Remember Me Tomorrow

TEN

I go back to the dining hall near East House for dinner. I’m honestly not sure why I’ve never actually eaten in here before today. They have the same grain bowls I used to get from West Hall, and it’s a lot quieter. No one talks to me during the whole meal, which is fine because I have work to do. While I eat, I put my headphones in and transcribe the interview with Emma on my laptop.

It’s seven thirty when I get back to my room after dinner. It’s just enough time for a shower before my date with Jay. Well, not a date. A texting date. Sort of.

I get a buzz on my phone before I’ve even plugged in my laptop to charge.

Jay: There you are!

Aleeza: I just came from dinner. We’re talking at eight, aren’t we?

Jay: Yeah, I was excited to tell you something. I did some sleuthing all by myself!

I unwrap my scarf from my neck. The room is drafty, as usual, so I pull my wearable blanket over my head.

Jay: I saw a campus security guard in the building so I asked him some questions. I was all casual. You would have been so impressed. The perfect undercover investigator.

It’s kind of adorable how excited he is about this.

Aleeza: What did you find out?

Jay: First of all, there are two cameras in the building. The stairwell one, and one in the lobby pointing at the front door. He even showed it to me. It’s pretty hidden.

Aleeza: I assume that’s the one that saw you come in, but not out again that night.

Jay : Yeah, but here’s the weird thing. The stairwell camera is between the first and second floor. Cheap school doesn’t have a camera on every floor. So, I realize, I could have taken the stairs to the second floor and the camera wouldn’t see me.

The second floor has only professor offices.

Aleeza: Is there a way out of the building from the second floor?

Jay: Not that I know of. My Civil Engineering prof’s office is there. I can ask her next time I see her.

I make a note to check the outside of the building to see if there’s a door that could come from a second set of stairs.

Aleeza: If there is another way out of the building, the police would have checked that, wouldn’t they have?

Jay: Yeah, I assume. I haven’t exactly solved the case.

Aleeza: It’s still excellent information. I had an eventful day too.

I text him a brief description of my meeting with Gracie, and then with Gracie, Aster, and Emma. I tell him I’ll send him the transcript of the conversation when I’m done with it.

Jay: Holy crap. Your detective work today was better than mine. By the way, Emma is lying. She picked me up in the Wolfe—not the other way around.

Aleeza: Can’t say I’m surprised about that.

Jay: Is there really an Instagram account specifically for people to complain about me?

Aleeza: Apparently. We couldn’t find it, though. Emma said it’s been taken down.

It’s a lead that goes nowhere, just like most of the leads we’d found.

Jay: It’s taken down in your time, but it should still be there in mine, right?

I’m an idiot. Why didn’t I think of that?

Aleeza: Look for it.

He doesn’t respond, so I assume he’s looking. I take the opportunity to look up which professors have offices on the second floor here. Looks like they are all psychology or engineering professors. I jot down their names in my black notebook.

Jay: I found it.

Aleeza: What’s it posting?

Jay: The pictures are all random shots of birds around the city. The captions are the same unsubstantiated BS from the old Tumblr posts. Also anonymous accounts of me being a dirty player. Like I’m dating three girls at once, or I’m a serial ghoster. One says I gave someone an STI. It’s not true. This is defamation. Ugh. I should call my lawyer again.

Aleeza: I’m so sorry. What’s the account?

Jay: Birdwatcher_City. I assume the city is for Toronto City University. Someone started it six weeks ago.

I look for the site on my end, and I do find it. It’s empty, though. All the posts have been deleted. The profile picture is of a blue jay.

This is proof that Birdwatcher exists, at least. Unless this account is for, you know, actually watching birds.

Aleeza: Have you never noticed this account before?

Jay: I very rarely use social media. This is the first time I’ve logged on in weeks, except for when I checked your account a few days ago.

Aleeza: Who follows it?

Jay: 76 followers. No names I recognize. Wait. Emma and Bailey. And some others I know. No one else I hooked up with.

I check who’s following the account on my end. It has about a hundred followers—none that I recognize after a brief scan, except Emma. It looks like a bunch of bots are following—there are some sketch names here. It doesn’t surprise me. A bunch of bots follow my account too.

Aleeza: I don’t recognize any of the followers.

Jay: I just followed it and put a notification on it so I’ll see if it posts again.

Aleeza: Maybe they’ll stop posting once they see that Jay Hoque is following them.

Jay: Give me some credit, Roomie. I set up a fake account. A fake account to stalk my stalker.

Aleeza: Good idea. Maybe Bailey Cressman will tell us who’s behind it. I’m glad Gracie and Aster are helping me get access to her.

Jay: Yeah, I feel like I should go knock on Gracie’s door and thank her for having my back in a few months.

Aleeza: She said you two weren’t close.

Jay: Not really. We say hello in the hallway. Canadian polite acquaintances. I know Aster a little better. Still not really friends, though. Aster and Gracie have been attached at the hip since September. Are they dating?

Aleeza: I don’t know what’s going on between them. But Gracie’s been protective of you since I moved in. At first, she actually thought I was your stalker.

Jay: Has she seen the Birdwatcher Instagram?

