With the secret out and some of their time given to Mika, Julie and Sam’s calls are shorter with worse reception. They can only talk for about 10 minutes before static takes over, and they must wait days between conversations. Julie blames herself for this change because she forced Sam to talk to Mika. She knows Mika’s uplifted spirit was worth the risk. Mika looks like herself again, and they spend plenty of time together.

Sam warns Julie they may only have a few calls left, which frightens her: “At least I haven’t said goodbye to Sam yet. And as long as I don’t we’ll stay connected, right? [...] I hate imagining my life without him” (153). She is glued to her phone, including when Oliver approaches her at the coffee shop. He talks about graduation, but Julie thinks of all her missed plans with Sam and how Reed College hasn’t responded yet. Oliver is excited that she might stay in the area since he’s attending the local university. She teases Oliver about his new shirt and cologne, and he admits he has a date with Jay.

At the bookstore, Tristan reminds her about the film festival, which is the next day.