The First Stone

A teenage boy named Reef—his real name is Chad Kennedy—is about to throw a rock into oncoming traffic from a highway. The previous Halloween, he and two of his friends—Jink and Bigger—had thrown stolen pumpkins from the same spot. Jink and Bigger warn Reef that cops are coming. They leave when the cop pulls over and yells at them through a megaphone.

They reach an abandoned hotel they call The Pit and share drinks from a bottle of rum. Reef remembers his grandmother, Nan, in her casket. Then he remembers her crying at her husband’s funeral, but Reef had been glad he was dead.

The small businesses around The Pit have given up on calling the police when teenagers use it for a party spot, especially since it is falling apart. As they urinate onto the ground from a third-story window, Reef feels the stone he didn’t throw in his pocket. He went into foster care when Nan’s cancer had gotten too severe. At age 17, Reef is now tall and attractive.

Reef describes his friends. Bigger is an enormous adolescent who can make anyone back down in a fight. Jink (Stan) is missing several teeth.