The chapter opens with a discussion of the meaning of having a childhood friend. The narrator asks the reader if he understands the reasoning behind living with such a friend. He asks if the reader has reached the point where he can no longer live with the friend he grew up with. The reader responds that he does not understand the reason for living with a friend who is not his own age. He then asks the narrator if he has reached such a point. The man replies that he has, and that the reason is that the friend has a crush on him. When the narrator asks if this is true, the man responds that it is, and the man then asks if it is true that his friend brought a bento to the office that was made by the friend's daughter. The teacher responds that the bento is indeed made by his daughter, but that the girl is a friend of the man's. The boy replies that this is not true and that he is surprised that the teacher would bring such a thing to his office. The girl, he says, is a "dump" and that she has no crush on the man. He tells the boy that he should not worry about the rumors that have been circulating about his bento.