- Pearl tells us about her best friend, Greenie Coombs. The two of them have been friends since way back when (fourth grade to be precise) and used to play make believe all the time.
- Their favorite thing to do was create a big wedding for Barbie and Ken.
- Up until eighth grade, the two of them were inseparable.
- Pearl was good at English and Greenie rocked at Math, so they didn't have to compete with each other much.
- In eighth grade, though, Greenie started maturing a lot faster than Pearl—her body changed, and all the guys were interested in her suddenly.
- It was a big switch for Pearl, who never worried about guys before.
- Enter Hickey, Greenie's new boyfriend who she wants to hang out with all the time.
- Since he's already eighteen, he can drive and has a car, so he suggests ditching school and going down to the river.
- Pearl isn't so sure. For one thing, her mom is a substitute teacher there so she's bound to find out, and for another, she hates breaking the rules.
- Hickey tells her to lighten up and Greenie chimes in to agree; reluctantly, Pearl agrees to go since she doesn't want to be mocked.
- The three of them pile into Hickey's car and head down to the river.
- Once there, Hickey and Greenie drink beer, but Pearl doesn't. She can't break the rules that much.
- Hickey makes fun of Pearl's different colored eyes, and she tells him one of them can see the future.
- She quickly gets annoyed with being the third wheel and goes for a walk. Pearl looks around the riverbed and thinks about when her dad left.
- After he dad beat it, Pearl's mom told all of her teachers that he ditched them. Why? She figured it would help explain if Pearl got upset about something.
- The more Pearl thinks about her dad, the more she retreats. Finally she decides she doesn't want to go back to school with Greenie and Hickey; she'd rather stay out by the water and think.