As I Am Read Free Page A

separately from each other?”
    “We do … I mean, we have different majors, so we don’t do everything together,” I say in defense.
    “C’mon, Kin. We room together at school, we have the same class hours so we eat breakfast and dinner together. You hang out with me and my friends …”
    “They’re my friends, too, aren’t they?” I protest.
    Addy breathes a heavy sigh and looks at me with sad eyes. “You can do this. We need to do this, and I thought this would be a good place to start. We made our friends together here last summer, so they’re our friends.”
    I would argue Addison’s thoughtlessness in making me think we were rooming together, that I was going to get a premium room with her this year, but … that’s Addison. She tends to not always think about how the things she does affect me. She doesn’t mean anything by it. She just doesn’t think.
    “The welcoming committee told me the Carmichael girls were here,” we hear a voice yell down the hall. “What’s up , bitches?” Amy Geller appears at the door in all her beauty with her shoulder-length, light-brown hair and light-green eyes. I’d have to hate her if she wasn’t also the most fun and the sweetest person I’ve ever known, next to Addy.
    “Hey , Amy! Look, you could room with Amy,” Addy says to me in a perky tone that makes me want to smack her.
    “Yeah! Room with me before I get stuck with MaryAnn Hodge, the restless sleeper! We’ll take the other primo room and let the others duke it out for the single beds in the bunk room!” Amy smiles excitedly at me and I think that maybe Addison has a point. We will need to start breaking things up a bit, and here seems the best place to do it. The friends we have here are our friends. They didn’t become my friends because they’re Addy’s, so it’s not like I won’t have anyone to hang out or spend time with when we're not working. I don’t ever hang out with Addy’s friends if Addy isn’t there.
    “You know … I think it’d be fun. You’re right, Addison. It’s time.” Addy hugs me and smiles sweetly. If we were ever going to start separating, Addy was going to have to be the one to initiate it. She’s always been much stronger than me.
    “Awesome! I’m going to snag the room before Jim gets back with more people.” Amy toddles down the hall with her backpack and suitcase while I pull my things together.
    “It’s going to be really good for both of us. You’ll see, Kin,” Addison tells me.
    “I’m sure you’re right. You’re usually right,” I say with an unsure smile. In my mind I know that Addy is right, but it just feels weird. We’ve never been in the same place and not roomed together. But, I think it could be great. Amy is awesome. We had a blast together last year and kept in touch since, so I know it’s going to be a ton of fun this year, too.
    Addy grabs my suitcase while I put my camera bag and backpack over my shoulder and follow her down the hall. Amy has already picked the bed closest to the door, so that means I get the one by the window, which is a nice sign of things to come.
    An hour later the rest of the little group of friends Addy and I made last year have all arrived – Carrie, Bridget, Dave, and Cal – along with most of the group that was with us but that I didn’t get to know too well. Bridget goes to the same college as MaryAnn Hodge and apparently she got an internship at the White House this summer so she won’t be here. Seth Franklin got kicked out of school for a reason so mysterious we’re not even allowed to mention him. This leaves two beds available in The Lodge. Mr. and Mrs. Fellows can choose to let a first-year counselor into The Lodge, but only if they’re upperclassmen. I don’t know what the makeup is of the newbies, but we’ll find out in about an hour when they’re scheduled to arrive.
    “Hey , Kinley,” I hear the confident male voice say from behind me in the kitchen where I’ve been organizing