Week Three of Summer
The drive to Stanford took exactly two hours and seventeen minutes.
I knew because Maya counted down every minute from the back seat, too excited to sit still.
"Are we there yet?"
"Maya, you asked that three minutes ago," Kai said, patient but amused.
"But are we?"
"Almost. See that sign? Ten more miles."
We'd left at 8 AM sharp Kai, Maya, Aunt Maria, and me, packed into Kai's car with notebooks, measurements, and a list of six apartments to view. Stanford's new student orientation started tomorrow, but today was all about finding our home for the next four years.
"There!" Maya pointed as the Stanford campus came into view. "I see it!"
The campus was exactly like the photos beautiful Spanish architecture, palm trees lining wide walkways, the iconic Hoover Tower rising against blue sky. But seeing it in person was different. More real. More overwhelming.
"We're really going here," I breathed.
"We really are." Kai squeezed my hand. "Ready?"
