"Would you be mad if I said I wanted to take the tour alone?" Aria asked as she and Ezra walked across the Berkeley campus. "Not because I don't want you there but because if I like this school, I'll be here on my own for a while and I need to make sure I can survive alone."

He kissed the top of her head. "Of course. I saw a coffee shop down the street so I'll hang out there until you're ready to meet up." He looked around. "It's a nice campus."

"Yeah," Aria breathed, overwhelmed by the size. "Not exactly Hollis, is it?"

"Nope," he chuckled. "Do you at least want me to wait until your tour guide gets here?"

She shook her head. "No, go ahead. I'll call you when I'm finished."

"Sounds good," he agreed, leaning down to kiss her. "Have fun."

Once Ezra was gone, Aria sat on the low stone wall and waited. When she'd called for a tour, the office explained that they wanted their prospective students to have a personal experience so they did one-on-one tours as opposed to groups. Aria was nervous about who her guide would be and was afraid she would seem out of place at a school known for its incredible history.

"Aria?" a female voice asked from behind her several minutes later. "I'm so, so sorry I'm late," she said, appearing in front of the younger girl. "Your tour guide called in sick and everyone else was out so I volunteered but I haven't been to this part of campus since I was a sophomore and that was several years ago." She offered a hand. "I'm Liz Douglas."

Aria shook the pretty redhead's hand. "Aria Montgomery. Thank you for volunteering. I would make another appointment but I'm from Pennsylvania and came to visit with my boyfriend."

"Is he thinking of Berkeley, too?" Liz wanted to know as they began walking.

"Oh, no, Aria denied, deciding not to elaborate any further on Ezra. "Berkeley isn't for him."

Liz shrugged. "It's not for everyone. Berkeley has one of the highest transfer rates in the country based on 'disappointment with academic and social atmosphere,'" she explained with a smile. "Yeah, that's a thing. I try not to judge but the school is pretty well-known for being incredibly liberal and open-minded so I never really understand why the more conservative-at-heart are so shocked by what they see here." She eyed Aria. "I'm not totally turning you off already, am I?"

"No," Aria laughed. "Honestly, I could use a little less conservativeness in my life. The town I come from is very small and very judgmental. People talk."

"I'm from New York so I can't say it's too small but you'd be surprised," Liz murmured. "So, why Berkeley?"

"Well, I like the open-minded aspect," Aria admitted. "I like the idea of so many artistic, free-spirited people coming together in an educational environment. And the whole three-thousand-miles-from-home thing doesn't hurt either."

The tour lasted almost two hours, which Liz explained was uncommon but she liked talking to Aria so she admittedly dragged it out some, and when it ended, she led Aria to the coffee house to meet Ezra.

"It was great meeting you," Liz said as they stood outside on the sidewalk. "I hope you decide on Berkeley because it's a great school and I think you'd be a perfect fit." She reached into the pocket of her button-up shirt. "I know this seems nerdy but this is my card. If you make it out here, look me up."

Aria looked at the card. "Margaret Elizabeth Douglas, associate dean of Admissions." Your name is Margaret?"

"Maggie?"

Aria froze at the sound of Ezra's voice calling out a name that had haunted her for months now. She looked up to see Liz staring just past at her like she was seeing a ghost.

"Ezra," Liz whispered in shock.

"Oh, my God," Aria breathed as everything sunk in. "You're Maggie."

I know it's super short but it's basically a prologue. A lot of people have been writing about how Aria and Ezra deal with the Maggie stuff but I'm curious about who this Maggie might be so many years later. I want to believe Aria and Ezra will survive this and this story will obviously take place later in her senior year as she goes on college visits. Let me know what you think and if I should continue. It wouldn't be too long, maybe four or five chapters. I have most of a second chapter written and it's a lot of Maggie/"Liz" talking about what happened when they were kids. Thanks!