Kyle buys his girlfriend Kimberly a charm bracelet because they’ve been fighting, though he isn’t sure why. He wades through the crowd of familiar classmates at their high school graduation party. He and Kimberly are set to attend UCLA, but their friend Sam has been waitlisted. Kyle got injured playing football. Without his assistance, Sam didn’t do well enough playing to make the UCLA team. Kyle hopes that Sam gets off the wait list: “Not only is he the friend that’s stuck with me through the mess of this last year, but he’s the glue that holds our trio together. He’s the voice of reason in all things” (10).

Kyle can tell there’s something Kimberly and Sam aren’t telling him. Kimberly finally reveals that she’s going to Berkely, not UCLA. She’s known for months and hasn’t told Kyle. Angry, Kyle drives away. Kimberly follows him. It’s raining hard, and Kyle nearly gets into a car accident. He stops on the side of the road. Kimberly breaks up with Kyle because she wants to know who she is outside of their relationship. A car hits them from behind, sending their car into an incoming truck.