“FOLLOWING AN INCIDENT on the beach, we ask you to keep your dogs tied up in the shade… In fact, you should all get in the shade, too. It’s a hundred and four degrees out there, guys!”

Luce came toward me in her red sarong. I was dozing. I thought: She’s found me. I shrank into the hammock so she wouldn’t see me.

Claire came out. “Are you looking for Oscar?”

“Yes!”

“Are you his girlfriend?”

“Not really.”

“I don’t know where he is… But I’ve got another one here, if you’re interested. He’s sleeping…”

I sat up, embarrassed. Luce did not look surprised. She came toward me, hands behind her back, and pretended to look me over.

“Yeah… He’ll do… What’s his name?”

“Leonard. He doesn’t say much, but he’s nice.”

“Is it normal that he’s all red like that?”

They laughed together. I thought they were cruel. Luce winked at me. I winked back without thinking.

“I’m going to the pool. Aren’t you hot?” she asked.

I got out of the hammock and stood in front of her. I had never looked at her this closely before. She was quite tall, with brown eyes. Freckles full of sunlight.

“Come on, Leonard.”

I felt flattered. I followed her, like a little dog. I walked past Claire, and for a moment, I almost spoke. I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

She laughed. “Go on, go with her. What are you waiting for?”

The campsite had its own laws. Two weeks of vacation was a lifetime. We arrived like newborns, pale and alone. We left with a sigh of sadness or relief, like the dying. Friendships were made and unmade in the time it took to walk down a path. Hearts were lost and broken in a single day. A few times I’d seen Luce and Oscar being friends, being in love, or ignoring each other. Now I was walking with her as if I were him. Some boys watched us. She waved at the ones she knew. Her sarong brushed against my hand as we walked.

“I didn’t realize you knew Oscar’s mother.”

“I don’t know her.”

“But you were in her hammock.”

“Yeah.”

She smiled. She thought I was funny, and more intelligent than I actually was. This often happened: in my embarrassment, I would say absurd things, and everyone would think I was really witty and deep.

“Do you get along well with Oscar?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why did you leave without saying goodbye before?”

“I didn’t feel too good. Sorry.”

At worst, I looked like I was sulking. I gripped the phone in my pocket. My trunks were making me itch. My thoughts and the heat combined to create rivers of sweat on my skin, but I just looked like a spoiled little brat.

“Why are you making that face?”

“This is how I always look.”

She accepted my answers. I could stand her more easily than the others. Something was different with her. But all the same, I wanted to leave. My parents must be back by now.

“I have to go eat lunch.”

“Already? Meet me at the pool after!”

I turned onto a different path. Behind me, I heard her say:

“You know, Oscar’s really not my boyfriend. We’re just close.”