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Summary
Chapters 13–16
Chapter 13: A Holodeck Vision
Babou climbs down from the roof to greet Darius. He suggests that Darius befriend Sohrab and tells Sohrab to take Darius to his uncle’s store to buy robe, or pomegranate molasses. They talk comfortably on the way to the store. The shopkeeper, Ashkan Rezaei, who is Sohrab’s uncle, is big man with a low voice and a lot of chest hair. He calls out “Allah-u-Abha,” a Baha'i greeting. At this moment, Darius realizes Sohrab is Bahaʼi, a follower of a religion that some look down upon. Though he can’t partake because he is fasting until Nowruz, Sohrab asks Darius if he wants faludeh, a sorbet treat. Walking back, Sohrab asks if Darius plays soccer, explaining that the neighborhood boys play most days. He invites Darius to come the next day. Darius agrees, though it’s been a while since he has played, and he worries Sohrab might not really want him to go.
Darius goes into the house where Babou makes them tea. They drink in silence. Darius isn’t sure how to talk to Babou though he’s known him his whole life, if only over video calls. Darius falls asleep at the table.
Chapter 14: Soccer/Non-American Football
The next day, as Darius is getting water for his meds, Babou enters the kitchen and asks what the meds are for. Darius says they’re for depression, prompting Babou to ask Darius what depresses him. Darius says it’s just the way he is.
Sohrab brings extra soccer gear for Darius to use, and they walk to a park to meet friends for a game. Darius feels very Iranian in Sohrab’s gear, but Sohrab’s fitness makes him feel insecure. Sohrab introduces the other players, Ali-Reza and Hossein, and they play two-on-two. Sohrab is a very aggressive player, and Darius finds he is much better at soccer than he remembered. During the game, Ali-Reza and Sohrab argue in Farsi and shove each other, and when the game is over, Darius notices that the other boys don't speak to Sohrab. Sohrab explains that Ali-Reza is prejudiced against Bahaʼis. He claims it doesn't bother him, but Darius suspects that it really does.
Chapter 15: The Ayatollah’s Turban
Darius is surprised when Sohrab suggests showering in the locker room and says he will shower at home, but Sohrab insists. Darius feels nervous when he sees the big open shower room. He is embarrassed by his weight, especially as all the other guys are more athletic than him. He begins showering but worries that he is having a panic attack and faces the wall. As Darius washes, Sohrab asks what’s wrong with Darius’s penis. Darius explains that he’s uncircumcised. Ali-Reza says that Darius’s penis looks like the ayatollah’s turban, referring to the Iranian religious and political leader. Darius is humiliated, especially when Sohrab laughs with them. The guys continue laughing as Darius showers as fast as he can. As he leaves, Ali-Reza says, “Nice to meet you, Ayatollah,” further embarrassing Darius.
Chapter 16: Standard Parental Maneuver Alpha
Because his father Stephen is also uncircumcised and Darius had never showered in front of others, he had assumed his penis was normal. He’s already home before he realizes he has accidentally kept Sohrab’s shoes on. Darius tells Babou he’ll never play football again because the guys don't like him, but Babou says it’s probably a misunderstanding. Darius showers again and laments his mistake in thinking Sohrab was a real friend. Darius lies down in the bed, but Stephen comes to the door insisting Darius come to tea. Stephen snatches Darius’s covers to get Darius out of the bed, revealing that he’s naked. This prompts Stephen to say Darius shouldn’t sleep naked in his grandmother’s house but that he understands because he used to sleep naked, too. Before the two leave to go to tea, Stephen tells Darius he’s proud of him for playing soccer and making a friend.
Analysis
When Sohrab and Darius meet, they immediately become friends based on several similarities that bridge their cultural differences. Babou is their first connection as he introduces them and tells them they should be friends. He then encourages their friendship for the rest of the trip. Next, both Sohrab and Darius feel the harsh sting of being an outsider, Darius for his Persian-ness at home and Sohrab for his Baha'i faith. The bullies, Ali-Reza and Hossein, pick on Sohrab before they begin to taunt Darius, revealing that both boys struggle with bullies (or what Darius would call “soulless minions of orthodoxy”). Darius and Sohrab both quickly notice that the other tends to downplay and deny their hurt feelings. Darius wishes he could hide his bullying from everyone around him, and Sohrab claims that things don't bother him even when they clearly do. Soccer serves as an even playing field for both boys to literally team up and work on something together without having to speak a word.
Even as the relationship between Sohrab and Darius blossoms, Darius’s illness threatens to stop him from enjoying this new friendship in a few ways. First, his anxiety tells him that Sohrab doesn’t really want to play soccer with him and is just being nice, which makes Darius consider canceling. He also worries that he won’t be any good and might embarrass himself because he hasn’t played in a while. Darius feels good about his looks until he compares his own body to Sohrab’s more athletic physique. The shower scene with Darius, Sohrab, and the bullies describes the process of one of Darius’s panic attacks in agonizing detail. Darius’s discomfort around sexual matters, combined with his shame about his body, infuse this scene with intense emotion. While the moment is horrible in every possible way, Darius also doesn’t help matters by declaring that he will never go back and then by lying in bed for hours, speaking to no one. His reaction and resulting decision to never give Sohrab or soccer another chance could cause him more harm in the long run than the original slight, since Sohrab and soccer have the potential to bring him happiness.
Any optimism Darius had felt for his trip to Iran goes out the window when several things go wrong for him. Much like Stephen at home, Babou seems overly critical of Darius. He comments on Darius’s hair, his emotional sensitivity, his inability to speak Farsi, and his lack of Persian-ness. Much like the bullies at home, Ali-Reza christens Darius with a brand new nickname, and one based on a sexual innuendo at that. After the shower fiasco, Babou tells Darius that he hasn’t understood the situation correctly, and that “in Iran, boys don't worry about these things so much,” calling into question both Darius’s ability to understand his own emotions as well as his Persian-ness. One clue that Stephen might not be quite as bad as Darius suspects is that he is the one person who is able to pull Darius out of his depression, make him laugh, and convince him to rejoin the family.
