I am no stranger to exclusion, but this time it cuts me to the core. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rub my eyes fiercely, mumbling, “I don’t need them. So what if they don’t want me? I don’t want them, either! It’s not as if I’m dying to join their pack or anything.”

I wipe a stray tear from my cheek.

My chin now resting on my arms, I stare out at the lake. Water has always soothed me. I never understood why, but even as a child, I felt most at peace when I was near a body of ...