In this chapter, the narrator tells us that he's going to head out into the cold, clear winter ocean to practice rowing. He's worried that Miss Alicia will scold him if he doesn't stop practicing. He thinks that she's a perfect human being, and that she scolds him even when he scolds her. He wonders if she'd ever yell at him before, and he wonders if it's possible that she never gets angry at him or yells at anyone at all. He also wonders if he'll be able to help a little bit, too, if he splashes something into the water. The rope anchoring was cut, and the rope has been untied. The narrator wonders if this is the first time they've ever spoken alone, and wonders if they'll ever get angry at each other. He asks if she ever gets angry, and she says she never does. He then asks if he can give candy to a little girl at the table. She's very happy, he says, and it took him a long time to deliver it. He wants to know why she didn't scold him when he went into the wrong place, or when he took the wrong route. He remembers that teaching and learning are very similar.