Kenzie digested that. Then she smiled and said, “Thanks, but I’ve done some scumbag stuff. I wasn’t considerate, I hurt a lot of people along the way.”

Ashley nodded.

“You’re eleven,” Chris said. “Hate to break it to you, but you get a pass.”

“Actually no,” Kenzie said. “I don’t think the people who I hurt would look me in the eye or give me a hug or let me into their homes, if I showed up in front of them. They don’t give me any pass.”

“The amnesty is supposed to give everyone a pass,” Tristan said.

“It doesn’t work that way in practice,” Ashley said. She looked down at her hands. “There are people being kept on short leashes, staying in places that are prisons in everything but name.”

“Do you want a pass, Kenzie?” Jessica asked. “Do you want the past to be the past? Do you want forgiveness?”

“A good question,” Tristan said. “I do, for sure.”

“Yeah,” Rain said. “Yeah.”

“Our inaugural session is winding down,” Jessica said. “I’ve talked to each of you about goals. We outlined some goals and expectations before and after you decided to try this group. It would be good to think about where you stand on that.”

Ashley thought of all the people she had killed.

The idea of asking, begging for absolution, it bothered her.

“When we discuss goals,” Jessica said, “we think about change. What do we need or want to change? Very commonly, in my experience, it’s something we raise during first sessions or something we leave as homework. Let me build on that, though. Change. Do you want to change?”

“That’s not such a hard question,” Rain said.

Ashley was silent.

“Do you want change or do you want to change,” Tristan said. “Those are very different things. But yeah, I do want to change. It’s part of wanting to move past my past mistakes.”

“My power makes me change,” Chris said. “Super easy question, I get it whether I want to or not. I answer with an N-slash-A.”

“Ha ha,” Tristan said.

“I want to change,” Kenzie said. “That’s pretty obvious, I guess.”

“I’m in a good place,” Sveta said. “Change isn’t what I’m after, exactly. I want to make sure I don’t lose this place I’m at.”

“Okay,” Jessica said. “These are all good answers. It’s interesting to hear the immediate responses. Think on it. Come to the next session with your thoughts. If you find the answer is easy, then explain it. Think of a way to say what that change looks like.”

The group session wrapped up. Ashley stood from her seat. Tristan talked to Sveta—they were both familiar with Weld, and Weld had dropped Sveta off. Kenzie talked to Chris.