Twelve seniors went to Gatlinburg.

That's the entire graduating class of Joppa High School — every single one of them packed into a small charter coach on March 31st, headed to Tennessee for five days in a three-story cabin with a hot tub on the bottom floor, a gaming room with pool tables and arcade games in the middle, and a movie theater with a big screen downstairs. Destini Pirtle, Kieran Presser, Destini's sister, and a few other classmates claimed the top floor.

They went to Dollywood. Only three seniors were brave enough for the roller coasters.

"Us two and one of the other seniors were the only ones," Destini said. "It was so fun."

They saw a pirate dinner show — performers jumping off boats into water, mermaids, a man playing with fire, singing so loud the audience felt like they were sitting inside a ship. Kieran was hoping a black bear would wander out of the woods near the cabin. None did.

And they cooked for each other. That's the detail that keeps coming up.

"We all made each other supper," Kieran said. "Steaks and asparagus."

The next morning: sausage, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, juice, and sweet tea. No caterer. No adults managing the menu. Twelve seniors making breakfast together in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains.

For several of them, it was the first time they'd traveled significantly outside Southern Illinois. First time in Gatlinburg. First time at Dollywood. First time in a mountain cabin.

"Really big deal," Destini said.

Both girls have been at Joppa since elementary school, though neither started there. Kieran transferred from Brookport and Pope County in second grade. Destini came from Concord Elementary in Paducah — a bigger town, more students — and arrived in fourth grade. By now, Joppa is home.

What they'll remember most, both said without hesitation, is volleyball. They played together all four years of high school. The bond built on that court — and on the bus rides home — is what both girls say they'll still be talking about at their ten-year reunion.

"I will probably be talking about the volleyball team," Kieran said, "and the family I made from them."

The bus rides were their own thing. Sometimes singing. Sometimes laughing. Sometimes silent after a loss.

"Even if we were all quiet," Kieran said, "we all knew that we were all still family and that we were just gonna get through it the next game."

Destini described what happens on the court when they're outmatched — playing a team with harder hitters, getting in their own heads, psyching themselves out.

"It's kind of scary, not gonna lie," she said. "But the girls on the floor — we talk to each other, we make each other laugh, and each other smile. Just got through it."

Kieran also captained the basketball team this year. She led them to a win over Pope County — a team Joppa hadn't beaten in nine years.

"Never thought that would happen," she said.

Half her basketball team are also her volleyball girls. At a school this size, the same people carry everything.

When asked which teachers shaped them, both landed on the same name: Ms. Jesse, who teaches fifth grade but whose presence runs through the whole building.

"She's always been there," Destini said. "Kind of just for us if we ever need her."

Kieran's description was immediate: "She just had such an uplifting spirit. She literally just looks so excited. Every time I saw her, I just wanted to smile. She was that positive energy that I've always wanted around. And I'm so thankful she came."

Next year, their paths diverge. Kieran is enrolled at West Kentucky Community and Technical College for cosmetology. She's already signed up for classes. She's nervous.

"I'm pretty sure I got it," she said.

Destini had been planning to study photography at West Kentucky's fine arts program — she loves taking pictures. But as graduation approached, her thinking shifted. She's now considering going straight into the workforce, possibly pursuing auto technology or mechanics.

"I'm looking into it a little bit more," she said.

Neither is pretending to have it all figured out. Both are moving forward anyway.

As the interview wrapped up, both girls mentioned one more thing they share: they're on the yearbook staff together. They walked to the yearbook room for their photo — the two of them standing in the space where they'd been assembling the record of everyone's final year, including their own.

"I'd say that we're pretty lucky," Kieran said.

Twelve seniors. One cabin. One bus. One yearbook. Two girls who showed up in second and fourth grade and built a family out of whoever was standing on the court beside them.