On their first night in Green Grove, Judy took her family to Johnny Cakes for dinner. Dinner was honestly more of a midnight snack, consisting of blueberry pie and chicken fried steak and mac and cheese, since all Lacey would eat was mac and cheese. After that, for years, whenever Lacey seemed heartbroken or anxious, Judy would go to Johnny Cakes, order some mac and cheese to go, and try to woo the sadness out of her daughter. When Judy found out about the tape, she was only trying to help.

Judy drummed her nails against the edge of the bar with a stifled sigh. Service seemed slower lately, as if the entire world ground to a halt for whatever meaningless gossip the waiting staff felt like spreading around town. In fact, it was as if the whole town had something worth sharing. Everywhere she went, people whispered and laughed. At first, she thought it had to do with Danny Desai getting expelled, but was a delinquent getting in trouble really worth all of this?

"It's pathetic!"

Judy perked up at the nearby voice. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she saw where it came from. The closest table to the bar held a group of girls around Lacey's age. Judy recognized a few of them from different events over the years. The loudest one was Piper Taluse whose mother had a habit of only attending the catered PTA meetings. Beside her was Betty, or Billie, or some name that sounded too country for their suburban New York town. Lacey called girls like them piranhas. Judy called them unbiased sources. At least, she did that day.

Piper flipped her hair over her shoulder so she could lean in to her friends without getting hair in her food. "It really is sad. No one's talking to her. I always knew that whole group was fake." The other girls chorus their agreements.

Betty-Billie-girl chimed in with "Fake and totally fucked up." Piper laughed while Judy cringed. Kids these days. If Judy had said something like that when she was their age, she would probably still be feeling the stings from the switch.

Piper fake gagged. "And by the socio of all people."

Judy's eyebrows rose. Socio? As in Danny Desai? Who in their right mind would get involved with a murderer?

Betty-Billie-girl shook her head in feigned sympathy. "Funny how everyone thought Regina was the slut of the group, but Lacey's the one who gets caught on camera."

"What?" Judy shifted her eyes away from the girls once the word left her mouth. She bit on her tongue until her eyes watered. Did that girl just say Lacey, as in her Lacey? Judy strained her ears to hear more, but the girls only traded silently delighted glances and went back to their food.

Surely, Judy heard them wrong. Lacey would never do anything, let alone on camera. Besides, Lacey and Archie just broke up, and Lacey hated Danny. Didn't she?

"Order up!"

Judy's head snapped back to the other side of the bar. The waitress holding onto the bag hesitated before handing it over to Judy. "It's on the house," the waitress said, eyes flitting to the same table Judy had been listening to. Judy bristled at the look and the way the waitress seemed to apologize with her eyes when they focused back on her.

Never one to be rude, Judy forced out a "Thank you" and rushed out of Johnny Cakes. The whole drive home she told herself that it had to be a mistake. It had to be.