Sam leaned his cheek against the warm plastic of the floating tube. He watched Lillian Greene as she kicked the water from inside her own tube, spinning herself around and around in circles. He smiled despite himself, studying the girl from a distance. Nearly the whole graduating senior class was on the beach; it was a sort of party for all the students about to leave. Sam had been in roughly two of Lillian's classes each year since the time they were freshmen. From 15 to 18, Sam had shared only a handful of conversations with the freckled girl but he had always kept his eyes on her.
He straightened in the water as he watched her climb out of her tube and try to stand up on it, like a surf board. Lillian had on a yellow polka-dotted swimsuit top and pink swim shorts. Her pale legs buckled and she pressed a hand to her chest, giggling frantically as she rocked back and forth. In a matter of moments, Lillian jerked too far to the left and lost her balance, causing the tube to shoot out from under her. A huge splash sounded, but no one really noticed, everyone else at the party too loud themselves. Lillian's head popped up from the water and she spat water at her friend, Brinley. Sam grinned just slightly.
The next week, Sam Curtis and Lillian Greene and the rest of the seniors at Fortworth High School graduated. Three years went by until Sam saw Lillian again.
