Summary

It begins to rain and Mateo and Rufus decide to ride the train back and forth. Mateo tells Rufus, “there’s so much I never got to see in my own city” (261). On the train, they play the traveler game, making up stories about the other passengers. At one point, Rufus asks Mateo, “hey, isn’t this the stop where we spontaneously got our gym membership?” (264). They begin playing out their own lives and making up the history of their friendship, coming up with different experiences that happened at each stop. They move into the future, with Mateo being an architect and Rufus a travel blogger. Before leaving the train, they leave a book they bought at the bookstore on the seat, Mateo asking, “isn’t it cool knowing someone will [find this] if we leave it here?” (266).

Right as the boys exit...