- It's Bart's first day volunteering at the hospital. He's catching a ride with Fat Freddie, the bus driver, and he's not too excited about it.
- But Fat Freddie is in a great mood. His nephew spent a long time in the hospital, so he thinks Bart's volunteering is a good thing.
- Bart meets Mrs. Straus in her office. As they walk through the hospital corridors, Bart seems anxious—but at the same time, he relates to the people who seem upset.
- Feeling overwhelmed, Bart starts to feel sick so he and Mrs. Straus stop for a soda in a waiting room until he feels better.
- First stop, Rámon's room. This first visit doesn't go terribly well. Bart sort of talks to himself for ten minutes, and Rámon doesn't say a word the entire time.
- In the hall, Mrs. Straus explains that Rámon is just having a hard time. Bart thinks briefly of Tyro volunteering in the homeless shelter and wishes he could trade places.
- Next stop, Stimmer. With his graffiti-style artwork and aviator sunglasses, he seems pretty cool.
- Stimmer is black, which prompts Bart to reflect on the fact that there are no black students at Baileywell. Literally zero.
- Stimmer seems unimpressed with Bart. He thinks that Bart is being paid to visit him, which Bart finds funny.
- Once Mrs. Straus leaves the room, Bart admits that he's there doing community service. Stimmer is now impressed.
- Bart and Stimmer watch TV for a while. The mood is light until Stimmer switches the TV off and asks Bart for a wee favor: Can he donate a piece of his liver?
- To his credit, Bart seriously considers giving this person he just met part of his liver, though he's understandably a little freaked out, too.
- Stimmer doesn't talk to Bart for the rest of the visit. When Mrs. Straus returns, he tells her to never bring Bart back.
- In the hall, Bart tells Mrs. Straus what happened and she tells Bart not to feel bad about it.
- The final stop on the volunteer express is Nola's room. Nola's skin is literally yellow.
- Nola tells Bart that she has chameleonitis, a disease that makes her change color. Bart isn't entirely sure whether or not she's joking, though, because he's super gullible; he calls her a brat in a joking way.
- Nola says she's been in and out of the hospital for her entire life—she's ten years old—and she says that life in the hospital is pretty boring. She mostly watches soap operas all day.
- Nola asks Bart what he's doing at the hospital anyway. He tells her it's community service, but he doesn't feel like going into all the details.
- Nola asks Bart what his dad does and Bart tells her he died on September 11. Nola feels terrible about asking.
- Without even thinking about it, Bart confides in her that his dad left the family before he was killed. He's known Nola for about five minutes, and already shared his deepest darkest secret.
- Mrs. Straus is back. She's glad to see the two kids bonding—so glad, in fact, that she says Bart can just visit Nola next time he comes to the hospital.
- Fat Freddie's waiting outside to take Bart home. Bart tells him the day went really well.