When the chapter opens, the narrator tells us that he's eighteen years old and wants to try his hand at drinking. He's worried that his girlfriend, Little Em'ly, is too drunk to take care of herself. He tells her that she's the one who's too drunk, and he'll get her drunk so that she won't be able to protect him. He also tells her to get a loan from the club so that he can go out and get drunk. He asks her if she'd like to kiss him, and she says no, but that she was too rash. She tells him that she always thought the rumors about her were fake, but now she thinks it's her fault that they were false. She asks if she can prove it to other girls, but she can't, because she has to say it publicly.