Summer, #1
The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han
Contents
chapter nine
Overview
Belly’s insomnia leads her to a night swim, stirring memories of secretly swimming with Susannah during chemo. Conrad finds Belly at the pool, revealing he smokes. Their teasing turns briefly electric before he walks away. Belly realizes Conrad has changed, but her feelings for him remain just as intense.
Summary
Unable to sleep, Belly slips out for her customary night swim, relishing the calm ache and the comfort of Susannah’s bath sheets. She remembers how, two summers earlier during chemo, Susannah sometimes joined her silently, the only times Belly saw her without the wig that had replaced her once-long hair.
On the first night back this summer, Belly returns to the pool. The solitude steadies her—until she kicks something on a turn and surfaces to find Conrad sitting at the edge, smoking and watching.
Embarrassed by her too-small suit yet unwilling to leave, Belly challenges Conrad about smoking. He deflects, then admits he started last year. She urges him to quit for himself; for a moment, their banter turns charged as he teasingly asks what she’ll give him if he does. The tension breaks when he stubs out the cigarette and warns her jokingly about “monsters.”
After Conrad leaves laughing, Belly floats, heart racing. She senses Conrad has changed since dinner and his breakup revelations, yet the effect he has on her is unchanged—like the drop of a roller coaster—intense, familiar, and inescapable.
Who Appears
- Belly (Isabel Conklin)Insomniac swimmer; recalls secret chemo swims with Susannah; shares a charged, awkward poolside moment with Conrad.
- Conrad FisherFinds Belly at the pool, smokes, teases about quitting; leaves, underscoring his change and Belly’s unresolved feelings.
- Susannah FisherAppears in Belly’s memories of silent night swims during chemo, revealing past vulnerability and intimacy.