Linus wakes to a peaceful morning on Marsyas before Chauncey startles him from beneath the bed, summoning him to breakfast. Later, Linus drafts his first case report, criticizing the redacted files, noting the house’s lived-in order, and recording glimpses of the children’s rooms. He remarks on Sal’s fear, Lucy’s unnerving confidence, Zoe’s unexpected presence, and Arthur’s uncanny attentiveness amid the seeming chaos.

In the parlor-turned-classroom, Arthur runs “Expressing Yourself.” Talia warns of an intruder in a pointed tale, Theodore’s limerick delights, Phee speaks of nurturing a tree, and Chauncey continues his bellhop history. Lucy performs a theatrical threat of apocalypse, earning Arthur’s gentle critique. At Arthur’s urging—and with encouragement from everyone—Sal reads a trembling poem comparing himself to fragile paper, which moves the class and wins applause before they groan into algebra.

After lunch, Zoe intercepts Linus and leads him through the woods to the beach. There, a crude raft bears a parchment: “LEAVE. WE DON’T WANT YOUR KIND HERE,” the third such message from the village. Zoe hasn’t told Arthur; she and Linus discuss prejudice and the separation of magical children from others, and Zoe makes clear she would stop any violent intruder.

Rejecting passivity, Linus proposes a reply. He writes “NO, THANK YOU” on the reverse, and together they launch the raft back toward the mainland. Linus’s shoes are soaked, but he feels unexpectedly lighter and seen, his perspective shifting as the reality of outside hostility and the strength of Marsyas’s protectors come into sharper focus.