The next day, Addie enters Eve Bennett’s classroom expecting severe punishment for cheating. Seeing how frightened and overwhelmed Addie is, Eve feels a brief sympathy and reflects that she may have failed to offer enough academic help earlier, especially compared with how she has supported other struggling students.

When class ends, Eve calls Addie to her desk and tells her she has decided not to report the cheating to Principal Higgins. Instead, Eve gives Addie a zero on the midterm, a penalty serious enough to endanger Addie’s chances of passing the class.

To balance that punishment, Eve gives Addie a list of peer tutors and offers one path to recovery: if Addie raises her grades significantly by the final exam, Eve will drop the midterm grade. Addie reacts with visible relief and gratitude, promising that she will not cheat again and insisting she is changing her behavior.

Although Eve accepts Addie’s promise, Eve does not soften emotionally toward her. Eve admits to herself that she would have taken Addie to the principal if Nate had not persuaded her the night before that Addie acted out of desperation rather than premeditation, and Eve ends the scene still distrustful of Addie despite sparing her.