"This is where I live," Stella says, and I remember her saying it the first time we went to her room. We stood on the landing together and we knew that inside there was a future for us: a dense and desperate physical thing that was both desirable and terrifying in its strength—but also a togetherness for which we were both desperate, after years of causing bewilderment in our peers. It’s not so bad if you are a moderately gifted student—if you can get the answer a little faster. You will eventually be forgiven.