Before class starts, Eve sits in the teachers’ lounge with her friend Shelby and tries to decompress with coffee. Nate has already left for his classroom after taking his coffee to go and giving Eve one of his routine kisses, a small moment that underscores the mechanical state of their marriage.

Shelby asks about Eve’s summer, and Eve keeps her answer brief, mentioning summer school. As Shelby talks about her relaxing summer on Cape Cod with her husband and young son, Eve privately compares Shelby’s life to her own. Shelby’s casual comment that Nate looks especially good leads Eve to think about Nate’s obsessive fitness habits and then to broader doubts about marriage, sex, and whether her unhappiness with Nate is normal.

The conversation shifts when Eve asks about Arthur Tuttle, the former math teacher who resigned after last year’s scandal. Eve remembers Art as kind, generous, and beloved at school, and she worries about how he, his wife Marsha, and their children are coping now that his reputation and career are damaged. Eve insists that what happened to Art was unfair and implies that he did nothing wrong.

Shelby responds more cautiously, saying they do not fully know the truth. Eve then reveals that Adeline Severson, the girl connected to the scandal, is in her sixth-period class. Shelby warns Eve to be careful because Addie is clearly troubled, and Eve admits that seeing Addie’s name on her roster gave her a bad feeling strong enough that she nearly asked to have the student removed. The chapter ends with Eve’s dread and bias firmly established before she has even met Addie in person.