She gives us all an apologetic wave, and Jude blows her a kiss as he ushers us on down the hallway, around a corner, and through a set of swinging doors into the little cafeteria.

A hot-food line with buffet-style serving tables sits along the far wall, and there’s a drink station in one corner. A salad bar fills up the middle of the floor. Last night, at dinner, it was overflowing. But it’s empty now. The rest of the room is taken up with round tables.

We all grab trays and make our way through the line, filling our plates with scrambled eggs and sausage. There are biscuits, too. Big fluffy ones. And fresh strawberries.

All around the cafeteria, kids are splitting up into groups. We’ve only been here one night, but everyone seems to have found their people already. It reminds me of the school cafeteria back home. I guess some things are universal.

I fill my glass with orange juice from the dispenser and head toward a spot in the middle of the room where Jude, Lex, and Val are waiting for me.

“What’d you guys think of Willa?” Jude asks as we slide our trays onto the table. His plate is piled high with biscuits. “I told you she was a trip, right?”

“She’s fucking amazing,” Lex says as he reaches for the pepper. “Exactly like I thought she’d be.”

“I keep thinking about what she said,” Val tells us. She’s dressed all in black this morning. Ripped jeans and another tank top. Cat eyes and red lipstick. She looks like a rock star. “About how we know who we are, but not who we may be.” She pops a strawberry into her mouth. “That’s deep shit.”

“So, who are we going to be four weeks from now?” Lex asks, pepper shaker frozen in midair over his eggs. He sneaks a look at Jude. “I don’t wanna leave here the same person I was when I showed up.”

And I don’t, either. But I don’t know yet who it is I want to become.

Maybe none of the others do, either. Maybe that’s what this summer is about. For all of us.

We fill in some more gaps about ourselves between bites.

Val has done some modeling in LA. Just stuff for a local mall, she tells us like she’s halfway embarrassed. But the rest of us are impressed.

Lex got suspended last year for skipping classes. But he still had straight As. So fuck ’em.

And Jude plays sax in the marching band. “Played,” he corrects himself. He probably won’t have time to keep it up next year. In college. The look on his face tells us he already misses it.