Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily all walked down the hallway before 1st period started the following morning. "Do any of you guys want to see the new Emma Stone movie tonight?" Emily asked offhandedly. "I was going to hang out with Paige, but she has to fly out of town for her cousin's wedding."
"Sorry, Em. Toby is taking me out to dinner somewhere fancy in Philly," Spencer said, trying to hide her excitement.
"In Philly?" said Emily with excitement. Fancy dinners didn't mean much usually for Spencer, but if Toby was taking her somewhere pricy, it must be important. They all knew he was on carpenter's salary, but he did like to splurg on special occasions.
"It's our anniversary today," Spencer explained with a smile. "He said he has something big planned. I have no idea." Spencer blushed, and Aria looked away, trying to hide her smile. It had taken every ounce of strength to not spill what she had seen last night. She hadn't told a soul, not wanting to ruin everyone's surprise.
Suddenly, the 5-minute warning bell rang. They were running a few minutes late. Spencer looked at her watch, groaned, and said, "I have a French test and can't be late. I'll see you guys later."
"But don't you need to go to your locker?" Aria pressed eagerly, trying to be gentle. She wanted to be there when Spencer saw what was inside.
"No, I have everything I need. I'll just go later."
"C'mon, we've got time," said Aria, yanking her down the hallway. Spencer shrugged and strolled over to her locker. Emily and Hanna chattered as Spencer moved the dial on the lock around until it popped open. Aria pressed her lips together tightly so that she wouldn't giggle with excitement. Everyone saw the little black box at the same moment. Hanna, Emily, and Spencer looked at it questioningly while Aria's smile grew to take up half her face.
Aria tried her hardest not to jump up and down with glee as Spencer picked it up and opened it. She held it close so that Aria couldn't see what was inside.
"What's that?" asked Emily. Aria looked closely at Spencer's face, waiting for the surprise, the smile, the something. But strangely, Spencer looked pale. She picked up a tiny piece of paper that had been resting in the box and read the message on it out loud:
"'Shiny things and fancy dinners are pricey, but so are court fines and bail money. If Toby knew what a bitch you are, would he still throw down the cash? -A." Spencer then showed them what was in the box: a tiny plastic shovel, mounted on a silver band like a ring.
While Emily and Hanna looked at Spencer sympathetically, Aria was puzzled. What had happened to the box Toby put there? Had A come and swapped out the boxes? That would have to have meant that A was in the school sometime after Toby had put the box in the locker. But they locked the doors just after Aria left. Her mind was racing, but suddenly, Spencer slid the ring on her finger.
"It's a perfect fit," she said with a chuckle. "At least we know that A is considerate enough to get something that's my ring size"
Emily and Hanna smiled weakly at her, amazed that she could make a joke. But Aria's blood went cold. How could A possible know her ring size? How could A know that Toby was putting the box in her locker? Aria knew that the janitors left at 8:45 and that the alarm went on at 9:30, leaving time for teachers to get last minute stuff. She would have definitely seen anyone who had been through-
NO.
It COULDN'T be.
"Aria? Are you okay?" asked Emily. But it sounded fuzzy. Her friends looked at her questioning as the world began to spin. Angry texts appeared in front of her eyes, and she saw a black hoodie dash around the corner. Everything became blurry and the room started spinning. Her friends looked at her questioningly and tried to snap her out of it, but suddenly, she went down. There was pain, and then, everything went black.
When Aria woke up, she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Her head was throbbing and she placed her hand on the back of her head on a large bump. She winced in pain at the pressure.
"Shhh, it's okay," someone whispered. Aria opened her eyes and saw her mom sitting in a chair next to her bed. Her eyes were warm and friendly, albeit nervous.
"Mom, what happened? Where am I?" she whispered. Everything was still spinning, and she had no idea how she got here. The last thing she remembered was the cold, dizzy feeling when she realized that-
Oh.Oh God. Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh God-
"Honey, you blacked out," Ella said softly, moving a few strands of hair that fell in front of Aria's eyes. "You're in the nurse's office." Hearing her mom say it, Aria recognized the room. It was soundproof room with a one-way window for sick kids to rest in. She had been here when Spencer sprained her ankle during field hockey practice and Aria drove her home.
Aria remembered that day perfectly. She had stayed late to study in the library, and she got a frantic text from Spencer's field hockey friend Kirsten that Spencer was hurt. Aria ran here to this little room to find Spencer surrounded by her a few girls from the team, laying on the little bed. She was clearly trying to hold it together, seeing as she was team captain, but as soon as the girls left, she lost it and started to cry. Aria couldn't blame her- her ankle looked really bad and was swollen to twice its normal size- but she was amazed the Spencer couldn't cry in front of her team. She only felt safe crying to Aria.
"Mom, how did I get here?" said Aria suddenly. It has jsut occurred to her that the nurses's office was on the opposite side of the school from Spencer's locker.
"Some of the boy's on Emily's swim team carried you here," said her mom gently, nodding towards the window.
Emily. Aria looked through the one-way window out into the nurse's waiting room. She saw Emily, Hanna, Spencer, and her boyfriend Holden waiting outside. They were all sitting in silence, exchanging nervous looks. Ella saw her looking and said gently, "Everyone is worried sick. Do you want to talk to anybody?"
Aria shook her head forcefully, but stopped when the throbbing returned. She couldn't face them; what could she say? "I want to go home," she whispered tearfully. She felt like a two-year-old.
Her mother put her hand on Aria's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever. Are you sick? What happened? Spencer told me you just blacked out suddenly."
Spencer. Oh God, Spencer. Aria didn't respond, but the tears sliding down her face were enough for her mom to back off. "Please, Mommy, can I go home?"
Ella knew something was very wrong; Aria hadn't called her "Mommy" since she was about 8. But she didn't press, only nodded and said, "I'll send them back to class, and then I'll drive you home."
Aria nodded, silent tears still dripping down her cheeks. Her mom kissed her forehead and left the room. As soon as she was gone, Aria grabbed the one of the pillows on the bed and smushed it over her face. Thank God this room is soundproof, she thought as she half-screamed, half-choked into the pillow as she finally realized what had happened this morning.
Toby was A.
