Fadi stays away from Kareem for the rest of class. Even though Kareem does well on the assessments, he feels terrible.

NFL Fact #9 defines an illegal shift as a penalty the offense receives when the players do not stop moving prior to the snap. This precedes Kareem’s explanation of how things are going at home. He describes the family’s Friday night volunteer work as chaos without Mama.

In Saturday’s Arabic class, Khale Afaf teaches students in place of Kareem’s mother. She encourages Kareem to continue practicing when he struggles. Distraught without his mother, Kareem feels like a quarterback who is moving in the wrong direction.

On Sunday, Kareem talks to Jido, who offers to bring “a Syrian jalabiyeh / as a gift” (125), but Kareem says that Syrian clothing is considered strange in the United States. Jido advises him that it is okay to be a stranger and that the Prophet Muhammad accepts everyone equally. Kareem thinks that Jido does not understand.

After the Green Bay Packers, the Bears’ rival, win their game, Kareem is downcast. When the news comes on, Baba tells Kareem to leave the room. He sneaks down the stairs to listen anyway, but Jameelah leads him away, telling him that he is too young to understand. Once she leaves him alone, Kareem returns to the stairs, but the television is off.

On Monday, Fadi asks Kareem to take his project to class while he uses the bathroom. When Kareem arrives, only Austin is there. He tells Kareem that he is on the team and asks for the extra poster. Annoyed that Kareem seemed to make one for Fadi and not him, Austin rips it up.

When Fadi gets to class, he sees Kareem standing above his ripped poster, assumes Kareem did it, and runs off. Jerry gives Kareem a disapproving look. When the teacher enters, she asks what happened. Jerry explains, but no one says who did it. The teacher calls the office looking for Fadi and then begins class. Fadi never returns, and Kareem feels terrible.

NFL Fact #10 identifies “the pocket” as the area behind the line of scrimmage where the quarterback is protected. Austin has no project and will likely get a zero, so he glares at Kareem, who feels like a quarterback who has left the safety of the pocket.

While Kareem prays in the library, Austin pulls the prayer mat out from under him. Despite this, Kareem finishes his prayer. When he demands that Austin return the prayer mat, Austin calls it a rag and tells Kareem that he is “not American / enough for [the] team” (137). Throwing the mat on the ground, Austin storms off. His words hurt Kareem.

Kareem questions whether he should play football.

NFL Fact #11 describes how, when a returner fails to cleanly catch a punt or a kickoff, it is called a muff.

After school, Kareem cannot find Fadi. Baba tells him that he went home sick, and Jameelah looks suspiciously at Kareem.

The next day, when Fadi gets in the car, he does not smile and snaps at Kareem, who compares the awful feeling he has to a quarterback being sacked.

One January day, it is unseasonably warm, so the students go outside during gym. Kareem walks to the football field alone and imagines that even the sun is angry with him.

Coach announces that they will play football. First, the students run laps. Alone, Kareem flies. He notices Coach watching and feels momentarily okay.

Coach tells Kareem to play quarterback. On the first play, he throws it as Jerry instructed him, but it flies past the wide receiver. Austin laughs, but Coach is impressed. He tells his own son to take notes, and Austin fumes.

NFL Fact #12 defines the red zone as the area between the 20-yard line and the end zone, where the offense is about to score.

When Coach steps away, Austin remarks that Kareem will never make the team and that he is not welcome in America, saying, “Even the president said so” (147). Angry, Kareem finally speaks up and asks why Austin needs to cheat if he is so much better than Kareem. Austin tackles Kareem, and they wrestle until Coach yells and sends them to the principal’s office.

Later, Kareem is quiet when his father asks about his day. Baba assumes that Kareem misses Mama and promises to return his phone. Kareem, who never causes trouble in school, does not want to disappoint Baba, so he decides to prevent his father from getting the principal’s phone call.

NFL Fact #13 defines a Hail Mary as a low-odds desperation play; the quarterback throws it deep to tie the game or win. Kareem needs his own Hail Mary.

At home, Baba places his phone on a table and goes upstairs to change. Kareem takes the phone into the garage, looking for a hiding spot. While he has the freezer door open, he is scared by a noise and drops his father’s phone inside. He wonders if his plan will work.

In the kitchen, Kareem helps set the table and wonders when his father will notice that his phone is missing.

After dinner, Baba looks for his phone while Kareem folds laundry. Jameelah senses that something is wrong and tells Baba that Kareem knows where the phone is. Kareem stays silent until his father tells him that he needs to plan for Mama to return home with Jido. Leading his father to the garage, Kareem feels his father’s silent disappointment.

Cold from being in the freezer, the phone does not turn on. Baba is angry. Kareem knows that he will never get his own phone back.

Later, Kareem sits at the kitchen table while his father waits to see if the charger will resuscitate his phone. The atmosphere is tense.

Miraculously, the phone works. Baba tells him to stay there while he makes a call; Kareem overhears him yelling into the phone, even though he normally never raises his voice. Baba books a flight for the end of the month and then sits dejectedly in the kitchen.

Comparing this moment to the book Shooting Kabul, Kareem knows that everything is his fault. His mother will not be returning soon, and Baba received both a phone call and an email from his principal.

Friday morning is frigid. Mama and Jido remain in Syria because Baba’s delayed call caused him to miss the opportunity to fly them home sooner. Kareem has lost the privileges of watching football, going to the library, and eating ice cream.

Kareem is devastated that his mother cannot return.

NFL Fact #14 describes how multiple defensive players run at the quarterback during a blitz.

In school, Austin and Kareem are forced to sweep the cafeteria as punishment. Neither boy makes the spring football team. When Austin yells at him, Kareem suggests that Austin is not a good quarterback. Wondering if his father said that, Austin runs out.