And out farther, rising up from the roof of dense green foliage, was the rounded silver dome of the observatory where his uncle Russell had given the telescope. The last time they were all together, in Palm Beach, the family had been reminded more than once that although Russell could have had it named after himself, he had refrained.

Despite Ben’s repelling him with his mind, Ahmed swam implacably to them. As he came closer, all three of them turned to face him. He reached the rock and set his hands on the edge. He was breathing hard but not panicked, and Ben wondered whether this was the farthest he had ever swum. Had he ever been outside a pool?

“I love swimming,” he said, looking up to them a little too out of breath to smile. Hutch and Evan laughed, and Ahmed now smiled through his breathing but Ben could see that he knew Hutch and Evan’s laughter wasn’t kind. Ahmed pulled his chest to the side of the rock and leaned onto his hands to begin to climb up.

“No newbs,” said Evan.

“Sorry?” said Ahmed, looking up in the middle of his effort.

“He said, no newbs,” Hutch said, “especially no spoiled brat newbs.”

“You are new.”

“Your servants going to carry you up here?” said Evan.

“You going to buy the Jesus Rock all for yourself?” said Hutch.

“Maybe build some condos on it, some time-shares, maybe a casino, maybe a mall?”

Ahmed laughed a laugh with no humor, only shrugging off what they had said, and went again to climb up.

With his foot Hutch reached out and pushed Ahmed’s right hand away from the rock. Just before Ben’s foot moved to nudge Ahmed’s other hand away, Evan had already done it. Ben could still in his imagination almost feel the softness of his skin meeting Ahmed’s, and he suddenly worried that Alice would see them being mean to him.

Ben expected Ahmed to look up at him with supplication, but Ahmed didn’t look up at all, and instead just pushed off gently and began to wriggle back toward the dock.

As Ben looked up, he saw the gray-blue fingernail of Alice’s sweatshirt move out of sight around the side of the boathouse.

*  *  *

The sun came to the tree line and Ben, Hutch, and Evan decided to head to the Dish. With towels around their waists their group came up to the Dish’s side entrance, and a couple other guys from Woodruff, Hutch and Evan’s dorm, approached them. Ben was already keeping an eye out for Alice, feeling a miniature rise and corresponding dip each time he saw someone who could have been and then wasn’t her in his peripheral vision.