[editing]
A year had passed since Alison DiLaurentis disappeared off the face of the earth, and the five ex-friends of the powerful, vindictive girl were entering their junior year of high school.
Although it was strange to be entering another year...
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Ivy really did think about how crazy it was that she was focusing on all the wrong things for a girl at her age. She shouldn't be thinking about surviving through the day, feeling paranoid about being watched, or trying to solve murders. That's not what normal teenagers did.
Normal teenagers were stressing about the future, grades, and focusing on trying to get into college; They weren't stressing about if they were even going to have a future. She mourned for the days where her only concern was what dress to wear to a party, or cramming for a test the night before.
She missed those days. Boys, grades, parties. That was all the group of teenage girls were focused on. Ivy remembered gushing over a boy and how the entire school found out she liked him. That seemed like the end of the world then. Having to deal with the knowing stares of her peers who teased her and joked about it, and the wave of anxiety and embarrassment that passed over her at that time and remained there for a while as she dealt with the remarks.
Alison squashed those comments and passed it off as a rumour. She threatened people that if they talked about it again, she would make their life a living hell. It worked for the most part as those who were teasing Ivy were either scared of Alison or were in love with her.
Ivy thought the entire school knowing who she liked was the end of the world, but it was nothing compared to what she faced as a senior. Ivy would go back those days in a heartbeat.
Because, for whatever reason, someone was out to get her and her friends, so those days were long gone.
It was the stench that hit Ivy first. A whiff of putrid, decaying flesh, mixed with the stench of manure and dirt hit her nose. Ivy gagged at the smell, taking a step back from the trunk.
Lying on the inside of the trunk was a motionless pig. It was squished into the tiny space, dressed in scars and burns, and covered in a thin sheet of grime.
She knew who the culprit was. They all did. 'A' had dragged the muddy cop car out of the lake and stuffed a dead pig inside it to taunt the girls.
But why? What was the significance of a dead pig? Did it mean that the torture and chaos wasn't over? How long was this game going to la—?
"—Where's Mona?" Spencer asked suddenly, breaking Ivy away from her racing thoughts.
Ivy tore her eyes away from the dead pig, searching for the girl in question. Mona had disappeared. She was nowhere near the cop car.
"This was all her. She set us up," Aria exclaimed, eyes frantically searching for Mona around them.
"Okay, let's go. Let's get out of here," Emily encouraged. She started to rush towards the car with Aria and Spencer behind her.
However, Ivy was stopped when Hanna had started to tug on her jacket, halting the girl in place.
