At the next All-City Band rehearsal, Mr. Watras announces a new rule that high school students will have to perform community service hours every semester to graduate, starting immediately. This new requirement means that a lot of band members will have to drop out of All-City to have time to do the community service hours. During the rehearsal, Steven notices that Renee and Annette are whispering together in the audience, which is unusual because they do not usually hang out. After the rehearsal, Annette announces that she and Renee have devised a plan for everyone to remain in All-City Band and get their community service hours by turning the final concert into a fundraiser to raise money to cover Jeffrey’s medical bills. If they charge $15 a ticket, hold a bake sale, and sell advertising space in the concert program, they can raise as much as $20,750. Mr. Watras agrees to the plan. However, when Steven tells his parents about the benefit concert, his parents, especially his dad, are against the idea because they do not want to accept charity. During the argument, his mom begins to feel sick and goes to throw up.