At lunch in the staff cafeteria, Eve watches Nate sit with Ed Rice and Hailey, a new French teacher who is young, attractive, and openly familiar with him. Because Eve already feels neglected in her marriage and suspects Nate may be unfaithful, Hailey’s hand on Nate’s arm intensifies Eve’s jealousy and fear. Shelby dismisses Eve’s concern, but Eve struggles to believe Nate’s distance and their nearly nonexistent sex life are innocent.

When lunch ends, Eve acts on that jealousy. Instead of parting from Nate as usual, she walks directly to him, grabs his arm, and then pulls him into an unusually passionate kiss where others can see. Eve’s goal is less affection than warning: she wants Hailey to know Nate is married. Nate smiles afterward, but Eve can tell he is not truly pleased.

Back upstairs, Eve is stopped by Jasmine Owens, a strong former student who asks for a college recommendation letter and says Eve inspired her to become a math teacher. The exchange gives Eve a needed emotional lift and reminds her that she is a capable, valued teacher even if she lacks Nate’s easy charisma. That renewed steadiness helps her begin class and firmly reorganize the students’ seating.

As Eve calls the roll, she reaches the name she has been dreading: Adeline Severson. Addie appears quiet, plain, and almost invisible, introducing herself by her preferred nickname. Eve reflects that her hostility toward Addie comes from Eve’s loyalty to Arthur Tuttle, whose life Eve believes Addie ruined. But Eve then recognizes the larger danger: Addie is not only in Eve’s class, but also in Nate’s, creating a new point of tension between Eve’s resentment, the old scandal, and her troubled marriage.