A sweet, sad story about Donny Peirce, who has never spent time away from a tiny town in South Carolina. His best friend Teddy is off to college, and Donny’s not sure Teddy will have time for him anymore.

Teddy and I have grown up together here on the Pee Dee. But Teddy left about a month ago for Clemson University. Said he was going to study agriculture and come back to help his daddy. He will be back. This place is like a boomerang. Shoots you out into the world, but you get slung right on back.

I’m scared of leaving home. The rest of the world has different rules it lives by. They’re complicated and tiered.