"California?" Elena asked. "Oregon? Washington?" She'd wanted to go out there and visit, but hadn't had much chance yet. She'd been thinking about California Schools just a little before everything went downhill. USC or Stanford, UC Berkeley? Anyway, that wasn't really in the cards now. Not with everything that'd happened.
"I came here in the middle of August." Elena replied. That might be an easier subject. "Turns out my friend Caroline was already here, though... she was back at home, too?" That part was incredibly strange. "Anyway, having her here was the friendly face I needed."