chapter one

On a slow drive to Cousins Beach, Belly rides with her brother Steven and their mother, Laurel. They banter over driving speed and Belly’s singing, revealing family dynamics after their parents’ divorce. Belly savors the approach through town, equating familiar landmarks and a favorite radio station with the start of summer.

As they near Susannah Fisher’s house, Steven teases Belly about Conrad, and Laurel pointedly asks whether Belly still likes Conrad or if something happened with Jeremiah. Embarrassed, Belly insists nothing did, framing Jeremiah as a close friend and Conrad as her longtime, distant crush.

Belly reflects on summers defined by Susannah’s house, the boys, and her fixation on how Conrad and Jeremiah live outside summer. She sketches their personalities: Conrad as aloof and self-contained; Jeremiah as warm and easygoing. She imagines how each is perceived at school and how Conrad’s reserve attracts her.

Arriving at the house, Belly watches Steven greet Jeremiah and Conrad. Laurel goes inside to find Susannah, who is napping. When Belly steps forward, both boys really look at her—Conrad with a quick once-over, Jeremiah with a double take—marking a new recognition of Belly as changed.

Conrad gives Belly a careful hug, teases that he liked her with glasses, and pokes fun at her freckles; Jeremiah lifts and jokes with her but keeps staring, unsettled by the difference. Overwhelmed by their reactions, Belly retreats to her childhood room, holding her old stuffed bear and realizing that, though everything looks the same, the way the boys see her has shifted.