“What did you say?” Julie was incredulous. Scandalized gasps erupted from the other girls.

Vanessa turned to them. “Oh, didn’t you know? Haven’t you ever wondered where Julie’s dad is? Her mom killed him when they went on vacation. That’s probably why she could never find another husband.”

From the corner of her eye, Julie saw Tarek stand up. “Let’s go,” he said in a low voice.

Too late. Julie dropped the rest of the forms. They wafted to the ground, settling on the asphalt. Everything seemed to fall away, everything except the flawless, taunting face of the girl in front of her. Julie surged forward, and shoved Vanessa as hard as she could.

Camille heard the ding of an incoming text message from Julie: Catching up on homework at the library. Gonna be late to P’s for dinner.

Homework on the last day of school? That seemed surprising. Maybe, Camille thought, Julie was doing some extra-credit assignments to bring up her grades. In just a few months, she’d gone from making straight As to low Bs and Cs. Camille hoped it wasn’t too late to bring those grades up. She was tempted to call Julie but didn’t let herself. She was trying not to hover so much.

She’d been busy with work all day, and she was eager to get to her personal e-mail. Yes, she and Finn had been e-mailing each other. She rationalized that they were collaborating on research for her father, finding out more about the photos they had found in Lisette’s trunk. The truth, which she would barely admit to herself, was that she liked corresponding with him. He was funny and entertaining, and quite good at flirting. The fact that he was so far away worked well for her. She didn’t have to worry about actually having a relationship. Flirting was nothing but harmless fun.

The current note in her in-box was a good example. Subject: you’re in my 3AM thoughts.

The idea of him thinking of her at three A.M. was ridiculously enticing. She kept reminding herself that all she wanted was to find out more about Lisette and her world during the war years. Maybe that way, her father would drop the idea of rushing off to Bellerive, and instead content himself with a video call to the caretakers of his property there. Maybe he—and she and Julie—would stay safely in Bethany Bay, same as every summer.

Except that in Julie’s case, Bethany Bay didn’t feel safe anymore.

Worries kept Camille awake at night. She hoped Julie was just going through a phase, that she could make a fresh start now that summer was here. Camille had already set the fresh start in motion. Julie’s braces were going to be removed and substituted with a nighttime-only appliance. She was also switching to contact lenses. Camille knew better than to believe it was a cure-all, but it might give Julie’s confidence a boost.

She poured herself a glass of wine and sat down with her laptop.