Kareem explains that in Arabic, there is a word that means both mercy and family ties; it comes from Allah’s name. Every Sunday, Kareem talks to his family in Syria, struggling to speak in Arabic. Sometimes he fuses together English and Arabic, creating new words and causing Kareem to feel like he has “no language / at all” (55).

Kareem’s grandfather, Jido, enjoys listening to him and is unbothered by his struggles in Arabic. They talk of sports and how “football” is the name for soccer everywhere else in the world. Jido promises to come watch Kareem play American football someday.

Jido is sick and sounds fatigued on the phone. Kareem worries about the medical care in Syria; the war has left many places without electricity and doctors.

When Mama tells Kareem to accompany her to meet a new refugee family so that he can befriend the son, Fadi, Kareem balks because he wants to get a new football instead. However, Mama reminds him of how much this family has lost, and Kareem reluctantly agrees.

With blond hair and blue eyes, Fadi looks like he is from Indiana. He speaks perfect Arabic and helps clean up. Kareem says hello, and they talk about soccer. When Fadi shows Kareem a stack of letters from his friends in Syria, Kareem misses Adam. They talk of school, and Kareem basks in his mother’s approval.

The first day of school after winter break is frigid. As Kareem packs the essay he wrote for Austin, he wishes he had a football.

Kareem’s mother gives Fadi a ride to school. When they arrive, Kareem hurries inside, but behind him, Austin intercepts Fadi and mocks his English. Instead of coming to Fadi’s aid, Kareem walks inside the building. He knows that if he befriends Fadi, he will not be accepted by anyone, so he puts the essay in Austin’s locker and walks to homeroom.

NFL Fact # 5 reveals that a cutback is when the player carrying the ball suddenly changes direction.

At school, when Fadi walks into the classroom, Kareem blushes and turns away. As the teacher helps Fadi to a seat, Austin rushes in, the center of attention, and sits next to Kareem. As they begin working on math, Austin thanks Kareem for the essay. However, he now wants answers to the math problems. Reluctantly, Kareem agrees but wonders if Austin is truly his friend.

Kareem spends lunch praying in the library, where he feels safe and comfortable. When the bell rings, he folds up his prayer mat and finds Austin waiting for him at his locker. Austin calls him K. again and reminds him not to forget his homework. When Kareem says that it was only supposed to be once, Austin questions whether Kareem wants to make the team and walks away.

On the ride home, Mama asks Fadi how his day went while Kareem reads and listens uneasily. Mama remarks that it is good that Fadi has a friend at school, but the boys say nothing. When Kareem sees him struggling to read English, he offers his help. At home, Mama gives Kareem a new football as thanks.

Over a dinner of kusa mihshy, stuffed zucchini in a tomato sauce, Mama reveals that she is leaving for Syria tomorrow. She will bring her parents home with her because her father needs heart medicine and treatment in America. The thought of seeing Jido warms Kareem. However, Mama does not know when she will return, and Baba cannot go because it is not safe for him. Thinking about homophones, words with different meanings that sound the same, Kareem knows that his parents are not revealing everything.

Mama packs a suitcase full of gifts for family in Syria. Although Baba’s parents have died, he has siblings there. Mama’s sisters and brother fled to Germany at the start of the war in Syria. Kareem longs to see Jido.

NFL Fact #6 explains that an illegal formation is a penalty when a team lines up wrong before a play begins.

Kareem was born in America, but his parents were not. By the time his parents were permitted to travel home, there was a war in Syria.

After school the next day, Mama hugs everyone before heading to the airport. Kareem tosses his football, hoping to keep his mind off missing her. When Jameelah demands that he watch Sameer, he notes that his sister always gets what she wants.

Jameelah warns Kareem not to let Sameer play with Play-Doh because it is too messy. Once she leaves the room, Kareem ignores her and gets the Play-Doh.

Sameer makes a mess. Exhausted after cleaning up, Kareem takes a nap right next to his brother, like a team taking a time-out.

Kareem describes the next morning as a “tragedy” without his mother. During the night, Sameer wet the bed, and Kareem wakes up covered in stickiness. Then, he goes to school with food Baba made, which is not as good as his Mama’s lunches.

After praying in the library, Kareem heads to the cafeteria for lunch. There, he sees Austin approach Fadi, who is sitting alone, and insult his food and his English. Frozen, Kareem does nothing as Fadi packs up his lunch and walks out. Kareem wants to confront Austin but does not.

After school, Kareem learns that his mother finally arrived in Syria. Relieved, he scrolls through Instagram, where he sees pictures of Adam playing football with other friends. When his father asks about his day, Kareem says that it was terrible, and Jameelah says that he has no friends. Feeling the truth in her words, he angrily throws his phone at her. Baba confiscates Kareem’s phone as a punishment, and no one speaks.

Thinking of the book The Crossover, Kareem decides that sometimes family can cause you to do bad things.

NFL Fact #7 explains the phrase “moving the chains”: Once a team gets a first down, the chains that mark the ball placement are moved further down the field.

After talking to Mama on the phone, Kareem decides that he needs to be helpful and prove that he should get his phone back.

Kareem speaks to Jido, telling his grandfather what happened in the car. Instead of being angry, Jido laughs and says that Kareem is passionate, just like Jido. However, he reminds his grandson that there is strength in learning to subdue one’s anger.

The next day, the students are assigned a project to use geometry to make a poster on any topic. Austin demands that Kareem do one for him and walks away. Meanwhile, a student named Jerry waves his hands like the football signal for unsportsmanlike conduct, which makes Fadi laugh.

Later, when Kareem prays in the library, Fadi enters and silently waits for him. Kareem offers his prayer rug, but Fadi reveals that he is Christian. Fadi says “Allah” because that is the Arabic word for God. Fadi asks Kareem to sit with him at lunch. Claiming not to be hungry, Kareem declines, and Fadi walks away.

Kareem feels terrible on the way home, so he offers to work with Fadi on their projects. When Baba offers to take them to the library, Fadi agrees.

At the library, which is next door to the local news station, Fadi and Kareem go to the children’s section so that Kareem can watch. Kareem realizes that Baba wanted to come to the library to work on his patients’ charts in peace. Kareem hopes that his helpfulness will earn him his phone back.

NFL Fact #8 defines an “oskie” as the call a defensive player makes when he wants to intercept the pass.

As Kareem and Fadi finish their posters, they realize that Sameer is gone. In a panic, like a quarterback who has thrown an interception, Kareem searches and finds Sameer climbing the stacks. He distracts his brother, and they return to where Fadi stands with Jerry, their classmate. Jerry compliments their posters—Kareem’s is the C in the Chicago Bears’ logo, while Fadi’s is “Syria’s freedom flag” (113). Jerry admits that he loves football and tells Kareem that the library basement is so big that he sometimes plays there.

Jerry and Kareem go downstairs and talk while throwing a football. Sameer colors, and Fadi watches. Jerry is good but did not try out because he does not like how serious the team gets. When Kareem admits that he wants to play quarterback, Jerry says that he has a good arm and gives him pointers. When Kareem does what Jerry suggests, he throws the ball perfectly.

Kareem thinks of a character in a book who realizes that a person needs teammates to succeed. Throwing with Jerry makes him feel like he is making progress.