David arrived late to the after-speech party that was held at Anna Reynolds’s house. Her parents were the Reynolds Real Estate duo who had their faces on billboards around town and all over the Internet. It was no surprise to David that they had a nice house that was finely decorated. Music pulsed through the windows as he walked inside and he quickly spotted Nate, Sam, and Justin in the next room.

“David!” Nate yelled over the booming bass in the songs. “Swooping in and taking the win.”

“Guys, I didn’t expect to win anything.”

“We didn’t either,” Sam said. “But you beat us.”

“I’m sorry,” David said.

“At least Anna didn’t win again this year,” Justin said. “I mean she always—”

Sam jabbed Justin below the ribs with an elbow just as Anna approached.

“Anna, hey!” Justin said. “Great job on your speech. Congrats.”

Anna just sneered as she walked past Justin.

“That’s rough,” Nate said, tossing a cheese puff in the air. David caught it in his mouth and chewed.

“Hey, Dana and Lacy just walked in,” Sam said, looking toward the door. “Let’s go! Game time!”

Justin followed Sam. “Gentlemen, catch up with you later.”

As Sam and Justin left, David’s phone dinged. He pulled it from his pocket.

“Those goons,” Nate said. “Hey, so get this. You know the graduation video, with the baby faces and all the information and stuff? I get to do it this year. Yeah, and I told them it was going to be five hundred bucks, and they went for it. Hashtag debt-free, know what I mean?”

David didn’t catch much of what Nate said because he was glued to his phone. “Yeah, yeah. Good deal.”

“What’s up?”

“I just got a text from . . .”

“From who?” Nate said.

David studied the message and decided it was better to just hand the phone to his friend.

Nate took it and began reading aloud. “‘David, this is Melissa. I don’t care for social networking, so please forgive me. Please let your parents know that I’m reaching out to you. I’m willing to tell you anything you want. I don’t want to hide anything. All I can say is, WOW, they raised the most wonderful boy I’ve ever laid eyes on.’” Nate handed the phone back. “Yech. Seems a bit much.”

David put a hand on his head and tried to process what he’d just seen.

Nate studied his face, unaware. Then it dawned on him. “Dude, is this your birth mom?”

Dry mouth. Room spinning. “I’m going to go call my mom and dad.”

“Yeah, step out, dude,” Nate said.