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putting a hand on her hip. “But it’s still a good school.”
    “I think we’d have to ask someone who actually attended class,” Jim said.
    “Ouch, Dad,” Polly said.
    “Polly, do me a favor and get me another piece of cake, hmm?” Rosemary said, then leaned in and whispered, “Gotta break these two up sometimes.”
    That’s when Jules pulled up, but it took a minute to recognize her. She wasn’t in the Audi or the land yacht. She was in a brand-new Jeep with a bright red ribbon on its hood.

Eight
    “HEY, HEY,” JAY SAID as he walked toward us in his rooftop living room and kissed Jules. “C.T.” He pulled me close for a rough hug. “What’s up, girl?” Jules made a beeline for a well-known and deeply feared clique composed of three Alden girls: Chloe, Jessie, and Gemma. They greeted her with a collective shriek-giggle as she kicked off her sandals, poured herself a drink, and joined them on the sofa. As Jay’s girlfriend, this was her party, too.
    “What are you up to this summer, C.T.?” Jay asked.
    “Working at Leo’s,” I said. Leo’s was a sandwich shop between the Brown and RISD campuses, famous for its barrel of pickles. My first shift was in three days. For the first time, I didn’t mind staying in Providence for the summer while all my classmates went off on some exotic adventure or to a second home in an elite location. I just wanted to start college.
    “You’re stuck in Providence?” Jay asked. “That sucks.”
    “I’m fine with it.”
    “Cool,” Jay said. “I have an internship at my dad’s bank in London.”
    “Wow,” I said, as we made our way to the bar. “London.” I felt a dagger of panic. Should I be going someplace like London this summer?
    “And Jules, as you probably know, is—”
    “Heading to Nantucket on Friday,” Jules said, interrupting him.
    I smiled and turned to greet the Alden Three. “Hey, Chloe; hey, Jessie; what’s up, Gemma?” Gemma waved. Jessie nodded. Chloe mumbled hello.
    “So here’s the plan,” Jay said, sitting next to Jules and squeezing her knee. “There’s this secret old bowling alley in one of the old buildings at Brown.”
    “For real?” asked Gemma, whose heavy eyelids indicated she was already drunk.
    “Yeah,” Jay said. “It’s from, like, the forties, and Dirt’s brother knows how to break in.” Rich Green, a.k.a. “Dirt,” looked up through a haze of pot smoke and nodded. “So we’re going bowling tonight, kids.”
    “It’s fucking awesome,” Dirt said. “They have pins and everything. And you have to go through these underground tunnels to get there.” Then, noticing me for the first time, he smiled and meowed. I scooted a little farther down the couch, away from him.
    “In your dreams, Dirt,” Jay said. Dirt shrugged and spat.
    “Dude,” Jay said.
    “That’s brilliant,” Jules said. “We have to make teams!”
    “I don’t know,” I said.
    “Don’t worry,” Jay said. “We’re going to be quiet and cool, and no one’s around. The campus is, like, dead.”
    A second wave of Alden kids arrived, busting through the door to the roof. “LO-GAN,” Lucas Saunders shouted, pumping a fist in the air; his other arm was weighted down with a six-pack.
    “I might have to sit this one out,” I said.
    “Oh, come on,” Jules said. With the sunset behind her, she was outlined in gold. “You have to come.”
    “Think of it this way,” Jay said, heading behind the bar and scooping ice into a plastic cup. “This is our last night of high school. Our whole life is about to change. What can I get you?”
    “Just a Coke,” I said.
    He poured Coke into the cup, fastened a sliced lime to the rim, and handed it to me. “You only live once, right?”
    “That’s what they say, but I can’t do it,” I said.
    Someone with squeaky brakes was parking on the street below. Jules tensed, stood, and peered over the edge of the rooftop, then turned around with a furrowed brow. “Ugh,” she said, sinking