“Obviously I’m still applying to Columbia,” says Shannon, “but I can’t not consider the Sorbonne, especially after spending the summer in Paris. I’ll apply to Brown too, but I mean, Providence? Really?”

Kiki rolls her eyes into her Coke. She drinks like seven cups of it a day, even after our science lab where we watched it take the rust off a nail. “Brown’s a great school, Shan. I would apply there if they had a forensic science program, or a journalism major.”

“Are you sure you want to center your early decision around something you might not even want to do in a couple of years? What if you change your mind and you’re stuck at a third-rate school because it has the best forensics program?” Shannon says “forensics” as if it means Kiki wants to study toe fungus.

Kiki sighs. “Not every school that isn’t an Ivy or in Paris is a third-rate school, for your information, and yes, I’m sure. But if I change my mind, I can always transfer. And anyway, how do you know you’ll always want to study art history? What if you decide you don’t wanna be a museum curator or gallery owner?”

I watch Shannon and Kiki volley back and forth with fascination. They have nothing in common except that they’ve both known what they want to do forever, and so they take each other more seriously than anyone else can possibly take either of them. Even watching them clash over it, I know they’re playing devil’s advocate with each other, making the other one sure she’s firm in her choice, because this is just how they do things.

We’re a weird crew and we know it: Shannon and her perfect hair and oodles of money, who never misses a party but is still such a mom, into finer things like art and French culture but also totally our group caretaker; Kiki with her mystery obsessions and gothic fashion sense, not to mention total disinterest in dating (despite the rest of us being boy-crazy), who is always the one to remember the little details that matter and gives the most thoughtful gifts as a result; Gia with her narrow interests of Tommy, cheerleading, and making memories, but whose loyalty and focus make her utterly indispensable; and me, who’s always up for trying anything and soaking in everybody else, happy to be the guinea pig or test audience for everything from Shannon’s glittery eyeliner to Gia’s newest choreography.