In what way does Abdel-Fattah build suspense in connection with the novel's main conflict at the end of Chapter 1?

At the end of Chapter 1, Amal discusses the high stakes she feels she will be facing when she returns for her "first day of term three at McCleans" (6) in four days when winter break is over. Because she has decided to wear the hijab on a full-time basis and she knows that Islamophobia does exist at her school, she states that her "Jennifer Aniston experience couldn't have come at a worse time" (6) but that she still feels determined to follow through with her decision.