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Aria shot up quickly and pulled the headphones froaher butt up and down in the air--the guru on the meditation tape said that the et her past But by the sirls’ faces, they probably thought she was doing some kind of weird sex stretch

She scuttled into the busy Rosewood Day hall, tucking the iPod back into her bag All of the thoughts she’d tried so hard to forget swar into an alcove by the water fountains, she grabbed her cell phone from her jacket pocket With one press of a button, she called up the page she’d been stalking obsessively on Google for teeks now

Tabitha Clark Memorial

Tabitha’s parents had set up the website to honor their daughter On it were Twitter posts fro practice and ballet recitals, details about a scholarship set up in her name, and links to Tabitha-related news stories Aria couldn’t stop looking at the page She pounced on all of the news stories, always terrified that so--or someone--would connect Tabitha’s death with her

But everyone still thought Tabitha’s death was a tragic accident No one had even suggested that it ht have been murder, and no one had made the connection that Aria and her friends had been in Jamaica the same time Tabitha was and at the same resort Even Aria’s brother, Mike, and her boyfriend, Noel, who had been there as well, didn’t comment on the news story Aria wasn’t even sure if they’d seen it To them, it was probably just another senseless death to tune out

There was one person who knew the truth, though A

Soirls stared at Aria from a bank of lockers across the hall "Pretty Little Killer," one of thehter Aria winced Ever since the made-for-TV movie of the sa lines froht ere best friends! TV Aria said to Real Ali at the end, when Ali tried to burn down the Poconos house We were such losers before welike that

Then a fauided Klaudia Huusko, the blond Finnish exchange student as living with his faried ankle in the air and leaning heavily on Noel’s uy in the hall stopped and stared at Klaudia’s jiggling double-Ds

Aria’s heart started to bang Teeks ago, Noel, his two older brothers, Aria, and Klaudia took a trip to a ski resort in upstate New York Once there, Klaudia told Aria that she wasAria could do about it Enraged, Aria had accidentally pushed Klaudia off the chair lift in retaliation Aria told everyone Klaudia had slipped, and Klaudia played dumb like she couldn’t remember what had happened, but Noel blamed Aria anyway Since the trip, he had fawned over Klaudia’s sprained ankle day and night, driving her to school, carrying her books between classes, and retrieving her coffees and sushi platters during lunch It was a wonder he wasn’t feeding her sashi Florence Nightingale meant there was no time for Aria--not a hello in the halls, not even a phone call He’d bagged on their standing Saturday date to Rive Gauche in the King James Mall for teeks now He’d also skipped out on the cooking class they were taking together at Hollis College, ed frolish classroo she wasn’t there and turning away, as he’d done the past teeks, he strode straight toward her Aria’s spirits lifted Maybe he was going to apologize for ignoring her Maybe things would go back to nor nerves reminded her of the one and only tirade at one of Their Ali’s parties They’d actually hit it off, and Aria had been on cloud nine until Ali sidled up to her later, telling Aria that she’d had a big wedge of cilantro between her teeth the entire time she and Noel had talked "I really think Noel’s out of your league," Ali--really Courtney--had told Aria in a gentle yet teasing voice "And anyway, I think he likes soht bitterly What guy didn’t have a thing for Ali?

Now, Noel stopped in front of a display case that featured this year’s pieced-together and decorated Ti, the eer hunt Printed copies of other years’ flags hung in the case as well--the real ones were buried behind the soccer fields--including the one fro wasin the center--Real Ali had found that piece, Their Ali had stolen it, and then Jason DiLaurentis, their brother, had stolen it froiven it to Aria It was all because of that Tierous switch with her twin sister, sending Real Ali off to theyears

"Hey," Noel said He se soap and pepper, an unlikely colanced at his Manhattan Portagerhinoceros button Aria had bought for him at a local craft shoas still nestled between his pins for Rosewood Day lacrosse and the Philadelphia Phillies Rhino pin had to be a good sign, right?

"Hey," Aria answered softly "I’ve missed you"

"Oh" Noel pretended to be fascinated with the square face of his O to Klaudia?" Aria couldn’t help but snap

Noel’s features hardened, as though he was about to launch into his "She’s in a foreign country and you should be ed "Um, we need to talk"

A rock-sized lump formed in Aria’s throat "A-about what?" she sta she knehat Noel was about to say