“And I will not miss Salem being obnoxious about my hair being everywhere.” Sabrina grips her wild mass of black waves in one hand and swings it over her shoulder. “I guess boarding school does have its perks.”

“Salem mentioned being a transfer,” I say to Sabrina, “so I guess you are too?” She nods, and I look to Heather.

“Not me,” she says, pulling the last few items from her suitcase and closing it up. “I was here last year too, and I loved it. Don’t worry, I wasn’t sure about it either, at first. My mom was having such a tough time being there for all three of us, and my grandma suggested it might be easier on everyone if there were one fewer kid to shuttle around everywhere. My sisters both cried at the thought, but I like trying new things, so, I said I’d give it a shot, and here I am again the next year. You’ll both love it as much as I do, I’m sure of it.”

“I like your confidence,” I tell Heather, both of us ignoring the way Sabrina rolls her eyes. “I did choose to come here, so I definitely hope to like it, but I, uh, did not choose the whole boys’ dorm thing, or to have random assholes on campus cracking jokes at me like I begged to live there so I could catch glimpses of bare boy ass in the showers.”

She seems to think on that for a second before offering a hopeful shrug and a “This too shall pass?”

“Here’s hoping. But now you’re both required by law to be my friends, so that I don’t become completely warped and maladjusted. I’ve already spent way too many hours of my life watching boys play video games in dank basements, thank you very much.”

“Deal,” says Heather sweetly, and I take Sabrina’s grunt to mean the same.

I help them finish unpacking and get their luggage into storage, and by the time we’re done, the big orientation icebreaker dinner is nearly upon us. I’m feeling grungy and dusty from the combo of the bus ride this morning and the whole rest of the day, so I say goodbye to Heather, Sabrina, and The Dorm That Should Be Mine and head back across the patio to Rumson so I can rinse myself off and change into something that’ll hopefully make a better first impression.

The whole time, I try not to feel bitter that if I just lived where I was supposed to, the three of us could get ready together, help one another pick outfits, do one another’s makeup … it’s exactly the kind of thing I pictured when I applied to boarding school.