“I like her fine,” I said. This was a lie, but it wasn’t that I disliked her. I was just hoping that she would fade into the background, disappear like that character they’d introduced in the season two premiere of Power Jam as Blade Mendoza’s love interest, only they never brought her up again.

“That’s a ringing endorsement,” Ros said.

“What I mean is I don’t really know her. I like her about as much as I like someone who I watched punch someone at a party.”

“We kissed,” said Ros.

They kissed! They kissed? Oh my God, they’d kissed.

“Really? When!?”

“This afternoon,” they said. “She took me to see this all-white redwood tree. It was incredible.”

“This kiss, or the tree?”

“Both,” said Ros.

I thought for a second I might vomit, which would be especially unpleasant in our tiny bathroom, but I was distracted by Touchstone waltzing through the door, reciting lines from a monologue he’d had to memorize as part of an exercise for Young People’s Company.

“‘O, that this too too solid flesh would melt

Thaw and resolve itself into a dew’—what’s going on, everyone?”

“Ros kissed Jess Orlando and wrote her a love poem,” I said.

“Thanks a lot, Celia,” Ros said.

“The walls are thin! He’s going to find out soon enough!”

“Damn, Ros. Well played.” Touchstone grabbed my bag of (gluten-free) granola and starting eating fistfuls straight from the bag, sending bits of oat and nut skittering across the kitchen floor.

“Thanks, dude,” said Ros.

“Audrey and I kissed today, too.” More granola fell to the ground.

“You’re making this place a mess!” I said.

“Celia, you kiss anyone today?” said Touchstone. “It might chill you out.”

“Mean, Andrew!” said Ros.

“Believe it or not, I actually worked today, thank you very much. And I’ll remind you that the whole point of this place is that you’re supposed to fall out of love. And furthermore, the contract said we were supposed to have a summer of VERY MODEST FUN and VERY SERIOUS FRIENDSHIP, not half-hearted friendship while everyone pursues their own romantic interests.”

“Celia, you a little jealous?” asked Touchstone rather annoyingly. Of course I was jealous! Of course I wanted to make out with someone! The only person I’d ever made out with, besides Touchstone, was Garrett Watkins on the swim-team trip, and he’d burped into my mouth.

“What I want,” I said, “is for this place to be clean.”

“Let me see this poem,” Touch said. “We can do some workshopping if you want.”

“Here,” said Ros, passing him the chore wheel. “I haven’t shown it to her yet. I wanted to get your opinion on it. Celia’s, too.”

“You know what we should do, now that we’re all here?” I said. “Is clean up the Lily Pad.”

“What’s a copepod?” said Touch.

“The poem answers it if you read.”