It　was　just　eleven　in　the　morning；　and　the　beach　belonged　to　kids　and　their　caretakers。　Vanessa

studied　her　peers；　the　army　of　au　pairs；　wondering　if　maybe　she？d　strike　up　a　friendship。　Did　the

rest　of　these　babysitters　have　bosses　who　undressed　in　front　of　them？　She　imagined　the　Hamptons

must　be　filled　with　people　like　Ms。　Morgan；　and　she　wouldn？t　mind　having　someone　to　s

bizarre　employer　stories　with。　But　looking　around；　it　didn？t　seem　too　likely　that　any　of　these　lithe

creatures；　with　their　perfect　tans；　over…size　sunglasses；　and　manicured　nails；　would　want　to　have

anything　to　do　with　her。　Or　vice　versa。　Basically；　it　was　like　being　back　at　Constance　Billard；　the

school　that　had　tormented　her　for　the　last　three　years。

Vanessa　stared　out　at　the　endless　ocean；　suddenly　fighting　the　urge　to　cry。　She　kicked　her

sneakers　off　and　crossed　her　legs；　looking　in　the　mess　of　things　around　her　for　some…thing　to　drink。

She　found　a　tiny　box　of　apple　juice　and　opened　the　cellophane…wrapped　straw；　stabbing　it　into　the

little　hole　in　the　box　angrily。

？There　you　are！？　Nils　skipped　toward　her　across　the　sand；　taking　a　shortcut　over　their　neighbors？

blankets　and　towels。

？Don？t　do　that；？　she　scolded　him。　？Or　do　and　get　yelled　at。Whatever。Where？s　your　brother？？

？Don？t　know。？　He　dropped　to　the　ground　and　rummaged　through　the　stuff　that　was　strewn　all

over　the　blanket。　？Vanessa；　you　got　sand　inside　my　Cheez…Its。？

？Life？s　rough；　sometimes。？　Vanessa　inspected　her　milk…white　ankles　and　even　paler　feet。　She

almost　wished　she？d　thought　to　get　a　pedicure。　She　swiveled　them　off　the　blanket　and　buried　them

in　the　sand。　？Please；　Nils；　tell　me　you　didn？t　kill　your　b