“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Oh… ,” she said. “That’s my friend Matt.”

“Your friend?” I asked.

“Well, I guess… I don’t know.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“Mom won’t let me have a boyfriend yet,” Casey said. “We’re just pals.”

I nodded, but I was a little confused as to why she had his picture up. I decided to let it go for now.

“Kelsey keeps asking me what I’m wearing on the first day of school,” I said.

“Why?” Casey said. “What’s the big deal?”

“Exactly!” I said, relieved.

I feel like Casey is the one person who really sees things the same way I do.

“I’ll probably wear these pants,” said Casey, pulling a pair out of her closet. “They’re light cotton, so they’ll be okay even if it’s still hot out. And that top… now where is it…” She was pulling things out from under her bed. “Oh, here it is!”

It looked like a regular outfit to me.

“Do you think middle school is going to be different?” I asked.

“Well, everyone says it is,” she said. “It’s a different building, and we walk around to our classes and have lockers, so in that way it will be different. And we get split up into different classes, so there’s that.”

“But I mean, we won’t be different, right?”

“You and me?” she asked. “Like, am I going to change overnight?”

I laughed. “No, well… maybe? It’s just that everyone is making such a big deal about it and I think it’s just… school starting.”

“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out,” said Casey.

I nodded, and we heard the front door open.

“Casey?” Mrs. Peters called upstairs.

“Up here with Lindsay!” Casey called down.

Mrs. Peters came upstairs. She looked tired.

“Well, we are set,” she said. “School is ready for you. Now are you ready for school?”

Casey laughed. “No! I need more summer!”

“You know what?” said Mrs. Peters. “After today, so do I.”

We followed her back downstairs and she made us a snack, just like she did when we were in first grade: sliced grapes, cheese on crackers, and what she calls banana boats, which are sliced bananas with peanut butter on top.

“Mom, how is middle school going to be different?” Casey asked, her mouth full of crackers.

“From your old school?” Mrs. Peters asked. “Well, it’s a different building and a different schedule, moving around from class to class, and that takes some getting used to.”

Casey looked at me. Just as we’d thought.

“But at this age kids are trying new things and changing, too. You might find your friends going off in new directions,” Mrs. Peters said.

Casey and I thought about that for a moment.

“You mean like Brett Carr will suddenly start playing soccer instead of being a piano genius?” I asked.