Gene is the first to awaken the following morning and watches a sunrise for the first time. At first everything on the beach appears to be gray and dead, including Phineas, who is sleeping in the sand nearby. As the air becomes lighter and dawn breaks upon them, "[t]he beach shed its deadness and became a spectral gray-white, then more white than gray, and finally it was totally white and stainless, as pure as the shores of Eden. Phineas, still asleep...made me think of Lazarus, brought back to life by the touch of God." Chapter 4, pg. 41 He is struck by the sudden revival of life the sunrise brings. Gene remembers that he has a trigonometry test that morning in a few hours and is eager to get back to Devon School, although he has not had any chance to study. Finny finally wakes up and is carefree and unconcerned. He wants to swim a bit first before they leave, which he does alone. Then the two ride back on their bikes without any breakfast since Finny has lost their money, much to Gene's irritation.
Gene flunks his test, but he is still drawn to go out and play blitzball afterwards and to attend a meeting of The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session that same evening. Later Gene is studying in his room and puzzles over Finny's behavior, deciding that his friend has been distracting him from his studies purposely to make him do badly. Phineas discourages Gene from studying so intently, telling him to take a break. Gene is convinced that Finny is jealous of him being so talented in academics just as he is jealous of Finny's' athletic performance.
"I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. You did hate him for breaking that school swimming record, but so what? He hated you for getting an A in every course but one last term. You would have had an A in that one except for him."Chapter 4, pg. 45
Gene determines that Finny is an enemy and studies harder than ever to excel and to not allow his roommate to destroy him any longer and to be sure to stay ahead of his own academic rival for class valedictorian, Chet Douglass. However he continues to attend meetings of The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session to prevent Finny from being suspicious of his behavior.
One day in August the two boys are in the library room, preparing for an upcoming French exam. Phineas distracts Gene from his studies and he doesn't get any work done. Later that day he tries to study again in their room, alone, until Finny barges in and insists that they go out to jump from the tree again. Leper Lepellier is supposed to make his first jump as well, he declares. Gene hardly believes this, since Leper is so docile and fragile. His irritation and jealousy of Finny has only intensified as he struggles to understand his friend. At times he hates him and at others he begins to feel affection again. This inner struggle continues when, after insisting he has studying to do and won't be going out anywhere, Finny prepares to go off alone, agreeing that Gene should stay inside to study. Gene is confused again about his friend's behavior, suddenly concluding half-heartedly as the two walk toward the tree, accompanied by Leper, that "It wasn't my neck, but my understanding which was menaced. [Finny] had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he." Chapter 4, pg. 51
Gene feels dejected and beaten by Finny's good, wholesome qualities, while he himself feels like a lesser, more selfish person. Finny suggests that they jump out of the tree together at the same time, to which he agrees, despite being terrified as always of jumping. Practice has not improved his fears, yet he has always done it so that Finny would not be better than he. This time, however, as Finny walks out in front of him across the limb. Leper remains below, watching them. Gene shakes the limb with his leg, causing Finny to lose his balance. He falls out of the tree, crashing into the ground far below and, satisfied and freed of all fears, Gene gleefully plunges down into the river's waters below. Finny had previously steadied Gene when he had almost fallen off of the branch; now Gene has done exactly the opposite by purposely knocking Finny out of the tree. After this act, he feels completely liberated from the dominance of his friend and is pleased with himself.
