They were never the same after that summer. But then again, neither was the world they left behind.
Everyone assumed Penny was the leader. She was the one who spray-painted mustaches on the billboard of the mayor, who dared the boys from the high school to jump off the railroad trestle. But those of us watching knew the truth. Penny’s courage was a performance. Amber’s was real. amber moore and penny barber
It was Amber who stayed silent when the guidance counselor asked who broke the window. It was Amber who held Penny’s hair back after she got sick on cheap wine, and it was Amber who, without a word, handed Penny a bus ticket the night her stepfather came home drunk again. They were never the same after that summer
Amber didn’t cry. She picked up the penny, put it in her shoe for luck, and walked to the library to study. She was the one who spray-painted mustaches on