Daisy wasn’t so convinced. She had the distinct impression that Esther was a skipping record, the needle not yet aligned with the right track, and Susan . . . well, she wasn’t someone who found grooves so much as carved her own path without worrying about whatever was in her way, like a plow churning through a football field.

“I’m mostly here because Granny said I should get out and try new things.” Daisy took her glasses off to polish a smudge that wasn’t there, thinking of the rainbow letters of her LGBTQA badge lodged in the bottom of her tote.

She wasn’t sure what Granny would make of that.

She wasn’t sure what she made of that.

All Daisy knew was that this was the first time she’d been exposed to so many people her own age, and it wasn’t the boys who drew her attention. It wasn’t exactly that many of the girls did, either . . . just one who sat across from Daisy during Information and Information Studies and drew on her hand for most of the lecture while still managing to ask the most incisive question at the end of it.

And Elise. Maybe.

Elise, who had laid a hand on Daisy’s shoulder and was now giving it a gentle, sympathetic squeeze.

“Don’t worry, I remember what it was like when I first started.” Elise registered the question in the way Daisy’s eyebrows shot up and added, “Third-year Philosophy student. I know exactly where I belong.”

“Oh. So, um . . . How come you’re here?”

“To meet people like you,” Elise said. She drew to a halt by one of the stands and said, “You know you’ve missed out on the best society going, don’t you?”

“Are you going to try to get me to sign up for rugby?” Daisy’s eyes narrowed warily.

Elise let out another one of those inside-twisting husky laughs and shook her head. “Quite the opposite. I was going to ask if you like yoga.”

She stepped aside to give Daisy a better view of the yoga mats that were laid out on the floor next to them. There was a bedsheet backdrop with a hand-drawn image of a lotus flower. All the overlapping leaves had been painted in different colors and made to look like eyes. There were a couple of people there already, sitting in casual Hero poses and sipping tea from fancy clay cups.

“I love yoga!” Daisy’s voice was squeaky with enthusiasm as she took it all in.