- Eight days into Pierre Anthon's stint in the plum tree, Agnes, Jon-Johan, Gerda, Ursula-Marie, and Sofie are walking to school.
- Agnes realizes for the first time how ugly the school is and has to fight the urge to go climb up in the tree with Pierre Anthon. She fights the urge because she knows she's supposed to stay in school and amount to something.
- Jon-Johan decides they have to do something once and for all to get Pierre Anthon down, so he sends a note around to all the kids in class—except for Henrik, who's the biology teacher's son and might tell on them.
- The kids meet on the soccer field after school and try to figure out what to do.
- Pretty Rosa suggests that Pierre Anthon will come down as soon as it gets cold enough, but Agnes says all he'll have to do is dress warmly and he can stay up there. She tells the other boys that the only thing to do is drag him down and beat him up.
- The boys say that won't work, because Pierre Anthon is the best fighter in school.
- Holy Karl suggests prayer and Otto pinches him until he screams. Welp, there goes that idea.
- Little Ingrid suggests telling Mr. Eskildsen, who apparently either hasn't noticed or doesn't care that Pierre Anthon is no longer in class, but the other kids veto that idea. They don't want the adults finding out that they've realized nothing matters, because then the school would make them talk to counselors and psychologists.
- Otto suggests pelting Pierre Anthon with stones, and the others seem to think that's a grand plan. The chapter ends with them discussing what kind of stones to use and where to get them.