Slay

The narrative shifts to Beijing. A business owner named Maurice Belrose returns to his hotel after a meeting with a manufacturer. Two hotel employees offer him a massage, which he politely declines because he doesn’t feel comfortable being alone with two Chinese women as a Black man. One of the women asks if she can take a picture with him, and she wears an expression like that of “a superfan asking a celebrity for an autograph” (182). Maurice receives this request at least once on each of his trips to China as though he’s “a damn circus act” (182). He misses his wife, Sylvie, but doesn’t want to bother her because it’s nighttime in Paris. Maurice dozes off and then logs into SLAY to kill some time before his flight home. His character is Spade, the champion of the Rain Forest region. He challenges a character named LitMus to a duel.

The narrative moves back to Bellevue. On Sunday morning, Kiera remembers that she and Harper have a math test on Monday, and she feels guilty for ignoring her best friend the past few days. Harper knows that something is bothering Kiera but doesn’t pry, apologizing for her brother’s behavior, and all but begging Kiera to come over to her house so they can spend some time together.