Either/Or

Selin and Lakshmi decide to spend the intersession in Martha’s Vineyard. Selin suggests they stay in a bed and breakfast, but Lakshmi objects. She assures Selin that “someone” will ask the two to stay with them, and although Selin is dubious because they do not know anyone in Martha’s Vineyard, Lakshmi confidently garners an invitation from two complete strangers almost immediately after they arrive. Their hosts are a pair of Swedish twins who take them horseback riding and to a hot tub. Selin cannot decide if the experience is fun or depressing. When she gets back to campus and recounts the story of her trip to Svetlana, Svetlana remarks that she thinks that the Zoloft is working and that Selin seems more like herself again.

Selin signs up for a creative writing class and is disappointed by how bad everyone’s work is. They read Isaac Babel’s story “My First Goose,” and although there is much in the story that Selin relates to, she does not understand why the narrator had to kill the goose.