Augustin and François share a large attic room in the school building, separated from the rest of the house by a door that never quite closes and the quiet of the empty upper stories. While François quickly undresses and throws his clothes on a chair, Meaulnes slowly and methodically folds his school garments. Beneath his heavy blue coat and black blouse, he wears an unexpected and charming silk vest with small mother-of-pearl buttons, reminiscent of historical ballroom attire. When François asks him about it, Meaulnes smiles briefly before growing anxious, quickly covering the garment back up with his uniform, and going to sleep fully dressed.
Several times throughout January and early February, François wakes up in the middle of the night to find Meaulnes pacing the floor, fully equipped with his cap and cape, tormented by the desire to escape back toward a mysterious lost realm. Though Meaulnes frequently gets up ready to leave, he repeatedly hesitates and holds back because he cannot fully trace the route on his map. François forms a deep bond with his companion, bound by a secret promise that Meaulnes will eventually take him along, and suspects that Meaulnes is driven by the memory of a beautiful young girl he met during his strange adventure.
Tensions rise at school as Meaulnes isolates himself from the other students, spending his time mapping routes and studying the atlas of the Cher. His secretive behavior provokes the hostility of local boys like Giraudat and Delouche, leading to playground confrontations, minor brawls, and a growing consensus among the village youth to wage war against Meaulnes and François. Despite the rising antagonism from the school and the neighborhood, François remains fiercely loyal to his companion, convinced that they share a common mission to find the lost pathway.
The turning point arrives around the middle of February when Meaulnes wakes François at midnight with the firm declaration that they are finally leaving. Although Meaulnes admits he only knows a good portion of the way and must discover the rest, François suggests they use a carriage in the summer to search the missing sections in broad daylight. Sensing a tacit agreement, François finally summons the courage to ask Meaulnes to speak of the young girl he loves. Meaulnes sits down on the edge of the bed in the darkness, drawing a deep breath as he prepares to confide his long-kept secret.