“So… Gabriela told me she likes Wes. I think they’re going to start dating, and, well… I’m happy for her. For them. But I’m also scared that I’m going to lose them both, and that I’m just going to become unnecessary.… Am I a terrible person?”

Neda shakes her head.

“No, you’re an honest person. Those are all normal feelings to have. And you know, if Gabs is really a good friend, then hopefully Wes will be the one who feels like the third wheel.”

I manage a smile. It feels good to have an older sister who cares enough about me to dole out thoughtful advice and take my side.

“But, you know, just to play devil’s advocate…” Ugh, why can’t she ever stop when she’s ahead? “Maybe Mom and Dad aren’t wrong about your friendship with Gabs. She doesn’t have to be the be-all and end-all. I know it feels like she’s gonna be your best friend forever, but you’re gonna make so many more friends in college.”

Neda starts to tell me about all the cool girlfriends she’s made at Yale, and I realize that I know nothing about her social life outside of Gideon. It turns out she has a tight-knit handful of girlfriends. First on the list is Andrea, a singer-songwriter from Columbus, Ohio, who’s a pragmatist at heart. That’s why she’s majoring in legal studies instead of music. Then there’s Andrea’s roommate, Jihan. She moved to New Haven from Virginia, by way of Liberia. Neda describes her as a wunderkind playwright who is definitely going to win a Tony someday. And probably an Oscar and an Emmy, too. Last but not least, there’s Kayoko, who lives in a single across the hall. She can’t decide between majoring in art history or comparative literature—but what she really wants to do is have her own sake bar in Brooklyn someday. Or Queens, which she predicts will be the cooler borough by the time she graduates.

“See,” Neda tells me. “People are just so much cooler in college.”

Then what college do all the assholes from high school go to? I think to myself.