There’s a curfew on campus, but Elliot sneaks out of his dorm to meet Regan at the fountain. This makes him uncomfortable because he’s not used to breaking rules. Once, Regan pushed Elliot into this fountain, which ruined his mood that day. Elliot starts to worry that Regan won’t show up or that she’s going to get him in trouble, but then she arrives.

The area where the fountain is located lost power recently. The security cameras there aren’t working, so Regan and Elliot can speak freely. Regan reads the Cocoon for the first time. Elliot is mad at the future version of Regan for putting his name on the Cocoon and implicating him. He’s also disappointed that the present version of Regan doesn’t understand the letter any better than he does and can’t answer any of his questions. Elliot is reluctant to take the letter seriously because he wants to advance to the next level in school, and he can’t imagine what sort of consequences this could cause. Regan, on the other hand, takes the letter very seriously because she doesn’t care if Elliot advances or not. She also doesn’t want to risk the lives of her mom or teachers, even though she doesn’t have friends.