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He goes out into the courtyard, hoping to meet his new neighbour so that he can try once again to make friends with her. To that end, he takes with him something he thinks may interest her: a Rubik's cube that he has been unable to solve. He shows it to her, tells her what it should look like when it is solved and offers to let her keep it for a couple of days. She takes it, and two days later she returns it, having solved it. She introduces herself as Eli and tells him that she is twelve, more or less. He has no idea what she means.
As the days go by, the two children become friends. One day he stays after school to copy the Morse code from a book onto a piece of paper, with the intention of giving it to Eli so that the two of them can communicate by tapping messages in Morse code through the wall that separates their two apartments. Upon leaving the school building, he is accosted by the three bullies, who demand that he hand over the paper. When he refuses, they hit him with a switch, cutting his cheek. That night, he meets Eli on the jungle gym, gives her the paper and teaches her Morse code. Seeing the cut, she asks, "What happened to you?"
"Some classmates..."
"Oskar, you've never fought back. Hit them hard. Then they'll stop. I can help you."
A little later they exchange Morse code messages through the wall between their apartments, ending by wishing each other sweet dreams.
To be able to fight three bullies successfully, he is going to have to get a lot stronger. Accordingly, the next day he goes into the gym and asks to be allowed to lift weights. From then on, every Thursday evening he works out, gradually increasing the weight he can lift.
That evening Oskar buys some candy and offers it to Eli. She at first refuses, but when she sees how disappointed he is, she eats one piece - and promptly throws up. She apologizes and he hugs her. Then she asks him whether he likes her, and he says, "Yes, a lot."
One evening a few days later, Eli knocks on Oskar's window, he invites her in and she climbs into bed with him. He asks her to be his girlfriend. She asks whether they'll have to do "anything special". Not understanding what she means, he says "No". She agrees to be his girlfriend, and they spend the night in bed together, holding hands.