In the weeks after Christmas, Perry assures his parents that he has quit all drug use, and Marion begins losing weight by smoking constantly and going on long walks. 

In anticipation of the annual Crossroads spring trip to Arizona, Russ gets a call from Keith Durochie, a Navajo elder who has been Russ’ primary contact with the area for decades. Keith tells Russ that his group should not go to one particular work site, Kitsillie, because of ongoing arguments on the reservation. Russ, however, plans to go to Kitsillie anyway.

Weeks later, Frances and Russ set a date for their long-awaited “experiment” with marijuana. When they meet one weekday morning and start smoking, Russ quickly gets paranoid while Frances becomes affectionate, wrapping her arms around him. Russ cannot shake his paranoia and decides he should leave, but as soon as the high starts to fade he berates himself for missing an opportunity to initiate something romantic with her.

The morning of the Arizona trip, Russ waits anxiously to see if Frances will show up. He is thrilled that she does, but then one of the teens tells him that Perry is in the bathroom, seemingly high on amphetamines.