As Emily bikes away from Aria’s, she decides she needs to go to Maya’s house. The letter could have been from Maya and aside from that, they have plenty to discuss after what happened at the party. She tries to think of what she wants to say. At first, she thinks she’ll say she loved it, but then she decides she’ll tell Maya they can be friends. Then Emily can get back together with Ben, and everything can go back to how it was.

Emily thinks about how Aria tried to clarify whether Emily meant “recently” (251) when she asked if Ali had ever told the other girls anything. Emily wonders what Aria meant by that and if maybe Ali has somehow returned. But Emily’s mother was still in touch with Ali’s, so Emily would know if something changed. She still considers the prospect of Ali returning “thrilling to consider” (252). After Ali disappeared, Emily regularly asked her Magic 8 Ball if Ali would return, and it never said no. She wonders if maybe she was “right all along” (252). She also wonders if Ali and Maya would get along, especially since she feels similarly about them.

On the way to Maya’s, Emily hears a siren behind her.