âneedââlike the rest of us are irreparably screwed up in a way that she isnâtâmakes me cringe.
âDoes anyone want to respond to Zoe?â
No one speaks except for Jenna, who says, âPassâ in a voice thatâs like a slap of icy air to the face.
âI know Zoe will appreciate your support, just as youâll appreciate hers.â
Zoe snorts.
âNow, letâs discuss your collages. Katie, would you mind going first?â
âI guess not.â Katie holds up her picture. Itâs a balance beam over a red mat. Thereâs a crying baby sitting on the beam, and lots of people around the edges of the page, watching. âThis is, um, exactly what it looks like. Itâs what I told you yesterday. How Iâm afraid of falling.â She pauses. âIâm not exactly an artist.â
âNo kidding,â Zoe says, and Katie shrinks back into her chair.
âZoe.â Dr. Lancaster closes her eyes for a second, breathing in and out through her nose. âApologize to Katie.â
âSorry, Katie,â Zoe says.
âThank you. Katie, great job. Do you want to say anything else?â
âNo,â Katie says quietly. âThatâs it.â
Dr. Lancaster moves on. âSam?â
I prop my picture up in my lap, looking down at it. âI guess I went more abstract. The person in the center of the picture is being stared at.â I hesitate, then add, âShe doesnât like it.â
No one speaks for a second. And itâs such a long second. With their eyes on me. Eyes upon eyes upon eyes.
âWeird,â Zoe says.
âItâs cool?â Omar says, like heâs not sure. âBut it also kind of freaks me out?â
âItâs very evocative, Sam,â Dr. Lancaster says. âNicework.â The way sheâs looking at me, at my picture, I know weâll be talking about it in my private session later. But for now, thank goodness, the focus moves off me. I put the picture under my chair and breathe in deep to stop the shuddering in my chest.
Jenna created a scoreboard out of precise black and white squares. When Dr. Lancaster prompts her, she explains, âFigure skating has such a complex scoring system. It can come down to hundredths of a point.â She bites her lip. âI spend a lot of time thinking about those hundredths.â
Dominic used pictures of people: professional football players, but also executives in suits and men driving expensive cars. âItâs, like, the future,â he tells us. âWhere I wanna be. Where Iâm gonna be.â
Omar filled his page with cameras and theater seats and bright lights. âItâs supposed to be about the first time I got really anxious, and I didnât know what was happening to me,â he says, frowning at it. âItâs not very good.â
âItâs great, Omar. All of you did a wonderful job,â Dr. Lancaster says, ignoring Zoeâs silent, gagging face. âCan everyone hold your pictures up one more time?â
I pull my collage back onto my lap.
âTake a look around. What can you learn from your fellow campersâ artwork? Is it possible that you have more in common with each other than you realize?â Dr. Lancaster smiles. âI promise, it will be easier to make the most of your time here if you consider yourselves allies rather than adversaries.â
Jenna narrows her eyes. âBut we compete alone.â
âNot all of you,â Dr. Lancaster counters. âRemember, Dominicâs on a team.â
âYeah, but Iâm QB,â Dominic says, grinning. âSo Iâm kind of a big deal.â
âHow is whatâs helpful for Dominic possibly going to help me?â Jenna asks. âAnd how will arts and crafts help at all ? This isnât why Iâm here.â
âWould you like to tell us why you are here, Jenna?â
She opens her mouth and then