In Chap­ter XXIV, Lill express­es her new­found enthu­si­asm about shop­ping for sup­plies, sug­gest­ing that she will take care of the kids until the next day. She offers to cross the road to a Mega Mega Mart and asks if any­one would like to join her, but the chil­dren pre­fer to stay behind, wary of the sit­u­a­tion they are in. As she pre­pares to leave, Fish play­ful­ly grabs the remote con­trol, lead­ing to a brief moment of lev­i­ty among the group. Lill reas­sures them about their safe­ty, promis­ing to return quick­ly.

Once Lill is gone, the chil­dren breathe a sigh of relief, real­iz­ing they have suc­cess­ful­ly kept their where­abouts a secret. How­ev­er, their moment of tri­umph is short-lived when Fish turns on the TV, reveal­ing a news alert fea­tur­ing their pho­tos as miss­ing chil­dren. This news shocks Bob­bi and Will, who had not seen this devel­op­ment before, and the real­i­ty of their sit­u­a­tion sets in. They dis­cuss the reper­cus­sions of con­tact­ing home, with Bob­bi assert­ing that it would com­pli­cate things for their guardians, Lester and Lill, espe­cial­ly with the involve­ment of the state troop­ers.

As they anx­ious­ly watch the news report, the grav­i­ty of their cir­cum­stances becomes even clear­er when they learn that their father is one of the vic­tims from a recent acci­dent. Over­whelmed, one of the chil­dren seeks com­fort in the reas­sur­ances of the oth­ers. Bob­bi silences the tele­vi­sion, empha­siz­ing the need to avoid pan­ic.

Lill returns after almost an hour, brim­ming with excite­ment and loads of sup­plies from the Mega Mega Mart. She reveals her haul, filled with an array of fun items, some prac­ti­cal and oth­ers just for enjoy­ment, such as can­dy, cloth­ing, toi­letries, and even a first aid kit. She encour­ages the kids to enjoy them­selves, men­tion­ing a pool and sug­gest­ing that every child deserves some fun, even amidst their trou­bles. The chil­dren are amazed and bewil­dered at Lil­l’s cheer­ful demeanor and the abun­dance of things she brought back. She encour­ages them to change into their swim­suits and pre­pare for fun, express­ing her hopes for Lester as well. Lill’s opti­mistic atti­tude, jux­ta­posed with the children’s fears, sug­gests a glimpse of nor­mal­cy and joy amidst their chaot­ic lives.