As the end of the school year approaches and Lisa gets busier with her extracurriculars, Solomon and Clark spend more time together. When Lisa goes to her summer job at Camp Elizabeth for two weeks, Clark works as a lifeguard. Sometimes Clark falls asleep at Solomon’s house, exhausted by the day, but Solomon doesn’t mind. The two boys discuss Clark and Solomon’s uncertain futures, and Solomon reveals that for the first time he doesn’t cry when he thinks about leaving the house. His panic attacks still plague him, even though he’s objectively happy. As it turns out, his anxiety is a far deeper issue than happiness, because “What Solomon had was unforgiving and sneaky and as smart as any other illness. It was like a virus or cancer that would hide just long enough to fool him into thinking it was gone” (148-49). At this point in their friendship, Clark knows his own way of helping Solomon by distracting him with activities.

Clark has a van that needs fixing up, so he, Solomon, and Solomon’s dad start the project together. Clark is over at Solomon’s house every day, and he always has dinner with the family. His parents are thrilled, and one day Solomon realizes that the tight feeling in his chest when he thinks about Clark isn’t the beginning of a panic attack after all.