"It's insane. How many words do they expect you to learn in one night?" Hanna asked as I read a flash card for Spencer,
"Stringent."
"Uh, tough. Inflexible." Spencer answered and I high-fived her,
"It's not like you're actually gonna use them." Hanna stated,
"Meretricious." Aria read off,
"It's not like you go to college and then... ...you start speaking a different language."
"It's about getting into college. Meretricious. Um... Phony, flashy." Spencer replied,
"Mm-hm. Uh, Han, why are you still eating that?" Aria asked, looking over at Hanna who was eating the garlic bread,
"Because it's here." Hanna answered,
"Put it in the garbage." Spencer said,
"Then I'd have to stand over the garbage and eat it. "
"Besotted." I cleared my throat, looking away from the good smelling food
"Infatuated, enamored, in love with." Spencer answered,
"Mm-hm." I hummed,
"What did Noel say to you after the memorial?" Hanna asked Aria,
"We are taking the SATs in less than 12 hours. Can we focus?" Spencer questioned,
"Okay, Spencer... ...you do not need to know any more big words. You're already scary enough."
"I'm not scary. Am I scary?" Spencer whined,
"A little." Aria and I answered at the same time,
"Hey, I saw Noel Kahn hug you. And he did not wanna let go." Hanna informed Aria,
"Talk about not wanting to let something go."
"Why can't you give him a chance? He's smart, he's cute... ...his Dad owns, like, half of Rhode Island. And he's got great lips." Hanna went on,
"His father?" Spencer asked,
"Noel. Ew. Seriously, Aria. You and Noel would look amazing together." Hanna replied,
"Can we drop it? Please? I'm not looking for anything more than a friend." Aria said,
"Why? I mean, don't you have enough on Facebook? Besides, don't you want someone real? Someone you can, I don't know, scratch and sniff?" Hanna questioned
"Wow, maybe you should just eat that over the garbage." Spencer said,
"Okay, I am trying to help out a friend here. We don't all have smoking-hot boys from the country club."
"What is going on with you and Alex? Is he back from that tournament?" I asked Spencer,
"Yeah. He's back." She answered,
"And?"
"And it's good. It's so good. I want it to last, but I'm afraid I'm gonna blow it." Spencer said,
"So when can we officially call him the boyfriend?" Hanna asked before the door opened and Spencer's mom came in,
"Hi, Mom. "
"Hey, Mrs. Hastings."
"Hi, girls. Oh, what smells so good?" Mrs. Hastings asked,
"Garlic bread. Want some?" Hanna asked,
"I can't. God, I miss food. Eat some butter for me, will you? Why do I have so many messages?" Mrs. Hastings babbled to herself,
"Hey, maybe you should ask Alex to..." Aria began but was cut off from Spencer,
"Stop. Not now."
"Your Mom still doesn't...?" I began,
"Like I said, I want it to last." Spencer said,
"Where's Emily?" Mrs. Hastings asked,
"She's probably on her way over." Spencer answered.
Where was Emily?
...
"You don't have to come inside. If it were canceled, nobody would be here." Spencer told her mother the next morning.
We all stayed the night and Emily never showed up. The next morning Spencer's mom dropped us off because of the storm.
"Oh. Excuse me. Hi. Are they going to give this test today?" Mrs. Hastings asked a woman with a clipboard,
"Decision hasn't been made yet."
We made our way to Spencer's locker and I looked over and saw Alex,
"You didn't say Alex was taking the test here too."
"Why do you think I wanted my Mom to drop us off and leave?" Spencer replied, shutting the locker door.
"Hey, you."
"Hi." Alex greeted and the two of them kissed,
I made disgusted faces to Hanna and Aria, causing them to giggle before the PA turned on,
"Attention all students. The SATs will be held today. Report to the library for sign in."
"Spence. Spence." Aria hissed, dragging Spencer away from Alex,
"Nobody here can make a decision to save their life. It's absurd." Mrs. Hastings said, coming up to us,
"Mom, this is Alex Santiago. Alex, this is my mother. Alex that I went to homecoming with." Spencer introduced him to her mother,
"Oh, of course. L... From the club. Yeah. It just... It took me a moment to put it together. So you're Alex." Mrs. Hastings said with a fake smile,
"Listen, uh, I need to check in. Um... Nice seeing you. Meeting you." Alex said before leaving,
"Test is on today. Rosewood students should register in the library." The woman from before said, coming up to us.
"Half the school isn't even here yet." I said,
"And may never make it. We saw a huge tree on Saw Mill Road and they've closed off York Street." Mrs. Hastings said,
"That wasn't because of a tree. York Street's been closed since last night." Wilden said, coming up to us,
"Why?"
"Somebody decided to pay a visit to Alison DiLaurentis' memorial... ...and destroy it. Shattered the tiles, broke the bench." Wilden said,
"What? When did this happen?" I asked, eyes wide,
"We had to cordon off the area, it's an investigation."
"Spare them the details. They're about to take their SATs." Mrs. Hastings said, cutting off Wilden,
"Right. Good luck on the test, ladies." He said before turning to me, "May I ask you a few questions?"
I nodded and turned to the girls, "You should probably get to the library."
Spencer nodded and the three of them walked away,
"What do you need from me, Detective?"
"Still haven't heard from Toby, huh?" He asked,
"No. Let me know when you do. Toby was spotted at a gas station just off the interstate a few days ago. So clearly he's still with us. But why would he run away if he didn't have anything to hide? Any idea where he might be staying?" Wilden questioned,
"I don't know anything about it." I stated, ready to leave,
"Maybe you should check your basement." He said and I scoffed, leaving to go to the library as an announcement was made.
"The tests will now begin at 10. If this interferes with any plans you've made... ...I suggest you make some calls. If you didn't bring a phone, I am sure this tap-happy gentleman... ...would be glad to lend you his." The women said and I giggled, looking at Lucas.
"God, he's freaking me out." Hanna said, eyeing Detective Wilden who asked to go into the boys locker room,
"Whose locker is he poking into now?" I mumbled,
"He's desperate. Ali's brother's breathing down his neck." Spencer said,
"Ours too. I mean, what if Jason told the police... ...Alison's version of what happened?" Aria asked,
"If Jason was gonna tell them, he would've a year ago. He knows that story's bogus." Sepncer said,
"Why did he bring it up?"
"To try to drive a wedge between us. But he's not gonna do that."
"Sorry about the memorial. I know how hard you girls worked. Shocking though. Something like that could happen and nobody saw anything." Wilden said, coming up to us,
"Everybody here was studying for the exam that we're about to take... ...so you might wanna look for eyewitnesses somewhere else." Spencer snapped
"So you were all studying together?" He asked,
"Yes. We were all at Spencer's." Emily lied,
"All of you?"
"Yes. All of us." Aria repeated
"Okay." Wilden said before leaving and Emily's phone vibrated,
"Emily, what is going on? Where were you last night?" Aria questioned her,
"I told you. I went home." She answered,
"Then why didn't you tell him that?" Spencer asked,
" What happened to all of us sticking together?" Emily replied, standing up,
" Where are you going?" I asked,
"To the restroom. But if you don't believe me, we can all try and squeeze into one stall." Emily said before leaving.
"Should one of us go talk to her?" Hanna asked,
"No. She'll talk when she's ready."