Max | After
I've known Mr Gilbert and Tristan Fell for years.
I first met Tristan when we were seven, when his father came to visit mine. I showed him the pet cemetery Grace and I had started with odd pride, probably traumatising the guy. Then Grace arrived. And I still remember what Tristan whispered in my ear. She's so pretty. And I remember when Grace casually asked me years later what I thought of Tristan now. I remember her reply to my claim of him being fine. She said that she thought he was cute.
My meeting with Mr Gilbert was very different. The Year Sixes are always met at the station by their teacher for the year. Mr Gilbert had been leaning against the wall, a bottle of water in one hand and a folder in another. Grace, Carlos and I had been the first kids off the train, dragging our rucksacks behind us.
"Is that our teacher?" Carlos had whispered, eyes wide.
"I s
Grace | Before"You think it looks okay?" I ask Mum as she twists part of my hair into a slim plait."It does," she replies. "You're going to steal all the boys' hearts tonight.""Is Max here yet? Or Carlos and Zeph?""Max and Carlos are," she says. "They're helping with the tables. So sweet, those two."I smile. Carlos? Yes. Max? Carlos probably guilted him into pushing tables around. He doesn't like pushing tables around, he prefers to watch with his feet up on one."Your dad's here too," she adds. "He's fixing himself a sandwich before the party since he missed dinner. Did you miss him?"I'm frozen. If Dad is here, he'll want to talk. He knows that I've met the rep from the Raven's Guild. He'll want to ask me what I think of it. He'll ask me how I feel about the sixteenth of July.
Max | After"Excuse me?" My voice is shaky as Tristan gestures for me to sit down next to him. "What do you mean, Rosewood legacy?""Your grandmother's mother was actually one of the first girls to attend this school," Benedict Trudale replies coolly. "One of the first students, in fact. Your grandmother attended this school and then your father and now you. You're a legacy.""And what are you two doing? Did you put those notes all around school?""You're an absolute idiot," I tell him. "You terrified the shit out of most of the school and if Elliot finds out, she will murder you. And then your parents will murder you for it. So you'll be dead twice.""Three times because Vivienne will kill me too.""But you have done very well," Benedict adds. "The Rosewood Alliance has surpassed the Raven's Guild on this occasion." 
Violet | After"How are we going to look through her desk?" Kaci wails, flopping down on her bed.I look up from the email Mom forwarded to me from Everly. It's been almost six months since I've been released to civilisation and they think it'll be good if I talk to someone about how I'm doing. I'm to see Dr Summers next week. How lovely for me, right?"I think my mom just solved the problem," I say. "She wants me to have a session with Dr Summers next week. I can have a look then.""I have an idea to get her out of the room." She picks up her phone. "Tanya and Lexie, they'll do Max a favour, right? They can distract get with something while you look for anything on—"There's a brisk knock on our door, cutting her off."Who is it?" I call."Police!" a female voice responds. "We need to searc
Max | After"Come on, Max!" Carlos sighs. "We need to leave now!"He throws a packet of sweets to me as I look up from my laptop. I have a horror film ready to watch on. Netflix, all I have to do is press play and lose myself in a story that doesn't seem nearly as scary as my own life."Do I have to?" I whine. "Vivienne's going to be there and I haven't really talked to her and—""Max, let me stop you right there," he interjects. "Vivienne is not the only girl in the world and you probably won't have to talk to her all night. You are going to find someone who accepts how insane you are and loves you for it and you can't avoid her for the rest of your life.""Max, let me stop you right there," he interjects. "Vivienne is not the only girl in the world and you probably won't have to talk to her all night. You are going to find someone who accepts how insane
Violet | AfterMax furiously takes a drink of orange juice, glaring at Carlos who he seems to be having a staring contest with. Things have been tense since breakfast started, the two of them not talking to each other while Zeph, Kaci and I are in the dark about why."Alright, let's stop this childish nonsense," Kaci says. "What happened?""He knows what he did," Max spits."I don't!" Zeph wails. "I want to be in on the secret! You're making me feel left out!"━━━━━━━━Max furiously takes a drink of orange juice, glaring at Carlos who he seems to be having a staring contest with. Things have been tense since breakfast started, the two of them not talking to each other while Zeph, Kaci and I are in the dark about why.Violet | After"Alright, let's stop this childish nonsense,"
Max | After As soon as I'm far enough away from Violet, I pull out my video camera from my backpack. There has to be a church with a graveyard here somewhere. Thank God it isn't a Sunday and people probably won't be going to church. It's the perfect place to shoot the next instalment of my video diary of hell, also known as Max being a lunatic. "Found it," I mutter, seeing the sign informing me that this is the church. And right there is a graveyard. I consider going into the church just to see if a priest is there. Maybe I can go into confession. I sure have committed a lot of sins and admitting them to some guy I don't even know might help. But I shake the idea out of my mind and start walking through the graveyard. The graves near the front are new, not get covered with moss or overgrown grass with still fresh flowers laid on top. The gravestones are new, like Grace's, fr
Violet | After I approach the counter after finishing my fries. The guy who owns the place is called Logan as he told me and he's really nice. Asked me where I'm from, where I'm going, if I have my train ticket in order. Caring, like a dad. "Can I have a vanilla milkshake please?" I ask. "To go this time." "Sure," he replies with a smile. "But, kid, I just saw you drink a chocolate shake and too much milkshake ain't good for your health." "I know," I say, pulling out my money. "This is for a friend." When I meet Max back at the station, he gives me a weird look as I try to balance holding the shake and taking my suitcase onto the train. He sighs and takes my case, letting me carry his shake in peace. "What's that, Ace?" he asks as we take our seats. "This is for you." I hand it to him. "It won't get s
Max | After My first thought is quite shallow. What the hell does Ace see in him? This is Harvard, the boy who can make her blush without even doing anything. The guy we used as an excuse when she searched Keely's room. The guy who's stopping her from going out with another one. The mere thought of him makes all other guys inferior by comparison. But I just don't see it. The dark reddish brown hair is ordinary. His eyes are a normal green. He isn't particularly memorable. But she isn't blushing now. She looks stunned and quite horrified. He shrugs. "Dad's on a week long business trip, school got shut down because of scorpions and I'm here now. It's my last day and I thought it'd be nice to see you." "Should've stayed at school," I mouth to her. "Well, this just got awkward. If you want to work more on the project, you know where to find me, Ace." "I'll come with you," Nikki