Jonathan Goldstein

Every night, after his teeth are brushed and he's all tucked in, right before Clark goes to sleep, Skye sits down on the edge of his bed, and they talk.

What was your favorite part of that movie?

It was a good ending.

Clark's 11, so naturally, there's a lot of discussion about comic books and movies.

But there's something about the stillness of nighttime that also frees Clark up to speak in a way that he doesn't normally.

Not only does he tell Skye about what he's watching and reading, he tells her about his feelings.

He shares stories about what's going on at school.

And Skye shares stories too, stories from her childhood.

Some stories she tells just to entertain Clark, but other stories she tells to impart a lesson.

There's one story in particular she's told Clark over and over again throughout the years.

And lately, it's been coming up a lot.

Recently, Skye told me the story.

They wore Esprit sweatshirts and watched Love Boat on the weekends.

They were the popular girls.

They spent all of fifth grade together.

Then, summer came.

And with it, long days filled with lazy bike rides and trips to the candy shop.

But early one summer morning, Skye woke up to find her yard had been teepeed, covered in toilet paper.

And there was more.

Skye's mom had seen the Vandals make their getaway.