“Yeah, mine too.” Karina’s words, though true, rang hollow to her own ears.

“Should we go downstairs?” Stephanie said, glancing at her watch. “It’s almost seven.”

In the spacious dorm lobby, Karina was struck by how many of the girls gathered there looked similar, with long, pin-straight hair, mostly blond—the kind of hair she’d always coveted, the opposite of hers. Karina caught bits of conversations about beaches, bars, sorority rush, parties later that night. Some of the girls seemed to know each other already. She looked around for a familiar face, though she knew that no one from her high school had enrolled at UCSB. They sat through a rundown of the dorm’s rules and procedures, then the meeting concluded with an icebreaker: they were supposed to talk to as many people as they could in five minutes and share one unique fact about themselves with each person. As soon as the bell rang, an Indian girl Karina had noticed on the other side of the room made a beeline for her.

“Hi, I’m Priya Patel. Pre-med. And no, my parents don’t own a motel.” She smiled conspiratorially. “That’s two facts. How about you?”

“I’m Karina, from Los Altos.”

“Huh. I’m from Fremont. I’ve never seen you at the ICC.” Priya frowned when Karina looked confused. “The Indian Community Center?” she said, with a touch of sarcasm. “Haven’t you been? God, my family practically lives there on the weekends.” Priya glanced down at Karina’s name tag and winced. “Oh . . . sorry, I thought . . .”

“I’m half Indian. My mom,” Karina said. “But I’ve never been to the ICC.”

“Consider yourself lucky,” Priya said. Just then, the bell rang, indicating that only one minute was left. “Well, nice to meet you.”

Karina felt both relieved and disappointed when they parted. The next girl she turned to had that sleek blond hair. “I’m Jessie,” she said to Karina. “Short for Jessica. And I’m the youngest of seven.” She nodded and smiled knowingly. “Yup. Three brothers and three sisters. I’m the caboose. My folks are counting the days till their last tuition bill. How about you? Any siblings?”

“Oh, I . . . I’m Karina, from Los Altos,” Karina said, as her mind raced. She was accustomed to being around people who knew her whole story and avoided the topic entirely. “I’m an only child, actually.” She knew she didn’t owe anything to a stranger, and yet the words felt disloyal out of her mouth.

“Oh. Sometimes I think that would be nice,” Jessie quipped, but a flicker of pity seemed to cross her face.

Karina made her way through the crowd back to Stephanie, who was speaking lightning-fast Spanish with another girl. She stood awkwardly by until the bell rang again and the meeting concluded. Stephanie and her new friend hugged and promised, in Spanish, to see each other soon. Karina returned to her room with Stephanie, who seemed nearly as out of place in that sea of girls as she did. Nearly, but not quite. Karina’s club of two in the world had been reduced to one, and suddenly she felt very alone.