“Why?” asked Kiera.

“I’m considered a bit too risqué for school visits below the college circuit. Such a shame, because I remember being your age. What I talk about, I think you need the most.” She sat on the bleachers, motioned for us to join. “So, let’s do it.”

“Do”—I felt slow on the uptake—“what?”

“Q and A. Just for you.”

My sister beamed. “I asked as a personal favor.”

“She’s been an amazing guide,” Jaylan said, arching her back in a cat stretch, obviously tired, but pushing through it for us, “and is doing some important work on her channel. This week in particular.”

Cressie’s smile almost split her head in two.

Jaylan said, “You’re all from the same town? Green Creek?”

“Yes,” I said. “We are.”

The Pledgers swarmed. Settling into seats on the bleachers like bees settling onto sunflowers, ready to lap up all that could be taken. Kiera sat, and I nuzzled next to her. Qwan and Angie climbed higher into the bleachers, his legs sprawled, and her between them using his knees as armrests.

Shanice dived in, the need for anonymity abandoned. This whole trip was a pact: we’d all be keeping each other’s secrets. “Is it bad that I think about sex a lot? I don’t want to do it, but I think about it all the time.”

“Not bad,” said Jaylan, “human. I thought about it a lot, too. Still do, if I’m being honest,” she finished with a wink.

Ralph and Bobby asked various questions about approaching girls. Helena had her questions. Surprisingly, Mya jumped in. Even Qwan had an odd question about if girls liked dudes who could cook? This went on for about half an hour. When the group ran out of gas, Jaylan said, “Nothing I can help you with, Del?”

Everyone stared. Most had shared some secret yearning with Jaylan. Why not me?

“Um, sure. In relationships, how do you move forward from a situation that started kind of rocky?” I asked.

Jaylan popped an eyebrow high. “Move forward, or move on?”

“Forward,” I said. My palms felt damp.

Jaylan said, “I ask because sometimes the available choices get confused. Particularly when there are rocky starts. Everything good doesn’t have to be hard.”

“How do you know all this stuff?” Jameer asked, tense, his voice gruffer than usual. “How do we know you know what you’re talking about?”

“It’s easy to give others good advice. The only time we’re objective is when it’s not about us. If I broadcast my mess-ups, I could have my own soap opera in addition to my channel. Is there something you want to ask me—?”

“Jameer,” he said.

“Do you have something on your mind, Jameer?”

He shook his head and waved off the request.

“What about you, lady?” Jaylan focused on Kiera.

“What do you do if you’ve been hanging on to this old feeling, and you’re guilty about it, but you want to move on to whatever’s next?”

My pulse sped up. She was talking about Colossus, had to be. She wanted to move on. Wanted what was next. I squeezed her knee, and she jumped a little, surprised.