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That could not happen Ever since Ali rescued her froain
Hanna took a deep breath "Sorry, Skidz," she heard herself saying in a taunting and high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like her own "I shouldn’t get too close Germs and all" She smirked
Mike’s lips parted His skin paled as if he’d seen a ghost--the Ghost of Bitchiness Past, maybe Hanna whirled around and faced Naomi, Kate, Riley, and Courtney See? she wanted to scream She could roup
Naomi stood and brushed muffin crumbs from her hands "Sorry, Han, you may be Skidz-free, but you’re still a freak" She re-knotted her Love Quotes silk scarf around her neck and beckoned the rest of the girls to follow Riley fell in line behind her, then Kate
Courtney relued to Hanna "Your hair looks really pretty like that," she finally said
Hanna touched her hair self-consciously It looked the saht and styled with a dollop of Buain of that drawing Iris had done of Courtney on the attic wall, Courtney’s eyes huge and haunting A shiver ran up her spine "Uh, thanks," she aze for a few minutes more, a weird s her purse over her shoulder and followed the others down the hall
7
NOEL KAHN, ROSEWOOD WELCOME WAGON
A few hours later, Aria trudged into study hall, her third period of the day It was held in a health classroo the various sys can wreak on your body, and what happens to your skin if you habitually smoke There was also a heavy, waxy yellow blob at the back of the room that was supposed to represent what a pound of fat looked like in your body, and a long poster illustrating the various changes a fetus undergoes while in the womb Meredith, Aria’s pseudo-step to the Health chart, the fetus was about the size of a rutabaga Fun!
Aria took a long sip of coffee fro She still ordered coffee beans from the little dive near where they’d lived in Reykjavík, Iceland It cost a fortune just in shipping, but Starbucks didn’t cut it anymore Aria sat down as more students swarmed in She heard a clunk nearby and looked up
"Hey" Noel plopped into a seat across the aisle Aria was surprised to see hih Noel was technically in Aria’s study hall, he usually spent the period in the school’s weight roo?" he asked, his eyes wide
Aria shrugged nonco of coffee She had a feeling she knehat Noel wanted to talk about Everyone wanted to talk to her about it today
"Have you talked to…you know, Courtney?" His lips twitched as he said the name
Aria bit her thumbnail "I talked to her a little But hopefully I don’t ever have to again"
Noel looked startled
"What?" Aria snapped
"It’s just…" Noel trailed off, fiddling with one of the Absolut bottle–shaped key rings on his backpack "I thought you’d want to get to know her, being that she’s Ali’s sister and all"
Aria turned away, staring at a brightly colored food pyramid display across the roo at dinner the previous night--that reaching out to Ali’s long-lost sister ht help Aria heal from Ali’s death Aria was pretty sure herher mom these days Whenever she called Ella, she always ran the risk of getting her sleazy boyfriend, Xavier, instead
The whole Courtney thing weirded Aria out: Courtney standing there at the podiu her away for years without telling a soul The press salivating at their every word In the lanced at Jason DiLaurentis He had nodded along with everything his lazed like he’d been brainwashed All re crush Aria had on Jason vanished in an instant He and his fained
Aria opened her bio book to a randoe on photosynthesis Noel’s eyes were on her, waiting "It feels weird to be around her," she answered finally without looking up "It brings back a lot of memories of Ali’s disappearance and death"
Noel leaned forward, h that, too Maybe it would be good for you guys to deal with it together I know you’re not into the group therapy thing, but talking with her could help"
Aria pinched the bridge of her nose If anything, she needed group therapy to deal with Courtney’s arrival
A scuffle at the front of the room made her look up Kids started to whisper When Mrs Ives, the study hall monitor, stepped away fro there was Courtney herself
Mrs Ives pointed Courtney to the only eht next to Aria Everyone in the class stared as Courtney started down the aisle, her hips swaying, her long blond hair swinging Phi Templeton even snapped a quick picture of Courtney with her BlackBerry "She looks just like Ali," Ihtened "Hi! It’s nice to see a friendly face"
"H-hey," Aria staht now couldn’t be categorized as friendly