It was kind of a disappointment. “We went to a lot of trouble to save the world, and it doesn’t feel saved,” said Pat one day.

“Hermia died for it,” said Danny.

“Hermia put herself in that situation all on her own,” said Pat. “I don’t miss her.”

Danny already knew better than to suggest that some of Pat’s hostility toward Hermia, even after her death, was misplaced jealousy. He could imagine her saying, “Oh, if not Hermia, then who is it I should be jealous of?” It was one of the problems with sharing his life with a really smart person. She had at least as many quick, devastating comebacks as he did.

The report to their friends at Parry McCluer was simple enough. “That entity who possessed Danny?” said Pat. “He’s dead.”

“Hit by a bus?” asked Sin.

“Plane crash?” asked Wheeler.

“Bored to death by possessing one of you two?” asked Hal.

“Hermia did it,” said Danny.

“She was so good-looking,” said Wheeler.

“Also, completely out of your league,” said Laurette.

“Everybody’s out of Wheeler’s league,” said Xena.

“Maybe, but in which direction?” said Wheeler.

“You think there are girls who are, like, beneath you?” asked Xena.

“Like, yes,” said Wheeler, with a Groucho-like leer. “And don’t ask who, or I might have to break your heart.”

And that was it. Done with. Back to planning how to be bored together all summer. The Busch Gardens trip was judged to be a bust because Danny bailed. Nobody wanted to do any of the free things Danny could get them into. “The International Peace Garden in North Dakota is a really cool place,” Danny assured them.

“It’s in North Dakota,” said Hal. “Therefore, not cool.”

“North Dakota’s having a huge economic boom because of the Parshall Oil Field,” said Danny. “Lowest unemployment in the U.S., per capita gross domestic product a third higher than the rest of the country.”

“What Danny’s saying,” said Laurette, “is that when we graduate, anybody who isn’t going to college should head to North Dakota.”

“They have colleges in North Dakota,” said Wheeler. And then, “Don’t they?”

“Missing the point, Wheeler,” said Laurette.

“It’s fine for you smart people who get good grades,” said Xena. “All I have is hair and cleavage.”

“Plenty of employment opportunities,” said Hal. “In fact, infinite employment opportunities.”

“Not funny,” said Sin.

And it finally dawned on Danny that maybe high school friendships weren’t necessarily a lifetime choice. “Can’t we both take the GED?” asked Pat. “I don’t know if I’m going to care about high school this year.”

“Let’s decide after a few more weeks,” said Danny. “We just did some really important things. But we’re human—it will stop feeling all that important and then we’ll go back to caring about stupid stuff.”

“That’s so … encouraging,” said Pat. “What about getting married?”