At the beginning of the chapter, we are introduced to the protagonist, who is a student at a girls' school in India. He is in the middle of a swimming class with his friend, Suluwara, and he is worried about his friend's attentions. He worries that his friend is trying to flirt with another girl, but he is also worried about the fact that he himself is staring at her. He wonders if his friend was looking at him, and wonders if he would have been able to avoid his friend if he had not been staring at his friend. He also wonders whether his friend has been looking at another girl in the class, and whether he would be able to hide his glances from her. At this point, the protagonist realizes that he is looking at a girl he does not recognize. He realizes that the girl he recognizes is a girl of the same class as his friend and that she is also staring at him. He decides that it is better for him to say hi to her rather than to stare at her, because she will know that he has been staring and will be creeped out by her presence. The protagonist also realizes that his friends have been flirting with each other, and that they are aware of each other's presence.