Elliot is upset that he’s not advancing to the next level and even more upset that he has to be partners with Regan in the new program. He starts packing, and Regan visits to discuss the Cocoon. Elliot remembers the entire list of bullet points verbatim, so he edits the recreated list that Regan attempted to make. Neither kid is happy to be “stuck” together as partners, but they don’t seem to think they have much choice. They hope the remaining bullet points will guide them toward success.

Regan has always wanted to live in a dorm like the other Academy students, so she’s excited to move out of her mother’s house and into student housing. She hopes that living in a dorm will increase her chances of making friends in the new program. She understands why the partner program was a secret when it was still uncertain whether the program would become permanent. However, she doesn’t understand why it’s still a secret. Her mom says it’s due to “security reasons” (162); if the Academy is ever attacked, the attackers might not know about the other program or its location, so there will still be some surviving Glitchers-in-training.

The partner program is on a different island about 10 minutes away.