“You guuuys!” Laney yelled as they got closer. “I keep falling and Ada’s getting mad because she stole these jeans from her sister for me to wear and I’m ruining them, so Harrison, can you skate on one side of me, and Ethan, can you skate on the other?”

Ethan and Harrison exchanged a sly smile. “What do you think, Lambert?” Ethan said.

“I don’t know, Anderson, you think she really wants us to?”

Ethan tilted his head. “It’s hard to tell. But if there’s one thing I know about sisters, it’s that they’re notoriously overprotective of their pants.”

Harrison laughed. “Better do it, then.” Ethan beamed. He and Harrison handed off their drinks to Margot and Jude and strode off to put on their skates, looking happy.

A swarm of people surrounded Margot and Jude, choosing and passing the steaming cups. I stepped back, wondering how far I could make it to the parking lot before anyone noticed.

But then Jude stepped out of the crowd. He’d finally switched to a heavier coat. It was navy blue and puffy. But he still wore the green knitted gloves. He was holding a small cup. “I got you a caramel apple latte,” he said.

“Just pick one, you freaks!” Margot yelled at a couple of indecisive sophomores, who quickly grabbed the last two drinks. “And throw this away!” She shoved the carriers at one of them and walked resolutely up to Jude and me. “Hold on for one sec,” she said to Jude as she took my elbow and started leading me up to the gazebo. “I’ll bring her back, I promise.”

“What’s wrong?” Jude asked, following us. When I didn’t meet his eyes, he stopped. I let Margot lead me up the hill.

“Okay,” Margot breathed out. “Last year, like a week after my fight with Izzy, I asked you in chem if you wanted to come to this concert with me. It was like the third time I’d invited you to stuff and the third time you kind of brushed me off. I understood you were busy, but I was really lonely and not in a good place. Anyway, I was venting to Ethan at rehearsal, and I said you were so programmed and intense about ballet that you weren’t just a bitch, you were a Robobitch.”

My mouth hung open. Margot looked down at her shoes.