Betty offers to accompany Liz up to the OD, warning her that people can become obsessed with the practice. Liz declines and takes an elevator to the deck, where an attendant named Esther explains the OD’s rates and hours. Using a pair of binoculars, Liz checks in on her family; her parents seem exhausted and are impatient with her brother Alvy’s attempts to get their attention. Next, Liz watches Zooey, who is on the phone debating whether she still wants to go to prom. After the money Betty has given her runs out, Liz returns to the car and informs her grandmother that she’s going to need more eternims.

Reluctantly, Betty begins providing Liz with twenty-four eternims a day (enough for two hours of observation), hoping that doing so will help Liz adjust. Liz tends to space the time out over the course of each day, and consequently spends most of her time at the OD.

After about a month, when Liz shows no signs of making friends or choosing an avocation, Betty puts her foot down and tells her they’re going to the beach. Here, they visit a souvenir shop, where Betty insists on buying something for Liz; Liz chooses some post cards and a snow globe featuring the SS Nile, which begins to leak when she shakes it.