Introverted, socially awkward Jay Kirkman, known to his Grams as “Jay Bird,” is riding the ups-and-downs of youth while living with overbearing parents and dealing with the pressures of being a senior in high school. A month away from graduation, Jay hopes to flee the small upstate New York town of Milton for a life anywhere but in his dead-end hometown. He wishes for more than he has now: scholarly, eccentric parents, and watching Grams, the closest person to him, slowly dying before his eyes. His equally withdrawn but edgier best friend Rocco has a hearty appetite for drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex. When the law comes knocking, asking questions about a crime Rocco may or may not have committed, he finds himself in big trouble and turns to Jay for help. Is Jay and Rocco’s friendship strong enough to sustain life’s tough obstacles as they navigate the highs and lows of growing up together?

Jay Bird

I unpacked pens, notebooks, and chicken-scratched notes for our presentation from my backpack, and somebody near me, a girl with choppy blonde hair and braces two tables down from us, shushed me and told me to be quiet.


I rolled my eyes at her and leaned into Rocco who was still ignoring me. “Look, Roc, I’m sorry if I haven’t been in touch. But I’ve had things to deal with. My Grams died. I had to go to the funeral.”


Slowly, he stopped to dot his I’s and cross his T’s, the pen sliding out from between his fingers, falling across the table in a clatter.


He folded his arms in front of him and leaned back in the red plastic chair. Struggling to make eye contact, I stood and slid into a chair next to him.


Masculine cologne drifted in the air, and I wanted to kiss Rocco’s face. He had been working out, I noticed, the muscles in his arms straining against his skintight T-shirt. Dark circles of sweat stainedhis armpits.


Chapter 25