52 pages • 1 hour read
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains mention of child loss.
A 26-year-old woman named Lucy wakes up to water dripping on her bed from the ceiling above; the upstairs neighbor, Mr. Finkley, is taking a bath, even though he has been warned not to because of the existing leakage problem. Lucy has three roommates: Julian, whose girlfriend Betty is always around; Emily, who regularly has one-night stands; and Zoya, one of Lucy’s best friends. Waiting for her turn in the bathroom, Lucy encounters Ezekiel, Emily’s guest, Julian’s beard clippings in the sink, and Betty’s batch of bone broth all over the kitchen. When it’s finally her turn to get in the shower, there are bones from the broth there. Lucy is frustrated by her living situation. Both the run-down state of the apartment itself and the frustrating roommates bother her. When she finds out that Zoya, who recently took a higher-paying job, is leaving, Lucy feels even worse.
Lucy manages to get ready for her first day as a junior researcher at her TV company, a position that she hopes will allow her to give input and be more involved in the planning and production process. Zoya promises to meet her for drinks after work to celebrate.