Page 17 (1/2)

Eet stuff?"

"Not exactly It’s o"

As arcoat it, Tree Tops sounded horrible Eo of Maya Or Ali, for that matter

Suddenly, Becka reached out and put her hand over E "I know this doesn’t e in Tree Tops," Becka said "Life is hard If we go with these feelings that are…that are wrong, our lives are going to be even h, you know? Why make it worse?"

Emily felt her lip quiver Were all lesbians’ lives an uphill battle? What about those two gay woht her New Balances from them, and they seemed so happy And what about Maya? She used to cut herself, but now she was better

"So is Wendy okay that you’re in Tree Tops now?" Elassbehind the altar "I think she gets it"

"Do you guys still hang out?"

Becka shrugged "Not really But we’re still friends, I guess"

E out soays ere actually friends Maybe she and Maya could be friends, too

Becka cocked her head, seeht?"

"Sounds good to me," Emily answered

They finished their lunch and Becka said good-bye E in line with the other Rosewood Day kids heading back to class Her brain was overloaded with inforht be happy and Maya ht be better, but e, then after college, then getting a job? She would have to explain her sexuality to people over and over again Some people wouldn’t accept her

Before yesterday, the only people who kne Emily truly felt were Maya, her ex, Ben, and Alison Two out of the three hadn’t taken it very well

Maybe they were right

17

BECAUSE ALL CHEESY RELATIONSHIP MOMENTS HAPPEN IN CEMETERIES

Wednesday after school, Aria watched Sean pedal his Gary FisherWest Rosewood’s hilly country roads "Keep up!" he teased

"Easy for you to say!" Aria answered, pedaling furiously on Ella’s old beat-up Peugeot ten-speed froht it with her when she !"

Sean had surprised Aria after school by announcing he was ditching soccer so they could hang out Which was a huge deal--in the 24 hours she had lived with him, Aria had learned that Sean was über–soccer boy, the sa, Sean ran six oals into a net set up on the Ackards’ lawn until it was tiled up the hill and was happy to see that there was a long descent in front of theeous day, so they’d decided to take a bike ride around West Rosewood They rode past ra farmhouses and miles of untouched woods

At the bottoht-iron fence with an ornate entrance gate Aria hit her brakes "Hold on I coot about this place"

She had stopped in front of St Basil’s cemetery, Rosewood’s oldest and spookiest, where she used to do gravestone rubbings It was set on acres and acres of rolling hills and beautifully tended lawns, and some of the headstones dated back to the 1700s Before Aria found her niche with Ali, she’d gone through a goth phase, e to do with death, Tim Burton, Halloween, and Nine Inch Nails The ceing and acting morose

Sean stopped beside her Aria turned to hio in for a sec?"

He looked alar here"

"Okay" Sean reluctantly chained his bike to a wrought-iron trash can along with Aria’s and started behind her past the first line of headstones Aria read the names and the dates that she had practically memorized a few years back EDITH JOHNSTON, 1807–1856 BABY AGNES, 1820–1821 SARAH WHITTIER, with that Milton quote, DEATH IS THE GOLDEN KEY THAT OPENS THE PALACE OF ETERNITY Over the hill, Aria kneere the graves of a dog named Puff, a cat naraves," Aria said as they passed a big one with an angel statue on the top "They remind me of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’"

"The what?"

Aria raised an eyebrow "Oh, coar Allan Poe? The dead guy’s buried in the floor? The narrator can still hear his heart beating?"

"Nope"

Aria put her hands on her hips, duet back, I’ll find reed, then changed the subject "You sleep okay last night?"