Patch spends the day outside in Monta Clare as businesses close and teenagers gather for the night. He carries Misty’s invitation in his pocket, already regretting the promise he made to attend her party, and sits with his bag near the Town Clerk’s Office until darkness falls.

As Patch waits, he watches other boys and girls heading toward the church hall, dressed up and excited in ways that make him feel separate from them. He carries a small boxed gift for Misty: a snow globe he bought for a dollar after admiring it night after night while sleeping in Sammy’s studio. The fragile town inside the globe reflects both Patch’s care and his sense that even this small purchase was a sacrifice.

When Patch finally enters the hall, he sees streamers, balloons, a glitter ball, and groups of girls dancing together. The scene makes Patch think about everything he has missed and about what Grace will never get to experience. Before Patch can make it through the crowd, Chuck’s group surrounds him, mocks his clothes and appearance, blocks his way, and shoves him to the ground.

The cruelty escalates when someone yanks off Patch’s eye patch, exposing him in the most vulnerable way possible. The laughter stops only after Patch looks up at them, and the eye patch is thrown back to him. Then the gift box is hurled down, and the snow globe shatters; left kneeling on the floor after the others walk away, Patch longs to return to darkness and to Grace, showing how badly this attempt to reconnect with other people has failed.