In the cafeteria, Addie Severson sits alone until Kenzie deliberately knocks her lunch tray to the floor and pretends it was an accident. While Addie crouches to clean up the spilled chili, Kenzie grabs a paper from Addie’s notebook and starts reading it. Addie panics because the paper is a poem Nathaniel Bennett wrote for her, so she snatches it back and lies that she copied it from a book.

After Kenzie leaves laughing with her friends, Addie fixates on the poem and the meaning she has attached to it. She notices a chili stain on the page and is upset because the physical paper feels precious to her as proof of Nathaniel’s feelings. Addie then cleans the mess herself, gets back in line, and tries to buy a replacement lunch.

Addie discovers she only has one dollar while the sandwich costs two, and the lunch lady refuses to let her pay later. Hungry and close to tears, Addie is helped by Hudson, who quietly pays the extra dollar and asks if she is okay. Addie thanks Hudson but keeps emotional distance because she cannot share her secret relationship with Nathaniel, even though Hudson had once been her best friend.

Addie rushes to math class hoping to eat before the bell, but Mrs. Bennett stops her and orders her to put the sandwich away. Because Addie fears more trouble in a class she is already close to failing, she obeys and goes hungry. The incident intensifies Addie’s bitterness toward Eve Bennett, and Addie reinforces her belief that Eve does not deserve Nathaniel, especially after remembering his complaints about his marriage and his claim that Eve would never let him go.