Skip Day

When the high school seniors of Pahokee—a small, mainly African-American industrial town in Florida—wake up on the first Monday morning after the prom, they don’t go to school, but head for the beach. It’s Skip Day, and according to tradition, they ditch classes all day.

Dozens of students drive the 60 miles to the coast. Girls carefully choose their beachwear, and couples get in the car hand in hand. The Florida landscape slips by to the beats of the playlist, until eventually the ocean appears on the horizon.

It’s a rite of passage to the new life ahead of them. At the beach, the students muse on their plans and possibilities, the places they’ll go and the people they’ll meet. And what will happen to these friendships? Hey, today is today, and they hang out together just like they always do. Until someone asks, “You ready to go?”