“I’m turning nineteen in fall and I still have Spider-Man bedsheets,” he burst out. “I wake up some mornings so stunned that I’m supposed to be an adult, and I don’t even feel like it. I feel so ripped off that high school is over, that Real Life is so long and everything else is so short,” he said, and every part of me ached at the helplessness in his voice. “I don’t want to be at the end of high school without my girlfriend. I know how this goes. Couples who go to college together usually break up. If she changed her mind, then … then maybe we’re not one of those couples. Maybe we’re the exception.”

Or maybe they weren’t. I’d tried to get him to think about things, but this was as far as I went. I was sad for him, but I drew the line at telling him he needed to talk with Penny about their future. I knew better now. No more getting involved in their relationship.

“You think it’ll happen again,” Chad said. “That she’ll realize nothing’s different and she’ll make the same decision again.”

“I’m just looking out for you. You can be an idiot sometimes, like when you go around kissing people who aren’t her, but you deserved better than—than what she did.”

“You’re the only person who’s said that.” He glanced down, then back up at me with an unreadable expression on his face. “John, Cary, the other guys … they just think I’m lucky to get her back.”

“What are you listening to them for? They cheated all the way through high school and still got Cs.”

“Ha. Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Seriously, though. I should go. She’ll get pissed if she has to wait for me.”

He wasn’t wrong, but it still rankled. Penny always expected more from other people. She never stopped to think about what would happen if they had enough. Maybe because it had never happened before.

“Sure. Guess I’ll see you down on the beach for the pageant.” Whether or not he’d acknowledge me with Penny right there watching him was a different story. “Good luck with…” Would it be rude to say Penny? “Everything,” I finally settled on.

“You too. I’m rooting for you and Summer Boy.” Chad’s smile was stronger than before. “See ya, B.” With one last wave, he left.

Mrs. Bishop drove us down to the beach after we finished lunch and put all the finishing touches on Lucy’s hair and makeup. Vendors had set up colorful booths along the beach, and a row of striped umbrellas provided shade for children and the elderly. The sizzle of hamburgers and hot dogs carried into the car, and the Dairy Bar’s ice cream truck was doing brisk business in the parking lot.