It was like the exact opposite of Scud's life -- but then, Scud had taken the cowardly way out and just left before he was old enough to even legally do so. And then he'd just kept going. Stopping had been hard. One of the hardest things he'd ever done, really.
"S'cool," Scud said, rubbing his smoke out in the ashtray and hopping off the counter. "We gotta pool. You like swimming?"