Addie describes how she usually avoids much effort in gym, but she still dreads the mandatory showers that follow class. Because she feels insecure about her body, the locker room is one of the places where she feels most exposed.

While Addie changes, Kenzie Montgomery and another girl giggle at her and mock her for not shaving her legs. The taunt reinforces what Addie has already been living with for two weeks: most students still avoid her unless they want to laugh at her. Addie tries to ignore Kenzie, rushes through the shower, and leaves feeling humiliated.

Addie tells herself that the main thing sustaining her is English with Mr. Bennett, which is also the last class of the day. She feels encouraged by him in a way she does not feel in trig with Mrs. Bennett, where she senses constant disappointment. Addie also insists to herself that her feelings about Mr. Bennett are different from what happened with Mr. Tuttle, even as she dwells on Mr. Bennett's clothes, habits, and manner.

In English, Mr. Bennett returns the class poems after making a light joke about Austin Vargas's poem. Addie is eager for his reaction because her poem is deeply personal and she worked hard on it. But when Mr. Bennett reaches her desk, he places her poem face down instead of face up like everyone else's. Addie turns it over and sees his note in red ink: See me after class. The message immediately fills her with dread, and she worries that he found the poem troubling or thinks she copied it.