That Magical Summer

August 1985. The air is thick with the kind of heat that makes everything shimmer, and the whole town of Millfield feels like it’s moving in slow motion. You’re sitting in your backyard treehouse with your three best friends, trying to make the last weeks of summer vacation stretch as long as possible.

“School starts in two weeks,” Gary says, flipping through a worn paperback. “Eighth grade. Can you believe it?”

Vinny shifts nervously on his branch. “My brother says eighth grade is when everything changes. Says we won’t be kids anymore after this year.”

Tom scoffs. “Your brother’s full of it, Vinny. Nothing’s gonna change. We’ll still be the same guys we’ve always been.”

But even as he says it, you all know something feels different this summer. Like you’re standing on the edge of something big, and there’s no going back.

Then Vinny drops the bombshell that will change everything.