In the present, a girl meets her third cousin, a boy from the city whose premie brother is in the NICU. She introduces him to her friends and tells him how to earn their respect. She also shows him around and introduces him to her pet gator. The girl's friends find out that her cousin lied to them, and they beat him up. The girl's parents whip her because she got her cousin into trouble. The girl's pet gator dies, and she feels adrift and lost in grief. She encounters her cousin one more time before he leaves. His baby brother is better. The girl and her cousin enjoy a final moment together in the wild Florida nature.