. She thinks that she has avoided the worst side effects and dreams of getting an apartment with Will after the treatments.