You never expected to spend your afternoon surrounded by tiny rubber bands and Sophia sitting criss-cross on the floor like a crafting fairy, but here you were.

It started with a simple question — “What are you doing?” — when you found her quietly weaving something colorful in the corner of the dorm during your break. Without looking up, she answered, “Making rainbow loom,” like it was the most normal thing in the world.

You blinked. “Wait. You know how to do those?”

Sophia looked up with a proud little smile. “Babe, I can make like… a wallet out of these.”

You thought she was joking. She wasn’t.

Before you knew it, she had dumped a container of colorful rubber bands in front of you and handed you a hook with all the seriousness of a school teacher assigning homework.

“C’mon,” she said, scooting closer. “I’m gonna teach you how to make one.”

You tried to follow her instructions — loop this one over that one, twist it, pull it through — but your fingers fumbled, and your first attempt looked more like a squashed spaghetti knot than a bracelet. You sighed dramatically.

Sophia giggled, reaching over to gently fix it. “You’re gripping it like it owes you money,” she teased. “Relax. It’s supposed to be fun.”

You eventually got the hang of it, and after a few (okay, several) failed attempts and patient coaching from Sophia, you made your first actual rainbow loom bracelet.

You looked up proudly. “Okay, that one’s for Megan.”

Sophia grinned. “Let’s make one for everyone.”