The bus finally rolled back onto campus as the late afternoon sun painted the buildings in warm gold. I stepped off last, my backpack feeling heavier than it had any right to. The excitement from the retreat had already started fading, replaced by the familiar buzz of students rushing to lectures, laughing in groups, and complaining about upcoming deadlines. Three days away and everything felt both the same and strangely different.
Mia linked her arm with mine immediately, her eyes sparkling with leftover energy.
“Can you believe we survived that? I thought Sophia was going to drown us in the lake at one point.”
Zara snorted, falling into step on my other side while dragging her suitcase like it had personally offended her. “Survived? I still want to burn that memory of Lila climbi
