“HEY, LANDON, you wanna hang out?” I turned around, surprised to see the familiar trio of Marisa, Owen, and her cousin Jason in my garage. “Oh, hey, guys. Sorry, I was zoned out.” “Whatcha doin’?” Marisa asked. I looked over at the junk my dad had asked me to sort. “Dad chores.” “Ugh, sorry,” Owen said, and I laughed at his pained expression. “Why don’t you skip out and join us? We’re going down to the river.” I glanced at the crap I still needed to go through. “I don’t know. My dad will throw a fit if I don’t finish.” “We can wait outside,” Marisa said, pushing the boys toward the door. “You look like you’re almost done.” I shrugged, and now that I actually had some motivation, I quickly finished sorting the piles. Most of it was not worth keeping, but that was beside the point. It’d pissed Dad off when I told him I wasn’t going on the family vacation this summer, and this was his way of paying me back. I tossed a pair of old roller skates on the Donate pile and popped outside to find the three friends leaning up against the garage waiting for me. They were a familiar sight. They’d all been best friends since they were little, to the point I thought of them as a unit. They didn’t usually spend time with me, but it was pretty cool when they did. Out of the blue they’d show up, we’d hang out, have some laughs, and then they’d ignore me like I didn’t exist until they wanted to hang out again. Not that I minded. They were the cool kids, and I was the oddball nerd who spent all his time with his nose in a book. “Okay, I’m done,” I said. “Ready?” “Sure, come on,” Marisa said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the road while Jason and Owen followed. We trudged along the empty road for a few minutes, then ducked between some trees and onto the path that led behind old Mr. Weston’s property and then below a bridge and down to the riverbank. “So, you graduate this year?” Marisa asked. “Yep, in a few more weeks. So does Jason.” She smiled. “Yeah, you two are the same age. I always wondered why you didn’t hang out with us more.” I laughed. “Really? You three are thick as thieves. I’m the odd man out. Always have been.” “Not on purpose,” Owen said as he came up behind Marisa and me. “It always seems like you’re too busy for us.” I looked at them, dumbfounded for a moment. “I mean, no, not really. We hang out, then you all seem to lose interest in me. I mean, it’s not a problem. I like hanging when you want me around.” Marisa sighed. “We didn’t mean to ignore you.” “Wait, why are y’all concerned about this all of a sudden?” I asked, confused. “Well, ’cause we were talking about how few people we know in this town. Like, in school and out. When Jason mentioned your name, I realized how little we hang out with each other. It sorta feels personal.” I laughed, thinking she was joking, then looked at the three friends whose faces remained stoic. “Wait, you’re serious? Dude, you three are practically glued to each other. It’s not like you’ve opened your clique up to anyone else. But it never bothered me, and I’ve enjoyed when you let me hang from time to time. Besides, in a few months, I’ll be going to college in Eugene.” “Cool,” Marisa said, but Jason frowned. When we reached the river, I plopped down on the riverbank and leaned back against one of the old posts that held the bridge above us. Marisa and Owen joined me, but none of us really said much. After a while, Jason, who’d been throwing rocks into the river, came up and said, “We can hang out together for a few more months. We’ve still got the whole summer ahead of us.” I shrugged. “Yeah, if you want to. I have a lot going on, but as long as, you know, you don’t mind working around me.” I thought for a bit, then smiled. “Hey, we can make a schedule. I know what nights I work.” “You always overthink things.”