Chapter 20
In late August, Lionel Sweet invited Jim and Brian to a party. Lionel was a second-string basketball player, but had never seemed to fit in with the jocks. He was tall and slender with big ears and a dorky narrow face, with buckteeth and a weird haircut done by his father. But overall, he was a cool kid.
Brian and Jim chatted and ate snacks and drank root beer, while the others mostly took to beer or wine, but no one got blitzed. Later, half the kids left in ones and twos, and the remaining group, about seven, sat in the back yard under a full moon.
Smiling, Teresa sat on a wooden swing bench next to Jim. She was pretty and almost plump with dirty blonde hair, combed back neatly and pulled into a bun. The faint freckles on her nose were cute, but Jim didn’t look too long beca
