- Nooria and Mother are cleaning, which they do a lot since there isn't much else for them to fill their time with.
- They need Parvana to fetch some water because the tank is empty, which is pretty bad news as far as Parvana is concerned since it means six trips with the water bucket to the water tap.
- Nooria, in classic big sister fashion, tells Parvana she should have done it yesterday when she was first asked to.
- Though Nooria annoys Parvana sometimes, Parvana doesn't think she's all bad, and she envies her sister's long, thick hair. Parvana's is "thin and stringy" (2.8).
- Parvana resents that she is the only one that gets water for the family—or she resents it today, anyway; other times she feels proud. It is dangerous to go anywhere without a man.
- When Parvana finally sits down, she compliments Maryam on her drawing, but before she gets too comfortable, Nooria and Mother say they need help cleaning.
- Parvana looks around the tiny room (2.22) her family lives in—most of their stuff has been destroyed by bombs or stolen.
- The floors used to be covered by lovely Afghan carpets, but now the floors are just cement.
- It isn't just their home and belongings that have been destroyed by the Taliban, though—their social lives have been crushed too, and they can't even talk to other people in the building because, according to Father, the Taliban encourages people to spy on each other.
- Parvana feels so lonely. Father has his books, while Nooria and Mother keep each other company, but she feels like she has no one.
- And to make matters worse, Mother wants to sell her "good shalwar kameez" (2.29); Parvana begs her mother not to.
- Mother tells her she has no say in the matter though, plus it's not like she can go anywhere worthy of the outfit.
- Parvana asks why they can't sell some of Nooria's clothes instead (just because these are desperate times doesn't mean Parvana's not still a pesky kid sister), but the answer is simple: Nooria will need them when she is married.
- Parvana, like Mr. T, pities the fool who will marry Nooria.
- Mother places Hossain's clothes in the cupboard, and as she does, she looks sad—Hossain, the eldest child and son, was killed by a land mine when he was fourteen. No one in the family talks about him though, because the memory is too painful.
- Nooria has filled Parvana on some details about Hossain's life, though, and apparently he liked to play games and really liked to play with his little sister, Parvana. Aw… but also super sad, right?
- Pitying Mother, Parvana helps her with dinner.
- The meal is served Afghan-style, meaning the family gathers around a plastic cloth spread on the floor.
- At the end of the meal, Nooria and Mother simultaneously start to clean up—it's like they share a "secret signal" (2.26), but Parvana has no idea what it is.
- Ali rests on Mother's lap; Father rests too.
- After his rest, Father changes into his "white shalwar kameez" (2.48), and Parvana thinks he looks handsome with his beard combed. (The Taliban says all men must grow beards.)
- Now it's story time. Yay.
- Father tells a tale about the British invading Afghanistan in 1880; the Afghans fought, but the British wouldn't leave.
- Then, a very young girl named Malali ran out in the street, took off her veil, and waved it as a flag. She encouraged her countrymen to keep fighting, and keep fighting they did, all the way to victory.
- The moral of the story? The women of Afghanistan are brave, and they've inherited "the courage of Malali" (2.61).
- Nooria wonders how they can be brave though, when they can't even leave their apartments.
- Father explains there are different types of battles, and Mother chimes in, "Including the battle with the supper dishes" (2.64), which everyone chuckles about…
- … until Taliban soldiers barge through their door.
- They soldiers grab Father and search the apartment; Nooria is hiding, and the little ones are screaming.
- The Talibs don't like foreign ideas, and they aren't happy that Father was educated in England—as they try to take him away, Mother tries to stop the soldiers, but one of them hits her on the head with a rifle.
- In desperation, Parvana grab Father by his waist as he yells, "Take care of the others, my Malali" (2.78)—and then Parvana watches as soldiers drag her father down the steps, ripping his shalwar kameez.
- Inside their apartment, soldiers search the cupboards, throwing the few belongings they have left onto the floor.
- Remembering Father's secret stash of books, Parvana attacks the soldiers and they hit her on the back with their sticks.
- Finally the soldiers leave.
- Maryam strokes Parvana's hair and the family sits, shocked by what's just happened.