After that, we put concealer on the spots by my mouth, and then a liquid foundation that’s cold and silky against my skin.

“So, how are your applications going?” I ask. Since we’re being all interested in each other now.

To my surprise, Lily sighs, and her spine slumps. “I’m really not sure,” she says. “Yale is crazy competitive, you know?”

I’ve never heard Lily talk like this before, like she’s anything less than perfect. Honestly, it’s kind of nice to know that even my sister has doubts about herself. It means she’s probably not an alien robot clone, something I have suspected from time to time. She’s an actual human being.

But the second I hear her getting down on herself, all I want to do is reassure her.

“You’ll get in,” I say. “And even if you don’t, there are other good colleges.”

She shrugs. “It’s a lot of pressure,” she says. “And honestly . . .”

She trails off, biting her lip as she rummages around the makeup bag.

“What?”

“You can’t tell Mom, okay? She’s driving me nuts about the whole college thing.”

The surprises just keep on coming. I’ve never heard Lily complain about Mom before. I thought since they had so much in common, they always got along. “I promise,” I say.

She takes a deep breath. “Well, I was kind of thinking it might be nice to take a break from school. After graduation, I mean. Do something different for a while.”

“Like what?”

She wipes at a smudge on my nose. “I’m not sure,” she says. “Travel or something? Go off the grid and meet new people?”

Okay, seriously. Who is this girl and what has she done with my sister? Or is it really possible that she’s been inside Lily this whole time, zipped up behind all that perfection?

“You?” I ask. “Ditch college? And Instagram?”

Lily laughs. “I know,” she says. “But Instagram isn’t as much fun as it used to be. My friends from home are kind of . . . lying low recently. And the kids at my new school don’t really know me.”

Is that why Lily has been home so much recently? Not just because she’s stressed about applications but because she’s having trouble making new friends?

For the first time, I think about how hard it must have been for Lily to move right before senior year. And how weird it is that I haven’t heard her complain about it. But maybe Lily knew that us moving in to take care of Gram was more important than where she finished school. Maybe she cared more about Gram than I thought.

“You shouldn’t worry about all the kids at your new school,” I say. “You should just find a couple who like you for you. That’s what I did.”