The Derby who walked next to Tad on the boardwalk wasn't the same as the Derby he'd grown up with. Tad wasn't sure what exactly had caused the change, but leaving Bullworth and going off to college had changed Derby in ways almost too subtle for Tad to place. He was no less authoritative than he'd always been, no less confident and certainly no nicer, but every now and then he'd seem to draw into himself, just as he was doing now. Tad had begun to suspect that although they'd spent most of their time in each other's company, maybe they hadn't spent much time together at all.
And then, just as it always did, the moment passed, and Derby wanted ice cream from one of the little ice cream stands on the boardwalk. "Sure thing, Derby," Tad agreed as he always did, and crossed over to the little man in the red and white striped button-down that inevitably accessorized each such enterprise.
The ice cream was nestled into ten uniform cartons, labeled neatly with cards written on in permanent marker. Tad scanned the colors of the ice cream and then the names, and finally looked up at the vendor. "I'll have one dark chocolate cone," he said at last. He wasn't sure boardwalk dark chocolate ice cream would satisfy Derby's palate, and he was prepared to eat it himself if necessary, although Tad personally preferred black cherry.
He paid, and returned to Derby's side with his hand wrapped around the paper that insulated the cone. "It looked alright," Tad reported, holding out the ice cream, and he hoped it would be.