Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Chapter 4 opens with a look into the life of Fatima Moss, who “talks to only one person on her way home from school” (61). Fatima keeps a list of all the things that have changed or stayed the same since last talking to that one person. The list includes the length of the school bell’s ring, her classmates’ antics, and various other details of her daily life. She observes her environment closely and chronicles them in her notebook. Fatima even measures how many steps it takes for her to move from destination to destination. She references the title of the novel and shares that, even when reaching a one-way street, “I still look both ways” (64). In her list, Fatima wonders “if all the houses are empty like mine” (65).

Fatima meets Benni Austin, an odd older woman, at their usual spot. Benni likes to sing “old songs like they’re new songs” (66). Fatima recounts her first meeting with Benni on her first day walking to school. On this first day, as Fatima attempts to follow her parents’ “strict instructions on what to do and which way to go” (66), she falls over a crack in the sidewalk and lands hard on the pavement.