But now she did. She touched the blank gift tag and felt an angry pang. Her dad was probably going to give it to Isabel or Kate for Christmas.
“Hanna?” a voice floated up from the first floor.
Hanna shoved the lid back on the box and stepped into the hall. Her father was standing at the base of the stairs. “Pizza’s here!”
The tantalizing aroma of mozzarella cheese wafted into Hanna’s nostrils. Just half a slice, she decided. Sure, her Citizens jeans didn’t button so easily this morning, but she’d probably left them in the dryer for too long. She walked down the stairs just as Isabel was carrying a pizza box to the kitchen. Everyone sat down at the table—Hanna’s table—and Mr. Marin passed out plates and silverware. It was weird how he knew exactly which cabinet and drawer to open. But Isabel wasn’t supposed to be sitting in her mother’s chair, using her mother’s cloth napkins from Crate & Barrel. Kate wasn’t supposed to be drinking from the pewter cup her mother had bought for Hanna on a trip to Montreal.
Hanna let out another sneeze, her nostrils tickling with someone’s cloying perfume. Not one of them said Bless you.
“So when are your entrance exams for Rosewood Day again, Kate?” Mr. Marin said as he grabbed a pizza slice from the open box. Unfortunately, Kate would be attending the same school Hanna went to.
Kate took a dainty bite of crust. “In a couple of days. I’ve been going over geometry proofs and vocabulary words.”
Isabel waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not the SATs. I’m sure you’ll ace the exams.”
“They’ll be thrilled to have you.” Mr. Marin looked at Hanna. “Did you know Kate won the Renaissance Student prize last year? She excelled above her peers in every subject.”
You’ve only told me that eight million times, Hanna wanted to say. She took a bite of pizza so she wouldn’t have to speak.
“And her grades were outstanding at the Barnbury School,” Isabel went on, referencing Kate’s old school in Annapolis. “Barnbury has a better reputation than Rosewood Day. At least there, kids aren’t stalking other kids and running them down with their cars.”
She shot a pointed look at Hanna. Hanna reached unconsciously for a second slice of pizza and pushed it into her mouth. Nice how Isabel was basically blaming her for her ordeals with A, the stalker who’d almost ruined her life this fall, and for tarnishing Rosewood Day’s sterling reputation.
Kate leaned forward and stared at Hanna with wide eyes. Hanna had a feeling she knew exactly what question was coming next. “You must be so devastated that your best friend turned out to be . . . you know,” Kate said in a fake-concerned voice. “How are you holding up?” A tiny smile crossed her lips, and it was obvious what her real question was: How are you dealing with the fact that your BFF wanted to kill you?
Hanna looked desperately at her father, hoping he’d put a stop to this line of questioning, but he was also staring at her worriedly. “I’m holding up just fine,” she mumbled gruffly.
Not that it was true. Hanna was so mixed up about Mona Vanderwaal, her best friend since eighth grade who’d turned out to be A, the person who’d taunted her with her secrets, publicly embarrassed her more times than she could count, and yes, tried to run Hanna over with her car. There were still days when Hanna woke up, grabbed her phone, and started to text Mona about what shoes she was wearing to school before she remembered. At Mona’s funeral, Hanna had actually cried, eliciting gapes from her peers. Hanna knew she should despise Mona with all of her heart—and a big part of her did. But another part couldn’t just forget all the time they’d spent together gossiping, plotting their rise to popularity, and throwing fabulous parties. Before everything with A happened, Mona had been a better friend to her than Ali ever was—they’d felt like equals. But now Hanna knew it was all a lie.
Hanna stared down at her empty plate. Two ravaged pizza crusts lay in a lake of grease, but she couldn’t remember eating the rest. Her stomach let out an unattractive gurgle.
Mr. Marin wiped his mouth. “Well, we have a lot of unpacking to do.” He touched Kate’s arm. “You girls should take a break. Why don’t you and Hanna go to that new mall that just opened. What’s it called?”
“Devon Crest,” Hanna piped up.
“Ooh, I heard that place is very nice,” Isabel cooed.
“I’ve been, actually,” Kate said.
Isabel looked surprised. “When?”
“Uh, yesterday.” Kate fiddled with the bangle on her silver David Yurman bracelet, which she’d bragged was a gift from Isabel for winning an essay contest last year. “You guys were busy.”
“You two could go together, get to know each other a little better.” Mr. Marin looked back and forth between Hanna and Kate. “Go shopping. Buy something nice for yourselves. Leave the unpacking to us. What do you say?”
Kate took a long sip from her water bottle. “Thanks, Tom. That sounds really great.”
Hanna snuck a peek at Kate. Surprisingly, she looked sincere. Was it possible Kate had changed since Hanna had seen her last at a dinner in Philly, when she’d ratted Hanna out for stealing Percocet from a clinic? Hanna was back in touch with her old best friends, Emily, Aria, and Spencer, but none of them were big fashion followers, and she was kind of dying for a new best friend to replace Mona. Especially since she and her old friends had started attending group grief therapy together. She needed a break from all the Ali and A stuff—stat.