"We really did," Eleanor agreed, who supposed she didn't really know much more about having friends, either, but she did know that the one she had had been bad, and the world of Stm Bridgid's might as well have been as much as another planet as what this place was modeled after, compared to FU. And, of course, her eyes couldn't help drifting over toward Kamala, with that extra tug in her chest and a faint, grateful smile before turning her attention back to Arden.

"Thanks, by the way," she added, "for that, too. I never really started hanging out with people much until you sort of nudged me along a little. So I appreciate that."