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“She wasn’t up yet,” Skye says, throwing some bread in the toaster.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Isaac says. “You didn’t have to wake her up. It’s not that important.”

“Yes, I did,” Skye says, and I stick my tongue out at her. Just because she’s a morning person doesn’t mean she has to drag everyone else down with her.

“Skye said you wanted to see me?” I ask.

“Yeah, I have a message from your mom. She called to ask us to tell you she loves you.”

Skye glances up at this, a funny look on her face.

I roll my eyes back into my head. “You came all the way over here forthat?”

“I was already here. She called us two days ago.”

“Jesus,” I say, but I’m smiling.

“Well, I think it’s sweet,” says Skye, retrieving the toast. “Peanut butter?” she asks me, but she’s already unscrewing the lid by the time I nod. She knows damn well I want peanut butter.

“I get it, Maya,” Isaac agrees. “My parents call me about fifty times a day. Usually because they need help with the computer, but still.”

“I guess she wanted to check in, since she’s used to hearing from me every day,” I say lightly, taking the plate of toast Skye passes to me.

“Mm, funny that. She wasn’t supposed to be hearing fromyouat all,so you won’t get any guilt from me,” Isaac says. “Anyway, you girls excited about tomorrow?”

“Thrilled,” I say.

“Hope you’re not afraid of heights,” he says. “Tomorrow you’re scaling a cliffside.”

“The fuck I am,” Skye says calmly, spreading a thin layer of margarine on her toast.

“You are if you want the getaway date.”

I pause with a glass of juice halfway to my lips. “Go on?”

“You’ll have harnesses, don’t worry. And it’s not as bad as I made it sound. We had our crew test it, and half of them didn’t even bother with harnesses. The contestant who gets to the top the fastest wins the night away with Jordy. And trust me, if there’s ever an overnight you want to win with Jordy, it’s this one.”

“Wait. What, exactly, does our ability to rock climb have to do with how well we’d work with Jordy?” I ask.

Isaac shrugs. “I dunno. Something about how outdoorsy he is, I think?”

Skye blinks. “I once saw him go home and change his jeans halfway through the day because he noticed he had a patch of dirt on them.”

“One time,” I jump in, “he set up a tent in his backyard for us to have a fake-camping date, and he dragged me back inside at two a.m. because he thought he heard a wolf. In his backyard. InHartford.”

“Could it have been a coyote?” Skye asks.

“It was the neighbor’s dog, Skye. But sure, maybe he’s had a personality transplant since we knew him,” I say, turning to Isaac. “It’s not like we’ve spent much time with him. He could be our generation’s Bear Grylls for all I know. Defeating German shepherds with wild abandon.”

“Well, win yourself this challenge,” Isaac says, moving to leave, “and you’ll have a chance to find out.”

Skye and I look at each other, and somehow, I know she’s coming up with a plan already.

It takes us a good chunk of the afternoon to figure out which cliff we’re going to be scaling tomorrow. It’s about a fifteen-minute walk away, surrounded by forest. It also has a flag at the top of it, a candy wrapper on the ground near the edge, and a car parked fifty feet away with what definitely looks like climbing gear in the back seat.

“I’m not climbing that,” Skye says as I pick up the wrapper with a tut. “No way.”

“No?” I ask, following her gaze up. “I don’t think it looks so bad.”