They stood before the turquoise beach at Paleokastritsa, on Corfu’s western coast. The sky glowed in gradients of white. Taxi drivers hunched over a folding table, playing vigorous backgammon. Joey still had no clue why they were there.

“I want to show you something, Jonesey!” Leo said, bouncing her arm.

Leo led her through a maze of docks across the harbor. They stopped at a yacht that gleamed white and blue. “This is my yacht for the summer.”

“Your yacht? What do you mean?” Her chest twitched with mild alarm. Some people loved surprise parties, which Joey couldn’t fathom. She liked time to prepare herself, and besides she was generally too hyper-perceptive for a surprise to work before she’d sniffed it out. But in this case, she hadn’t seen it coming. Leo’s yacht.

“Come on, Jonesey. Let me give you a tour.” Without explaining, he hopped on and helped her over. She glimpsed the nameplate. APOLLO.

Leo led her to an impressive salon adorned in Missoni throws and then down a flight of stairs. He pointed out the staterooms (tiny cabins best suited for midgets) and the galley (a kitchen the appropriate size for Lily to bake up some mean pretend brownies). Okay, Joey acknowledged her crankiness, but a sense of foreboding had gripped her. Leo mixed them screwdrivers, sprinkling words like gunwale and hawser with mounting enthusiasm.

“Leo,” she said, after they’d returned to what he’d called the stern, and he’d clarified that this meant the back of the boat. “What did you mean it’s your yacht?”

“Oh.” Leo jumped off the boat and extended his hand. “The thing is, Jonesey, well…I’ve sort of been nervous to tell you this. I’m dropping out of Michigan.”

“You’re what?” She stuck in place, and it took a few moments for the disorientation to lift. “Leo, wait up. Wait up, Leo!” She ran down the dock and turned him by his shoulder.

“It’s not my thing, Jonesey. I gave it a try, and it wasn’t for me.”

“What do you mean? College is for everybody.”

“Not me.” Leo grimaced. “All that, Hey dude, hey bro, swallow this goldfish so we can be like brothers. Do pushups and don’t shower for a week. Now some sorority pledges are gonna whore it up for us! Pass me a cig, man. They’re all just so terrified someone’s going to figure them out.”

“Figure what out?”

“That they’re little babies inside. That they have no idea who the fuck they are, what the fuck they want, so they swallow goldfish to get people to be their friends. To validate them.”

“Okay…” said Joey slowly. “So de-pledge your frat.”

“I did de-pledge my frat. That’s not it, Jonesey. It’s all of college. These kids are just stupid. Privileged and stupid. They couldn’t give a shit about careers or having conversations about things that matter. All they care about is football, beer, and sex.”

“So you’re saying you don’t care about sex?” Joey laughed a tentative laugh.