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Oskar's fear of having to take on three boys at once, even with his rod, overcomes his desire to wreak revenge on his tormentors and impress Eli. Dropping his rod to avoid being slowed down, he skates at top speed towards his other classmates, with Conny and his two sidekicks in hot pursuit. "Help me!" he pleads. "They're going to push me into the hole in the ice!"
But his other classmates, fearful of becoming the bullies' next victims, grab Oskar, and one of them yells, "We got 'im for ya, Conny!"
"Thanks, pal! We'll take over from here," says Conny, and he and his two friends drag Oskar towards the hole, followed by the rest of the class. Everyone laughs and cheers when they push him in, and they continue to mock him as he pulls himself out of the icy water and leaves the skating party in tears.
That night, he takes Eli into the basement of the apartment building and tells her his tale of woe, expecting her to be sympathetic. Instead she sneers, "I was hoping you'd have some guts. I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore. I don't even want to be your friend anymore." With that, she turns on her heel and walks swiftly away. All his further attempts to revive their friendship are contemptuously rebuffed. After a few days, he stops hearing any noises coming through the wall. From the outside, he sees that the windows of Eli's apartment are no longer covered over. Apparently, she and her father have moved away. He regrets that he has lost any opportunity to revive their relationship, but is relieved that at least she will no longer humiliate him. Soon thereafter, he notices that there are no more newspaper articles about murders. This too is a source of relief for him: he no longer has any reason to fear being murdered.