Tova, finishing her shift, is startled when Cameron barrels in late and agitated. She confronts him about his absence and mentions the new octopus. Cameron spirals through grievances: Ethan’s distrust, friends and band ending in Modesto, lifelong resentment toward his absent mother, his aunt’s burdens, a girlfriend ghosting after a missed date for a critical meeting, and even lost luggage.

Cameron then reveals the core blow: the man he’d tracked in Sowell Bay isn’t his father, and the class ring he carried isn’t that man’s. Tova offers sympathy, but Cameron storms to the pump room, opens the wolf eel enclosure, and drops the ring in, muttering, “Eels. This belongs with you.”

Tova invites him for coffee and to coordinate tasks for her final day, but Cameron refuses, saying he only came for his hoodie. He claims Terry never offered him the job, declares he’s done with misunderstandings, and says he’s leaving for a road trip to California, noting he left belongings at Ethan’s and hasn’t told Terry.

Tova insists quitting without notice is wrong and worries about animal care. Cameron dismisses the concern, saying it’s not his problem and that he always gets fired anyway. In Terry’s office he scrawls a brief note and leaves it on the desk. When Tova urges he’s better than this, Cameron, voice cracking, says he isn’t.