Bel and Carter leave for school under a police escort because reporters have gathered outside number 33. Journalists shout questions about Rachel’s return and whether Bel fears Rachel’s abductor, but Bel privately dismisses the idea that the abductor exists. Once the reporters fall back, Carter asks about the mall trip and mentions online dashcam footage of Rachel walking along the highway near Santa’s Village, which unsettles Bel because it supports part of Rachel’s story.

Bel tentatively tells Carter that Rachel has said things that do not add up. Carter responds that Bel may be looking for reasons to reject Rachel and urges Bel to give her mother a chance. Bel feels misunderstood and hurt, but the tension eases into playful roughhousing, showing that Carter still knows how to pull Bel back from anger even when Carter disagrees with her.

At school, Bel is immediately surrounded by stares, whispers, and questions about Rachel. In homeroom, Mr. Tripp privately asks how Rachel is and offers to talk if Bel needs support, but Bel senses that even her teacher has been caught up in the school’s fascination with Rachel. Bel is relieved to have the school day as a temporary escape from her mother.

That escape fails when Rachel appears outside school at dismissal, surrounded by excited teachers and administrators. Principal Wheeler jokes about hiring her back, and Rachel greets former colleagues, including Julian Tripp, whom she thanks for finding baby Annabel years earlier. Rachel collects their phone numbers, explaining that she has a new phone and that Bel will help set it up.

Rachel then joins Bel and Carter and describes a busy day of police interviews, a psychiatric appointment, errands to restore her documents and accounts, coffee with her mother, and a meeting with the documentary crew. Rachel reveals that she has bought a secondhand silver Ford Escape and has come to pick the girls up because she has never had the chance before. Bel feels trapped by the expectation to get into the car, especially because choosing the front seat, back seat, or any seat would all feel like accepting Rachel’s role in her life.

Bel lies that she has an after-school biology project and refuses the ride. Carter recognizes the lie but gets into the front seat with Rachel, trying to smooth over the awkwardness. Bel watches them drive away and feels uneasy about leaving Carter alone with Rachel, then realizes that home no longer feels safe or hers, Carter is gone, her father is at work, and she has almost no one to turn to except a possible unnamed someone.