- Back in New York, Virginia's parents meet her at the airport.
- Her dad likes the piercing, though her mom, as predicted, hates it.
- When they get back to the apartment, Byron calls out a welcome from the living room, where he's watching a Knicks game.
- Virginia doesn't show him her piercing—she doesn't care what he thinks any more—and instead she goes to the kitchen and eats two pieces of leftover pumpkin pie.
- The next day at school, Alyssa digs Virginia's piercing. It would seem Virginia's actually making a new friend.
- That afternoon, she's in the bathroom cleaning her piercing when her mom walks in.
- Dr. Shreves wants to have a talk about Virginia's rebellion.
- Virginia tells her mom she's finally having some fun in life; in other words, back off.
- A week later, her mom wants to take her shopping for something to wear to their friends holiday party.
- Virginia wants to go to Strawberry, a funky store with hip clothes, but Dr. Shreves says Strawberry's too cheap-looking and they're going to Saks.
- Once there, Virginia insists on trying on clothes from the juniors' section, but nothing fits. The saleslady suggests they go to the dreaded Salon Z.
- Virginia refuses, but Dr. Shreves says that with Virginia's body type, it's best to dress in layers.
- Virginia flips out, and asks her mom why she can't just say the word fat.
- Dr. Shreves says they're going home.
- Virginia goes back into the dressing room to change, where she kicks the wall, leaving an indentation and hurting her toe, then cries on the floor as the store plays Christmas carols.