"Have fun, Josie!" Stephanie said, dropping me off at the strings camp Andrew told me about. It was at a random high school that took Stephanie 15 wrong turns to get to.

I walked in and didn't know where to go or who to talk to. Everyone seemed to have their own friends and knew pretty much where to go.

"Hey, kid!" I heard someone say. A brunette girl was waving at me. Does she know me somehow?

"Hi?" I said to the girl. She pointed to a blonde boy attempting to do a headstand against the wall. 

"Can you tell my friend he's being a dodo brain and will probably break his skull within the next ten minutes?" the girl said. The boy tried one more time to do his headstand and fell.

"Ow!" he cried. The girl cackled and said, "Told ya. By the way, kid, I'm Ivy. The dodo brain I was talking about is James. But everyone calls him Whizzer."

"Whizzer. Like Falsettos?" I asked. Stephanie had told me the characters a few days ago. Whizzer gasped and fell again.

"How do you know that show?" he asked, giggling. Ivy rolled her eyes. 

"Um...this may sound far-fetched, but the woman that's taking me in is in it." I said. "I'm Josie."

"Hey." Whizzer said. "So, what instrument do you play?"

"Cello." I said. Ivy laughed and said, "I'm viola, he's violin." I nodded and started to unpack my cello. Whizzer zipped up the case and said, "Dude, we aren't starting for another half hour. Hey, Josie, you want a Jolly Rancher?" I nodded and Whizzer handed me a grape flavored Jolly Rancher.

A blonde girl walked up and kissed Ivy's cheek. "Who's the little kid? Ivy, you didn't tell me you had a cousin!"

"Nope, not my cousin. That's Josie. Josie, this is Lydia, my girlfriend." Lydia waved at me and said, "Hey Josie! What grade are you in?"

"Fourth." I said softly. Whizzer smiled and said, "Cool. We're all high school freshmen." 

"That's neat." I said softly. "Are you guys gonna be mean to me?" I asked. Whizzer gasped and Ivy slapped him. 

"Josie, what do you mean, 'are we gonna be mean to you?'" Lydia asked. I backed up and pressed myself against a wall.

"I go to a public school with almost zero discipline. There's no elementary school, middle school, or high school. Every single kid, from kindergarten to senior year, goes to school in one building. And a cello geek combined with high school jocks was not exactly the best combination." I said to the group.

Now, I knew Whizzer wouldn't bully me. Ivy wouldn't bully me. Lydia wouldn't bully me. But that's what I thought in kindergarten. I thought school was this place where everyone was happy and loved each other and I would have a ton of friends. 

Boy, was I wrong.

I snapped out of my daze when I felt Whizzer put his hand on my shoulder. "The adopted music nerds have to stick together." Whizzer said. He looked at me and said, "You are getting adopted, right?"

I nodded furiously and Whizzer said, "Cool. I have two dads. Ivy here has two moms. Lydia...well, she has a mom and a dad, but she's bi."

"So am I." I said. I've known I liked girls since I was a little kid. Some may say I was too young to know, but I didn't care. 

"Okay, so that means none of us are straight." Ivy said, looking around and pulling down her beanie. "Wait! That gives me an idea!" 

"What?" Lydia said, her blonde curls blowing in the wind as the door opened and shut.

"We're now the Adopted Gay Squad! With Lydia." Ivy said, laughing. I laughed as well and Whizzer pulled me aside.

"We all go to a music academy, I'll give you the information." Whizzer said. "Maybe we'll see you there? You're gonna have to wear a uniform, but it's all good." 

I nodded and said, "Yeah. Talk to you guys after camp?"

"Yeah! See ya, Josie!" Ivy said.

_________

"Hey! Josie, I meant to ask this earlier, but which Falsettos cast member is taking you in?" Whizzer asked. 

"Stephanie J. Block, why?" I asked Whizzer. He silently squealed and turned towards Ivy, who was drumming the toe of her sneaker on the sidewalk. 

"Come on, stop being a hopeless fanboy, Whiz." Ivy said. A car pulled up and she waved. "See you, chaotic disaster children. Lydia, I love you, I'll FaceTime you later. Whizzer, don't break your skull while I'm not around. Josie, keep Whizzer in line for me until you have to go, love you all!"

Stephanie's car pulled up and she opened the trunk for me so I could put my cello in. Before I got in the car, Whizzer handed me a flyer.

"That's for school." he whispered. I giggled and got in the car.

"How was camp?" Stephanie asked. I nodded and said, "I made a few friends. And I know what school I want to go to!"

"You don't want to stay at your old school?" Stephanie asked.

"Nope!" I said, passing her the flyer.

"I want to go to music academy." I said.

AN: @MichaelMellsBathroom has been waiting for this chapter for WEEKS now, even before this book came into existence. And I delivered. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!