It is the Pepsi-Max girls policing Sana’s own religion while simultaneously exiling her for it. It is also the Pepsi-Max girls assuming that the Balloon Squad punched Isak because he is gay. In other words: racism is not always major aggressions.
And, because racism is a consistent part of Sana’s existence as a Muslim in a majority non-Muslim country, this news is wrapped up in the kind of microaggressions that demonstrate how racism often manifests. Perhaps, Sana could have dealt with this blow if she hadn’t just seen one of the Balloon Squad-ers punch Isak or had an angry and devastated Noora ask her if she knew about William’s new girlfriend. It’s a classic hitting her when she’s down moment.
Following some other terrible encounters, Sana overhears some of the Pepsi-Max girls talking about how naive Sana is for believing that the Pepsi-Max girls would actually let her stay on the bus (let alone lead it) when all they needed was her temporary approval in order to secure the bus purchase. Of course, as we find out later, Sana should have been worried.
