On the morning Ada and Nico start their new school, Millie helps them get ready and walks them to the bus stop in front of 13 Locust Street, expecting to meet the neighbor she suspects has been watching them.

Millie meets Janice, an older, severe-looking woman, and Janice’s son Spencer, who appears unusually small and frail for a third-grader. Millie is startled to realize Spencer is attached to Janice by a leash clipped to his backpack. Nico still strikes up an easy conversation with Spencer, and Millie suggests the boys might have a playdate.

Janice immediately interrogates Millie about Nico’s vaccinations and warns her to be careful around Suzette Lowell, adding that Millie should “especially watch” her “handsome husband,” Enzo. The bus arrives, and Janice unhooks Spencer’s leash so he can board. Nico is absorbed in his new friendship, while Ada clings to Millie, making Millie wish Enzo were there to comfort her.

After the bus leaves, Janice reacts with horror when Millie says the children will walk home from the same stop later, insisting predators can snatch a child instantly. Janice cites an eight-year-old who vanished “a few towns away,” emphasizing how quickly a mother can lose a child.

When Millie explains she and Enzo work and cannot always pick the kids up, Janice criticizes her for working and implies Millie’s children are deprived of the love of a constant, stay-at-home mother. Millie bites back her anger and walks away convinced Janice won’t be a friend, deepening Millie’s worry that moving to this cul-de-sac may have been a mistake.