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LOOK AGAIN
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words A surveillance ca off with a handful of gold Tiffany baubles A paparazzi shot exposes an affair between a young starlet and a married director But what the picture can’t tell you is that the girl was a store clerk taking those bracelets to her boss, or that the director filed for divorce last month
So what about a family photo? Take, for instance, a shot of aon the front porch of a luxe Victorian mansion Now look closer Dad’s s toward the left at a neighbor’s house--or ht, like he wants to crack it in half And sister s a delicious secret Half of the backyard is torn up by a giant yellow bulldozer, and there’s so but a blur of blond hair and pale skin Is that a guy…or a girl? It could be a trick of the light or a finger ss you uess
Four pretty girls in Rosewood believe they have a clear picture of what happened the night their best friend wentSomeone has been arrested, and the case has been closed But if they co on the flickers in the periphery, the uneasy feelings they can’t pin down, and the people right under their noses, that picture ht before their eyes If they take a deep breath and look again, they ht be astonished--even terrified--by what they discover
Truth is stranger than fiction, after all Especially here in Rosewood
The June evening was misty and moonless Crickets chirped in the thick, black woods, and the whole neighborhood smelled like fresh azaleas, citronella candles, and bleachy pool chlorine Brand-new luxury cars were tucked away in three-car garages As with everything else in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, a chic, rustic suburb about twenty rass was out of place, and everyone was exactly where they were supposed to be
Almost everyone
Alison DiLaurentis, Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgohts in the converted barn apart in for their end-of-seventh-grade sleepover Spencer quickly du bin They’d belonged to her sister, Melissa, and Melissa’s boyfriend, Ian Thomas, whom Spencer had banished fro their yellow and ht totes in a pile in the corner Hanna flopped on the couch and startedon leftover popcorn Ali latched the barn door and turned the dead bolt No one heard the squish of footsteps in the dewy grass or saw the light fog of breath on the
Snap
"So, girls," Alison piped up, perching on the ar to do" The asn’t open, but the glass was thin, and her words carried through the pane, rustling through the calht "I learned how to hypnotize people I could do you all at once"
There was a long pause Spencer picked at the waistband of her field hockey skirt Aria and Hanna exchanged a worried look
"Pleeeeze?" Ali said, pressing her pallanced over at Eht?"
"Um…" Emily’s voice quavered "Well…"
"I’ll do it," Hanna butted in
Snap
Whir
Everyone else reluctantly agreed How could they not? Ali was the irl at Rosewood Day, the school they attended Guys wanted to date her, girls wanted to be her, parents thought she was perfect, and she always got everything she wanted It was a dream come true that Ali had chosen Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna to be part of her clique at the Rosewood Day Charity Drive the year before, transfor each of the Soave theolden ticket to the best table in the cafeteria But she also forced the, a horrific secret they vowed to keep until they died So their everytheir calls, hanging out with her older field hockey friends, and was sees She teased Aria about her dad’s clandestine relationship with one of his students She poked fun at Hanna’s growing obsession with Cheez-Its--and her groaistline Shecrush on her, and threatened to reveal that Spencer had kissed her sister’s boyfriend Each girl suspected their friendship with Ali was slipping through their fingers Deep down, they wondered if they’d be friends with Ali after tonight
Snap
Ali rushed around, lighting the vanilla-scented candles with a Zippo and pulling the blinds closed--just in case She told the girls to sit cross-legged on the circular braided rug They did so, looking fretful and uncoed to hypnotize thee secrets that only Ali knew Secrets they didn’t want broadcast to each other, let alone the rest of the world
Snap
Whir
Ali began to slowly count backward fro No one e oak computer desk, the overstuffed bookshelves, and the tiny kitchen Everyone remained compliant and statue-still Never once did anyone look toward theNor did any of them hear the mechanical snaps of the clunky old Polaroid caes or the whirsas the cah space through one of the slats in the blinds to get a decent picture of all of them
Snap
Whir
When Ali was alht to the back"It’s too dark in here," Spencer proclaiht "I want it lighter Maybe everyone does"
Alison looked at the others Their eyes were sealed closed Her lips curled up in a smirk "Close them," she insisted
Spencer rolled her eyes "God, take a pill"