Chapter 17

Autumn prepares for the hot, muggy first day of sophomore year, adopting a new look and feeling ready. At the bus stop, she notes the smaller group: Finny and Sylvie arrive holding hands, joined by a junior, Todd, and a nervous new girl from a private school.

Autumn greets the new girl, Katie, introducing herself with deliberate friendliness as part of a plan to avoid hearing about Finny and Sylvie’s classes together. The sight of the hill triggers a memory of childhood bike rides and Finny’s fearlessness contrasted with her own fear.

A deeper flashback surfaces: in fourth grade Autumn nearly transferred to St. John’s, but her distress—and Aunt Angelina’s report that Finny was equally distraught—kept them together. The memory reaffirms how central Finny was to Autumn’s sense of safety and balance.

Back at the stop, Autumn’s plan exceeds expectations when Todd discovers Katie also attended St. John’s and they dive into shared acquaintances. Their conversation, along with Sylvie’s chatter, blends into background noise, effectively shielding Autumn from specifics about Finny and Sylvie’s shared chemistry class.

As the bus arrives, Autumn has succeeded in preserving her emotional equilibrium; she boards without learning more about Finny and Sylvie’s plans, maintaining distance from the pain of their closeness.