Under the Udala Trees

Rumors spread about a boy visiting the dorms and impregnating a girl. Ijeoma fears they are about her roommate, but they are about a girl named Ozioma. The headmistress holds Ozioma up as a bad example and warns the others not to follow.

The Girls’ Academy requires students attend church services and devotionals. Amina attends, despite being Muslim. After one Sunday service, Amina and Ijeoma go to the river, hold hands, and twirl with skirts flying up.

After falling down from twirling, Amina asks Ijeoma to touch her near the top of her yellow dress. Quickly, Amina becomes self-conscious and pulls away. However, Amina leads Ijeoma back to her dorm room (her roommate is away for the weekend), and they lie in bed, watching “each other by the light of the moon” and falling “asleep that way” (155).

Amina wakes from a dream of hailstones, fire, and children marching. Ijeoma remarks that it sounds Biblical, but they are not the fallen children. After a kiss, Amina gets out of bed, stands in the doorway, and walks out into the cold air.