- Zoey describes her stepfather (nicknamed the step-loser), John Heffer, as a normal-looking guy. But she's never liked him, because he fakes being a good guy.
- John reams Zoey out for her bad behavior, saying she caused this Satanic thing to happen to her, so she tries to give him the info she learned in her biology class, which is that a junk strand in some teenagers' DNA causes them to Change into vampyres.
- Zoey's mom freaks out about what the neighbors will think, and John says that they'll call a prayer meeting, and also the family shrink, Dr. Asher.
- Zoey tries to talk sense into them: Her coughing is pretty bad right now, and it'll just get worse until she arrives at the House of Night.
- But they don't seem to care about how she feels. Her mom asks her to stay the night, and Zoey pretends to agree to it.
- So Zoey goes to lie down, secretly intending to sneak out; her stepfather tells her to find some powder to cover that thing on her forehead.
- As Zoey goes back to her room, she promises to remember how terrible her family's made her feel, so that no matter what happens to her, nothing will feel worse than being stuck at home.