The morning I left ==Windmere==, the sky was the exact shade of blue it had been my whole life. It felt wrong, almost insulting, that the world didn’t seem to care my entire life was changing. The sun still rose, Mae still sent me a text with a ridiculous meme about dramatic goodbyes, and Leo still showed up at my front door with a drink from my favorite ==café== like it was any other day. Except it wasn’t. The ==duffel== bag at my feet felt heavier than it should’ve, like the weight of my entire childhood was packed inside it. My parents were making a final sweep of the house, checking for anything I might’ve forgotten, as if I wasn’t already leaving so much behind. “You don’t have to look so miserable, you know,” Leo said, nudging my arm as we sat on the porch steps. “This is a good thing.” “I know,” I muttered, staring at the cracks in the pavement. “It just doesn’t feel real yet.” “Well, it’s about to.” He grinned. “You, my friend, are going to an actual university, and before you say it, yes, I know it’s technically in the middle of nowhere—” “Literally,” I cut in. “It’s almost more middle-of-nowhere than here.” “Still,” he said, ignoring me, “it’s the start of something new. And you’ll be amazing.” I sighed, picking at the hem of my sweater. “I wish you guys were coming too.” Mae plopped down on my other side, her dark curls bouncing as she rested her chin on her knee. “I told my mom we should all just pack up and move with you, but apparently that’s ‘not reasonable’ or whatever.” I smiled, but it wavered at the edges. “What if I hate it?” Mae snorted. “Then you come home, and we roast you for acting like the world was ending over nothing.” Leo chuckled. “Exactly. But you won’t hate it.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I just don’t know what to expect.” “Then go find out,” Mae said, her voice softer now. “And text us every single detail.” The sound of my mom calling my name made my stomach drop. It was time.