As Maureen Alvorson’s body was being cremated in Back Half, Avery Dixon approached Stevie Whipple in the Front Half cafeteria and insisted he come to the playground for something important. They passed Frieda Brown, who was quietly drawing smiling cartoon figures in chalk near the basketball hoop and did not engage with them.

At the chainlink fence, Avery showed Stevie a trench dug beneath it. Stevie wondered if an animal had made it and suggested Avery could squeeze through to escape. Avery dismissed the idea publicly and said they needed to fill it in immediately, correcting Stevie’s pronunciation of “escape.” Privately, Avery thought of Luke Ellis’s escape and that he had lost telepathic contact with Luke.

The boys knelt and began pushing dirt back into the trench by hand, working in the heat until they sweated. Their effort was interrupted by Gladys, who demanded to see what they were doing. When Avery and Stevie did not move, Gladys kicked Avery in the side, then kicked Stevie on the shoulder when he protested.

Gladys examined the partially refilled trench and questioned Frieda Brown, who denied making it without looking up from her drawings. Gladys then radioed Trevor Stackhouse, reporting something on the playground that needed his immediate attention, acknowledging it might be nothing but that she did not like it.