Landon secures the role of Tom Thornton and begins three weeks of rehearsals with the rest of the cast, led by the drama teacher, Miss Garber. Acting does not come naturally to Landon so he has to work hard both to remember his lines and to give a credible performance. For this hard work, he resents Jamie.
One night, when Landon is out with his friends, Jamie approaches him, which increases both his friends' teasing about Jamie and Landon's resentment toward her. The two discuss the play, and Eric mockingly suggests that the two of them perform their lines for the orphans as a dry run. Jamie does not catch Eric's mocking tone and loves the idea. She decides to approach the orphanage director with the plan, which kicks Landon's practice and memorization into high gear because he doesn't want to embarrass himself in front of the orphans.
