Pretty Little Liars

To Kill A Mocking Girl

MORNING

Byron drives Mike and Aria to school. The radio plays and is tuned to a PROGRESSIVE ROCK station. They all listen to the SONG. The second Byron pulls to the curb -

MIKE
"Later."

Mike shoots out of the car. Aria opens her door but Byron gently touches her forearm.

BYRON
"Hang on a sec."

She turns to him.

ARIA
"It's the first day. I don't want to be late."

BYRON
"I love you, Aria. You know that,  right? "

ARIA
"Yeah, I know."

BYRON
"And you know I love your mother."

She is genuinely curious -

ARIA
"Do you?"

BYRON
"I made a mistake, okay. And I'll
be sorry about it for the rest of my life."

Aria gives him a sympathetic look.

BYRON
"I hope that someday you'll be able
to forgive me."

ARIA
"I hope so, too."

She climbs out of the car.
As Aria somberly watches her father drive away

FLASHBACK

The year is 2008 and it's a bright summer day. Aria and Alison (both 15) eat frozen yogurts as they walk down the sidewalk.
MONA VANDERWALL(15) calls to them from across the  street. At 15, Mona was the styleless, nerdy girl that was always trying to hang out with them.

MONA
"Alison!"

Alison makes an "ugh" face.

MONA
"Aria!"

Alison grabs Aria's arm and successfully avoid Mona and pulls her into an alley. They head down the alley.

ALISON
"Is she ever going to get a clue?
What a dork.
Switch?"

They trade cups.

Alison notices something up ahead. We follow her gaze to a  familiar Nissan which is parked in a no parking zone.

ALISON
"Isn't that your dad's car?"

As the girls approach they see Byron sitting in the driver's seat. A pretty twenty-one-year-old COLLEGE GIRL sits next to him.
The college girl leans in close to Byron and he kisses her on the mouth.
Completely stunned, a wash of emotion overcomes Aria.

ROSEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - SIDEWALK - MORNING

EMILY (O.S.)
  "Aria?!"

Aria snaps out of her reflective moment and turns to see an extremely surprised EMILY walking toward her. At sixteen, Emily Fields works hard to maintain an athlete's body. Her sense of style is J-Crew sporty. A competitive swimmer, she looks and lives the part.

EMILY
"When did you get back?"

ARIA
"Yesterday."

Emily and Aria share an affectionate hug.

EMILY
"I almost didn't recognize you. I
think the last time we saw each other you had a pink stripe in your hair."

ARIA
"Yeah well, when your parents want  you to be yourself and you don't know who you are... "

EMILY
"You wore it well."

First BELL RINGS.

They both walk toward the entrance.

EMILY
"You should have called. It's so weird just running into you here."

ARIA
"We kind of lost touch, Emily."

Remember? She hits a nerve -

EMILY
"Maybe that's what we had to do."

They exchange a look of understanding.

ARIA
"I saw a poster of Alison yesterday."

EMILY
"It's awful. I mean... We all know she's dead."

Aria tosses her a look.

EMILY
(looking for reassurance)
"Right?"

ARIA
"I've just never heard anyone say it."

ROSEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - ENGLISH CLASSROOM - MORNING
*
Emily and Aria walk into the classroom where STUDENTS hang out, flirt, and catch up. They find two seats together and sit.

EMILY
"I hear the new teacher's really hot."

As Aria looks up she sees Hanna walk into the classroom.

ARIA (surprised)
"Is that Hanna?"

EMILY
" She's the "it girl" now."

Mona enters immediately after her.

EMILY
"And where there's Hanna, there's
Mona."

ARIA
"That's Mona Vanderwall? The dork?"

EMILY
"Can you believe it?"

ARIA
"Talk about a make-over."

Hanna sees Emily then her eyes shift to Aria. Aria waves to her. Hanna tosses her a hello nod and sits on the other side of the room. Aria turns her attention back to Emily -

ARIA
"What's up with her? Are you two fighting?"

EMILY
"We didn't just fall out of touch with you, Aria. We all fell out touch with each other."

The final BELL rings but the teacher isn't door opens. Everyone turns to check out Spencer as she walks into the classroom. When she realizes all eyes are on her she offers up a confident smile. Aria watches as Spencer happily finds a seat in the front row. Before she sits down, Spencer connects eyes with Hanna. They exchange warm smiles.

EMILY (to Aria)
"They're not close anymore but they're both popular so..."

Aria looks back to Emily -

ARIA
"So they're friendly but not friends."

Aria happens to look past Emily. She sees a BLONDE GIRL standing across the street from the school. She is staring at Aria and she looks so much like Alison that Aria is taken aback.

The teacher walks in and writes his name on the chalkboard - MR. FITZ. As Mr. Fitz turns we realize that he is Ezra, the cute guy Aria made out with in the bathroom at Snookers.
He proudly surveys his first class. His eyes fall upon -

EZRA
"Aria?"

Aria looks up to see Ezra, looking adorable in his jacket and tie with his hair neatly groomed. She is as surprised to see him as he is to see her.

The chorus of chatter falls silent and all the students turn to see who Ezra is looking at. Spencer looks back and is stunned to see Aria.

All four girls exchange looks. It's not the homecoming Aria would have wished for. With all eyes still on her, Aria's phone RINGS, signaling she has received a text message.

ARIA
"Sorry"

The apology is for more than the interruption. Aria quickly pulls her phone from her bag and silences the RING. Ezra clears his throat and composes himself.

EZRA
"I'm Mister Fitz. Your new English teacher."

Aria looks down at her phone. A shiver runs up her spine as she reads...

CLOSE ON MESSAGE:

Aria: Maybe he fools around with students all of the time. A lot of teachers do. Just ask your dad. - A

Emily, Spencer and Hanna see the look on Aria's face as she reads the text. It's as if she's seen a ghost. Aria quickly looks back out the window - the blonde girl is gone.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Hey loves💜❤️❤️💜❤️...hope you're enjoying the story
Much love
Please like and comment
Xoxo 😘