Legend

June doesn’t reveal her name, so Day refers to her as “the Girl.” He is annoyed that she defeated Kaede because “Kaede’s defeat cost [him] a thousand Notes” (110), but since the girl saved Tess, he feels indebted to her. Day and Tess clean June’s wound, and the three hide in an abandoned library for the night. Day observes that the Girl is “pretty in a way that distracts [him]” (112), and he tries to learn more about her. June claims to be from another sector and says she learned how to fight by watching the military cadets train. When June falls asleep, Day leaves to see his family, and he leaves sea daisies for his mother and money. He peeks into the window and hears John and his mother discussing Eden’s condition, and when Day sees Eden, “His skin looks oily with sweat. The color of it is strange too,” and Day “[doesn’t] remember other plagues with symptoms like that” (116).

Day takes in the sight of his childhood home, and he is “overwhelmed with missing [his mother]” (118). As he leaves, he notices a symbol inscribed in the dirt of his family’s yard: the number 2544, just like on the bank of the lake. He concludes that “there’s probably a whole system of pipes down there, something that leads all the way out to the lake” (118). He stares at the number for a while, then leaves again to return to Tess and the Girl.

The next morning, June wakes up and continues to observe Day. Although she knows “he went somewhere last night” (120), she still doesn’t know who the boy is. She realizes her microphone has been turned off from the night before, so she walks away to check in with Thomas. Thomas scolds her for being out of reach for so long, and she explains that she was rescued from the Skiz fight by this boy. Thomas asks if June thinks the boy might be Day but adds, "Day doesn’t seem like the kind of boy who goes around saving people” (123). June spends the whole day with Day and Tess, and she notices that Day “favors his left leg,” and he has “some sort of wound on his upper arm that stretches painfully” (124) when he reaches for things. She never learns his name, and Tess is careful not to reveal it. June begins to relax around Tess and Day, and she says that “these two have a strange way of making [her] lose [her] composure” (126). That night, Day explains that he got his leg wound long ago and helps change the bandages on June’s stab wound. They draw closer to one another, and “for an instant, [June] think[s] he might kiss [her]” (130). However, Day finishes bandaging her wound, and they call it a night. He offers to let her stay with them a little longer, and although June doesn’t want to leave, she says that she prefers to work alone and will likely leave the next day.

The next morning, Day confesses that he “almost kissed the Girl last night” (133), and although Day has a long track record of flirting and kissing other girls, he senses that his feelings for the Girl are stronger and different. He is impressed by how observant she is and how she isn’t “cynical or jaded” (133) like most people on the streets. He even comments that he and the Girl are similar because “the streets haven’t broken her. They’ve made her stronger instead. Like me” (133). Day also finds himself struggling to concentrate on getting a plague cure for Eden. Instead, he begins to fantasize about sabotaging the Republic and its military. But inevitably, “[he] helplessly drift[s] back to thinking about [June]” (134).

That night, June and Day share a bottle of nectar wine that Day stole earlier in the day. June asks why Day is so concerned with getting money, and she adds that “it seems like [Day’s] in an awful hurry to stock up” (136). He deflects her question by simply saying that money can buy happiness and relief, and he adds that “[June’s] probably lived on the streets as long as [he] [has]” (136), so she should understand the importance of money.

He admits that June is “very attractive” (137), and June replies that he is, too. Day kisses June, and sparks fly, but when they separate, “neither of [them] can quite grasp what just happened” (138). As Day lays down to go to sleep, June watches as he “grabs at something around his neck,” but she sees “nothing hanging around it” (138). June then realizes that the boy was reaching for a necklace that used to be around his neck, and she remembers Day’s pendant in her pocket. June realizes that this boy is Day.