In this chapter, the narrator tells us that he's back at work. He's got a message for Red: "Hey, what's up?" The narrator explains that Red used to be "indifferent" when it comes to love, but now she's met a "medical officer from reptile" . The narrator is all, "Gee, I wonder what you're up to." He tells Red that the discipline in the city is "a mess" with no sergeant Brown around. He also tells her that the day the frost fell, the city "managed to reclaim" the city. He says that the situation is like "shooting a shotgun at the bird trapped in the cage" , because "most of the non-commissioned officers are sickbed." The narrator then tells Red to "forget that woman" and to "do my best" as her lover. He explains that he always felt "confused" when people treated him and Red as lovers, but that he and Red went from being lovers to being comrades. He asks Red if she likes the medical officer, and she says she doesn't know. He then asks if he can't "stop thinking about her" for a moment, and he finally realizes that it's because he likes her.