On the balcony two lacrosse players were hurling water balloons at each other, and sometimes at people who passed by on the ground five floors below. They hooted and hollered when they hit somebody or when the splash was particularly big. Ronny listened. He avoided the water bombardiers by heading in the opposite direction along the balcony while they were filling more balloons. He found Sheria in her room on the women’s side of the building. She was perched on her bed, her head wrapped in a bright African print; while she listened to jazz she painted her nails.

She said, “You ignored me when I was sunbathing the other day. People are not allowed to ignore me. Weren’t you proud of me that I was outside? You know I don’t like the outdoors.”

“Well, I was shocked, I admit. You are absolutely glowing with vitamin D, by the way.”

“Oh, I know.” She threw back her head and laughed again, eyes glittering in a way that looked either happy or manic. Early in the year he had caught her with shallow cuts on her wrist. She had refused to admit she had them but the fact that he tried to talk to her that day had deepened their friendship. Today she was all right, as far as he could tell. Her friend Sara stuck her head in the door and said hello.

“When are you out of here?” Sara asked.

“I’m leaving the dorm today. Not leaving town, though.” He told the story quickly, and they were appropriately commiserative, especially Sheria, who had heard stories about his mother before. “So I found a room in a house on Cameron. It’s barely the size of a telephone booth but I rented it anyway.”

“Oh, lord,” said Sheria. “That’s not very smart.”

“Beggars and choosers, you know.”

Sara said, “You’ll miss the last party.”

“There’s a party?”

“I’m sure there is.”

Sheria said, “There’s always a party. But we’ll be sure to tell you about it in the fall.”

Sara disappeared into her room and Ronny leaned against the door frame. Sheria sat with her air of feverish stillness, one leg crossed under her, dipping the brush into the nail polish. He felt a rush of something, a feeling he could not quite name. “So, you’re going home to Raleigh this summer, I guess.”

“Oh, yes. To my own dear mother.” She allowed her smile to fade and said, “Look, Ronny. It’s all going to be fine. You know? We’re both going to be all right.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you look like you need me to say something and that’s the best I can come up with.”

He hugged her awkwardly, feeling the heat off her skin, the light layer of sweat.

“Keep it real, okay? Like I do.” She laughed again, without the honk sound, but with such delight. As if the moment of sober assurance had not happened.

“I’ll see you this fall,” he said. Walking away, out the door and past her open window, watching the print of her blouse through the screen, Sara already in the room with her again, the two of them chattering and laughing.