The protagonist cannot tell her mother she is unemployed, fearing her mother would tell her to sue her former company, CGT, for unfair dismissal.
She lies to her mother, saying she is searching for a "new challenge" to avoid suspicion when she finds a new job.
Instead of going to work, she spends her days at the British Library, applying for jobs and adopting a routine involving reading, job applications, and writing.
The protagonist aspires to write and learns of a fiction development program by Carrow Books for underrepresented writers. The program includes the opportunity to work with a literary agent.
Brainstorming ideas for the program, the protagonist has several book concepts but struggles to develop them past initial notes and diagrams.
She writes a thousand-word piece about her emotions leaving her father, but decides it's too personal to submit.
An email arrives inviting her to an interview for a job at Orange Tree Publishing, a small press that she had previously not heard of.
The protagonist is moving out the next day, delayed to accommodate her brother James, who ends up missing a family dinner due to work commitments.
The protagonist's mother spent the evening dealing with contractors, leaving the protagonist and her father alone during dinner.
It is revealed that the protagonist's mother may not be completely dependable in caring for her father, and a caregiver, Dawoud, has been arranged to visit more frequently.
The protagonist has reservations about her mother's truthfulness regarding her frequent visits to 'various aunties.'
The chapter concludes with the protagonist reflecting on her last night at home, while her father falls asleep.