Jane learns about the petition shortly before she is supposed to leave for Madeline’s first book club meeting. Ziggy answers Jane’s ringing mobile and is awed to discover that his teacher, Miss Barnes, is calling. Jane immediately fears that Ziggy may have been accused of another incident, though Amabella was not at school that day.

Miss Barnes tells Jane that a petition is circulating to demand Ziggy’s suspension. Miss Barnes stresses that she is angry about it, expects Mrs. Lipmann will be angry too, and insists the petition will not influence the school’s handling of the situation.

Jane is shaken because there is still no proof that Ziggy hurt Amabella. Miss Barnes admits that the situation baffles her: from her observations, Ziggy and Amabella seem like friends, and Miss Barnes has affection for both children. Miss Barnes also reveals her own strain as a teacher trying to monitor a demanding classroom, though she quickly recognizes that she is speaking too emotionally and unprofessionally.

Jane finds comfort in Miss Barnes’s support, but the call does not provide a solution. Miss Barnes promises the school will handle the matter, yet Jane senses that Miss Barnes is as uncertain as everyone else.

After the call, Jane goes to Ziggy’s bedroom and finds him crying. Ziggy has understood enough to ask whether nobody is allowed to play with him anymore, showing that the adults’ suspicions and social punishment are now directly wounding him.

In the later police-interview-style comments, Thea criticizes Jane and says Jane was drunk at trivia night, while Gabrielle and Samantha suggest many parents were drinking and that the evening had seemed enjoyable before everything fell apart.