[ elena's smile is a touch warm, and not without shared sympathy.

she leans in, as though conspiratorial: ]

If my recent foray into adulthood has taught me anything? Most people don't know what they're doing, and some days we wake up and we all feel seventeen again. So if it helps, you're not alone. [ elena notices things about people. how some of them ask how are you, but eight times out of ten it's to be polite, not because they want to know.

and she notices they don't actually have the answers. they fake it until they make it, or they find answers of their own. ]