“I hope you’re not taking a stand against patisseries,” I said, with a kind of coaxing smile.

They looked at me for a second, their eyes sharp. Their eyebrows were thick and untouched, the left marked by a burst of white hairs where their brow curved and turned toward their nose—a lack of pigment they’d been born with, which we called Ros’s snowbrow. For a second, I thought I saw the old Ros lurking there—the one who would joke with me, who might, say, bang the table and shout, The patisseries must go!—but they dipped their head and went back to carving, moving on to the r.

The bell rang. Well. At least they weren’t taking a stand against baguettes.

I drew up a proposal during our next class, when I should’ve been listening to Ms. Wagrowski explain angular acceleration, which I needed to learn not only for my sake but also for Ros’s, who’d eschewed note-taking in favor of more carving—lightning bolts this time. That pen would never be the same. I looked up how to write a contract on my phone, and by the end of the period, this is what I’d come up with:

A VERY MODEST PROPOSAL for a VERY MODEST SUMMER of VERY MODEST FUN and VERY SERIOUS FRIENDSHIP

We (Celia Gilbert, Ros Brinkman, and Andrew Touchstone, henceforth referred to as “We” or “The Triumvirate”) propose spending the dates of June 8–August 24 (henceforth to be referred to as “The Summer”) in the town of LOVESICK FALLS, taking up residence at 6 CORBIN LANE (henceforth to be referred to as “the cabin”). The Triumvirate believe we have proved ourselves to be responsible, intelligent individuals and feel spending the summer at the cabin could benefit us on a number of levels, including

I. Personal growth

a. As we prepare for college (after all, junior year is when everything begins to count), it is important that we gain independence by

i. Preparing meals other than instant (gluten-free) mac ’n’ cheese

ii. Finding (and securing) employment

iii. Managing our own schedules

II. Physical health

a. Myriad opportunities for outdoor activities

i. Hiking

ii. Swimming

iii. Canoeing

b. A break from city pollution

i. Even though the Triumvirate reside in what is technically a “suburban” region, pollution levels are much higher in these regions than in Lovesick Falls (see appendix 1)

III. Mental health

a. Trees have been said to promote neuroplasticity (see appendix 2)

b. The Triumvirate could really use a change of scene

I included a breakdown of a budget and printed out a map with all the nearby hospitals circled, and I showed it to Touchstone and Ros that afternoon.

“You spelled independence wrong,” said Touchstone.

“What? No, I didn’t. I-n-d…”

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to see you freak out.”

I elbowed him in the chest. He moaned and lamented his weak constitution.

“They’re really going to be gone this summer?” I asked.