That day, after school, the group calls for an emergency meeting of the Forum. Bobby is working at the department store and is waiting for his shift to end so he can go to the Candy Kitchen. While he works, Bobby reveals that he has this part-time job in order to help out his father, who doesn’t make much money. Joe arrives at the department store and teases Bobby for the pattern on his tie, which Joe thinks looks like amoebas. Bobby tells Joe it’s paisley.

After a while, Bobby is allowed to take a break, and he meets up with Joe and Pam at the cosmetics counter. Bobby thinks Pam is beautiful, and as he speaks with her, he thinks to himself, “Dear God, give me the strength to get through the next ten minutes without dissolving into a pool of lustful preteen sweat” (44). Bobby asks Pam what she thinks of his boss, Mr. Kellerman. Pam describes Mr. Kellerman as “‘kind of a sad character’” (44), adding that he is a middle-aged man who still lives with his mother. However, she reflects that “‘if somebody’s a grouch, it’s usually because they’re not happy.