turned out to be their ticket into such an exclusive event. But she was too nervous to enjoy it, too fidgety to relax.
“Really?” Lauren asked, and this time, Ellie attempted a smile.
“Really,” she said, and this seemed to satisfy Lauren, who bumped her shoulder against Ellie’s with a grin just as the lights snapped off.
For a moment, just before the screen winked to life, it felt to Ellie like they were floating in the dark. But then the image appeared, a landscape shot of the Henley harbor at sunrise, and Ellie felt such a gut punch of homesickness that she nearly lost her breath. There was scattered clapping as the first credits appeared at the edge of the screen, the shot panning to reveal the docks and the boats—including the Go Fish , which she and Graham had once stolen to sail north on an ill-fated quest—and all of it was so painfully familiar that she felt for her phone in her pocket, wanting to text her mom.
When the title appeared in bold letters across the screen, everyone in the theater clapped again, and then the camera moved through the center of town, landing on a boy making his way through the gray dawn, his head bent and his back to the camera, and all at once, Ellie was struck by a thousand memories of last summer, of seeing this very boy in these very places:
Watching him walk into the ice-cream shop on that first day.
Talking to him near the gazebo while the cast and crew waited for him to return to the set.
Stepping off the bus with him over by the post office.
Staring at each other across the lawn on the Fourth of July as the fireworks went off overhead.
And then, just like that, he was there.
Not in her memory and not on the screen—though he was both of those places, too—but a few feet away, a shadowy figure squinting at her from the aisle.
“Ellie?” he whispered, and she sat up a little in her seat, her heart hammering.
Behind them, a few people made shushing noises, and of the other three girls, only Kara—who was closest to the aisle—was looking up at the boy hovering at the end of the row.
“Ellie,” Graham whispered again, leaning over a little bit. The middle-aged couple nearest him—whose gazes were fixed on the screen, where another version of Graham was climbing into a boat—turned in his direction too.
It only took a second for them to recognize him, and their surprise seemed to travel down the row.
“Oh my god,” Sprague said, clapping a hand over her mouth, and then she leaned across Lauren to jab Ellie, who had sunk down low in her seat.
“Can we talk?” Graham asked from the aisle, and the other three girls whipped their heads back and forth between them as Ellie hesitated. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be with Graham in public, the way the attention settled over her like snow, blanketing everything, freezing her in place.
After a moment, Lauren grabbed her arm and gave it a little shake. “Go,” she said through gritted teeth, her face a picture of astonishment, and then she swung her legs to the side to leave room for Ellie to pass, which she did, awkwardly scooting by her friends, trying to ignore the curious stares of the people in the row behind her.
As she neared the aisle, moving past the confused couple, Graham stepped back to let her out. But she still couldn’t bring herself to look at him directly. He nodded at the back of the theater, where a faint light shone through from the lobby, and together, they walked toward it, hurrying up the aisle as the music swelled behind them: a sure sign that the girl had finally appeared on-screen and the love story was about to begin.
Eleven
In the quiet of the lobby, they stood staring at each other for a moment.
“You’re here,” Graham said finally.
“I am,” Ellie said.
He frowned, his expression hard to read. He was the same, but he wasn’t. His eyes seemed bluer than ever, and his hair was a little bit shorter, but not by much. The shape of his mouth, the way he
“Really?” Lauren asked, and this time, Ellie attempted a smile.
“Really,” she said, and this seemed to satisfy Lauren, who bumped her shoulder against Ellie’s with a grin just as the lights snapped off.
For a moment, just before the screen winked to life, it felt to Ellie like they were floating in the dark. But then the image appeared, a landscape shot of the Henley harbor at sunrise, and Ellie felt such a gut punch of homesickness that she nearly lost her breath. There was scattered clapping as the first credits appeared at the edge of the screen, the shot panning to reveal the docks and the boats—including the Go Fish , which she and Graham had once stolen to sail north on an ill-fated quest—and all of it was so painfully familiar that she felt for her phone in her pocket, wanting to text her mom.
When the title appeared in bold letters across the screen, everyone in the theater clapped again, and then the camera moved through the center of town, landing on a boy making his way through the gray dawn, his head bent and his back to the camera, and all at once, Ellie was struck by a thousand memories of last summer, of seeing this very boy in these very places:
Watching him walk into the ice-cream shop on that first day.
Talking to him near the gazebo while the cast and crew waited for him to return to the set.
Stepping off the bus with him over by the post office.
Staring at each other across the lawn on the Fourth of July as the fireworks went off overhead.
And then, just like that, he was there.
Not in her memory and not on the screen—though he was both of those places, too—but a few feet away, a shadowy figure squinting at her from the aisle.
“Ellie?” he whispered, and she sat up a little in her seat, her heart hammering.
Behind them, a few people made shushing noises, and of the other three girls, only Kara—who was closest to the aisle—was looking up at the boy hovering at the end of the row.
“Ellie,” Graham whispered again, leaning over a little bit. The middle-aged couple nearest him—whose gazes were fixed on the screen, where another version of Graham was climbing into a boat—turned in his direction too.
It only took a second for them to recognize him, and their surprise seemed to travel down the row.
“Oh my god,” Sprague said, clapping a hand over her mouth, and then she leaned across Lauren to jab Ellie, who had sunk down low in her seat.
“Can we talk?” Graham asked from the aisle, and the other three girls whipped their heads back and forth between them as Ellie hesitated. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be with Graham in public, the way the attention settled over her like snow, blanketing everything, freezing her in place.
After a moment, Lauren grabbed her arm and gave it a little shake. “Go,” she said through gritted teeth, her face a picture of astonishment, and then she swung her legs to the side to leave room for Ellie to pass, which she did, awkwardly scooting by her friends, trying to ignore the curious stares of the people in the row behind her.
As she neared the aisle, moving past the confused couple, Graham stepped back to let her out. But she still couldn’t bring herself to look at him directly. He nodded at the back of the theater, where a faint light shone through from the lobby, and together, they walked toward it, hurrying up the aisle as the music swelled behind them: a sure sign that the girl had finally appeared on-screen and the love story was about to begin.
Eleven
In the quiet of the lobby, they stood staring at each other for a moment.
“You’re here,” Graham said finally.
“I am,” Ellie said.
He frowned, his expression hard to read. He was the same, but he wasn’t. His eyes seemed bluer than ever, and his hair was a little bit shorter, but not by much. The shape of his mouth, the way he
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