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know, things we made, stuff I collected—memories—and I thought we could bury it under that loose floorboard in there where we sometimes stashed notes to each other.” She feels her face heating up and is thankful for the darkness.
    â€œLike a time capsule?” Zoe offers, sounding skeptical.
    â€œExactly, a time capsule.” Joy takes a deep breath. Even standing so close to the shed, she’s hit by the musty smell of old garden gloves and moldy wood—the signature scent of the Stevens. “Let’s face it. We’ve grown apart. We have,” she adds bluntly, when Luce starts to protest. It hurts, but at least it’s the truth. “Our camp years are forever behind us. I get that. But I know, deep down, that you guys have to be sad about that, too. That it meant something to you, just like it did to me. And this way, a little piece of our camp experience—of
us
—will live on in the future.”
    It isn’t exactly an apology. Joy wonders in their silence if the girls resent her, if they will ever
really
forgive her for leaving, for dropping away. If she’ll ever be able to admit why she did it.
    For a minute, no one speaks. Then Zoe says, “What’d you bring?”
    Joy reaches into her bag, into her stockpile of notes, wrappers,bottle caps, ticket stubs, miniature toys, shells, friendship bracelets, and pictures. She removes a thin envelope and opens it. Tali pulls out her iPhone to see by its light.
    Inside the envelope is a narrow strip of photo-booth photos, four in a row. They were taken that last summer of camp. In the photos, all four girls are posing for the camera with huge, goofy grins. In one, Tali is making a sexy-pouty kiss face at the camera while holding up a pair of Batman boxers, and Luce is tilting her chin up in faux indignation. In another, Zoe is sticking her tongue out while waving a gold medal at the camera, and Tali is stealing the tiara Joy is wearing in the two photos above. Luce has her merit badge proudly displayed on her shirt.
    In all of the photos, Joy has her long, flowing, light brown hair down around her arms, her cheeks are flushed pink, and her eyes look big and tearful and happy. Even now, looking back at her former self, Joy feels a flutter of that old happiness in her chest, just a quiver of it really, but fastened down with guilt, like a pinned butterfly.
    Tali, Luce, and Zoe huddle together around Joy to get a closer look. If someone were to observe them from afar, they might actually believe the girls were still best friends.
    â€œWhy are we doing this?” Zoe asks at the same time Tali says, “Ugh, I look like a freaking idiot.”
    Luce touches Joy’s arm gently. “I
love
this idea,” she says, her voice soft but firm. Whether or not she actually means it, Joy can’t tell, but she’s grateful anyway. “It’s the perfect way to say good-bye to camp.”
    Joy nods. “A way to say good-bye to all of it.”
    Luce takes the key from Zoe and steps forward to test it on the lock.
    The key sticks. Luce gives it a hard shove, and the whole wall of the shed shudders, but the door doesn’t give.
    Joy’s throat squeezes up. She didn’t come all this way to have her plan ruined. She takes her turn trying the lock. Still no luck.
    â€œMaybe we should just pick a different spot,” Tali offers, looking antsy.
    â€œHold on.” Zoe marches around to the side of the shed, getting the determined look on her face that Joy remembers so well.
    A second later, they hear a grunting sound, followed immediately by an alarm.
    â€œZoe! What the hell did you
do
?” Luce cries.
    Joy darts around the side of the shed, with Luce and Tali right behind her, to see Zoe sticking a pin back into her pocket, looking a bit guilty—and also a little amused.
    â€œI thought maybe I could jimmy the lock.” Zoe shrugs. “Cal showed me how . . .”
    Joy wants