Both Ernestine and Amanda get an unexpected shock when they enter eighth grade at Du Bois. Their best friends, Alicia and Clovis, have decided to test the "waters of integration" by attending the formerly all-white Central Elementary. Ernestine focuses on rebuilding her friendship with Clovis after his year away. Amanda's increasing interest in boys reaches a height at a Halloween party both girls and their friends attend. Both girls experience a life-changing event that might help answer the question that has persisted from the very beginning: "Can Ernestine and Amanda ever truly become friends?"