The chapter revolves around a group of schoolgirls named Simran, Avantika, and Divya, who are rehearsing a play under the guidance of their drama teacher, Mrs Debroy. During their rehearsal, they encounter a fellow student, Sonia, who they perceive as a snitch.
Their resentment for Sonia is evident when they discuss an incident where Avantika was penalized because Sonia disclosed Avantika's misdeed of taking roses from a class exhibition to Mr. Sinha. As a way to retaliate, Avantika suggests that they spread a rumour about Sonia damaging school property - tearing out pages from the school encyclopedia for her project. They all agree to this, believing it will be an effective way to teach Sonia a lesson.
In the following scene, during a communication and social skills period with their class teacher, Ms. Guha, the topic of gossip comes up. Ms. Guha introduces a guessing game to her students, "Hangman", where they need to identify the six-lettered word that would be the day's discussion topic. Avantika guesses the word correctly - GOSSIP.
Ms. Guha then narrates the story of the feather pillow. The story revolves around a wise man who is wronged by a villager spreading rumours about him. The wise man, upon discovering the rumour-monger, asks him to scatter feathers from a pillow in the wind and then to collect them all back. The task demonstrates the near-impossible act of taking back words once they're spread. The students understand the moral of the story - that words, like feathers, once spread far and wide, can't be taken back.
After hearing the story, the girls feel guilty for the rumour they spread about Sonia. The intercom announcement about Ms. Guha being summoned to meet Sonia's parents increases their guilt and makes them fear the potential consequences of their actions. Recognizing their mistake, they confess to Ms. Guha, who appreciates their honesty and suggests they apologize to Sonia, emphasizing that making amends is the right thing to do. The chapter ends with the girls prepared to apologize, having learned a valuable lesson about the repercussions of gossip and the importance of owning up to their actions.