While talking with his mom, who he tries to get up to speed about Sarah’s condition, Eric begins to recall how he and Sarah made friends with the bully, Dale Thornton. Despite their smear piece written about him, Dale, Eric and Sarah eventually came to see that they had a common enemy, Mr. Mautz. The principal was eager to silence Sarah and Eric and to catch Dale smoking cigarettes or violating another school rules. Their common enemy made them allies in Sarah’s mind, so they needed to make peace.

On his way to Contemporary American Thought class, Eric thinks back with amusement to the way Sarah got Dale onboard with their newspaper. He is thinking about this as he hurries into class and almost walks straight into Jody Mueller, the girlfriend of Mark Brittian. Eric has a secret crush on Jody but his tension with Mark makes it impossible for them to even talk. During class, he casts glances her way as his peers discuss organized religion and prayer in schools. Eric is taken aback when Ellerby declares to the class at the end of the period that he feels ashamed of himself, deeply ashamed of how little kindness he showed