Aleeza: No. How does Bailey Cressman know you?

Jay: Same as Aster. I saw her at parties last year. I know what you’re thinking, but no, I didn’t hook up with her. Bailey seems ... high maintenance.

Aleeza: Otherwise you would have hooked up with her?

Jay: No.

Aleeza: She doesn’t hang with your friends anymore?

Jay: No, I don’t hang out with that group very much anymore. Happens a lot in first year. Your friends in September will probably not be your friends forever.

I have no idea if Jay is talking about me when he says that. A couple of weeks ago, I would have denied it. Mia and I were going to be friends forever. But look how much my life has changed in a week.

Aleeza: Gracie says Bailey and Aster’s group is rich and snobby.

Jay: Yep. You can see why I don’t really fit in with them. I met them last year through water polo. Serves me right to pick such a bougie sport. So, what’s our next step in the investigation?

Aleeza: I wait to see if Bailey Cressman will tell us more about Birdwatcher. And I need to actually start the podcast. I’m thinking episode one will be a little bit about you and the details of the disappearance. Like the time you were last seen and possible ways you could have gotten out of the building. I can use what you learned about the cameras. Then episode two can be a deeper dive into “Who is Jay Hoque.” Can I ask you some questions for that now?

Jay: Um, I’m supposed to be missing? Who are you going to put down as your source for this information?

Good question.

Aleeza: We can keep it surface level. Just tell me things that would be easy for me to find out on my own. This will save me from having to actually do the research.

Jay: Okay. Hit me with your hard-hitting questions, Roomie.

Aleeza: What’s your major?

Jay: Engineering. I want to be a structural engineer.

Aleeza: Why did you pick this university?

Jay: I got a scholarship here. And I like being close to home.

Aleeza: You grew up in Toronto, right?

Jay: Yep. Specifically, Scarborough.

Aleeza: Any siblings?

Jay: No.

Aleeza: Are you close with your dad too?

Jay: I don’t have one. You don’t need to mention a father.

Aleeza: Everyone has a father.

Jay: Yeah, and mine’s not in the picture. It’s not relevant. I’ve never met him. Don’t mention him in the podcast.

This is weird. He doesn’t want me to even say that his father isn’t in his life? It’s totally significant to who he is, right? Did his father abandon him? Is he dead? I can’t tell if Jay truly doesn’t think it’s significant and has no feelings about his birth father, or if he’s hiding something.

One thing I can safely assume is that Jay’s father isn’t from Bangladesh, like his mother. He said he’s biracial, and he implied earlier that his mother used to be in an all-white community. Is that where she met his father? I make a note to find out what I can about Jay’s father—without telling Jay, of course.

Aleeza: Maybe it would be better if I spoke to a family member. Do you think your mother would talk to me?

Jay: I’d rather you didn’t. This is probably hard enough on her.

I remember he said his mother had depression. I hope she’s doing okay. There must be a way I can check on her without upsetting her.

Aleeza: Can I speak to a cousin or something? You said you were close to your aunt and uncle. Do they have kids?

Jay: Yeah, Madhuri and Manal. I’m tight with both of them, but especially Manal. She’s a student at OCAD. She’s a year older than me.

Aleeza: Do you think she’d speak to me.

Jay: Don’t know. I assume they’re all desperate to find me. At least I hope they are. Next time I see Manal, I’ll say I have a new friend who loves octopuses. She’s always drawing underwater stuff so it will make sense. Then you can DM her and she won’t think you’re a stranger to me.

Aleeza: Hopefully that action will carry on to my timeline—85 percent, remember?

Jay: It’s worth a shot.

Aleeza: Yeah, I guess so.

It feels a little like we’re playing with fire. It’s one thing to get information from past Jay to figure out where present Jay is, but to have past Jay make changes to his timeline based on things I tell him could increase the differences between our worlds. Or cause a temporal paradox so big we’ll blow up the universe.

But changing the past is exactly what we’re trying to do ... Jay needs to change something in his timeline based on what we figure out in mine. He needs to not disappear.

I make a note to do a little more research on the physics of time. Maybe watch some movies from Dad’s list.

Aleeza: Are you single right now?

Jay: Yeah, I told you. I don’t do relationships.

Aleeza: Like ever?

Jay: I don’t know. You putting this in the podcast?

Aleeza: Not if you don’t want me to. But it’s relevant since I’ll be talking about Birdwatcher and Emma Coffey.

Jay: Okay fine. I don’t think relationships are for me. Ever.

Aleeza: Maybe you haven’t met the right person yet.

Jay: You ever been in love, Roomie?

I frown. What does that have to do with his disappearance?

Aleeza: Are we talking about you, or me?

Jay: I’m curious. If you get to know everything about me, I want to know something about you.

Aleeza: No I haven’t been in love.

Jay: What about the Alderville boyfriend?

Aleeza: I liked Chase. But it was never going to move to love. For either of us.

Maybe love isn’t for me either. Maybe I’m more like Jay than I’m willing to admit.

Jay: Okay, so maybe you’re not as idealistic as I thought you were.

I don’t know what he means, so I don’t write back. On one hand, I kind of wish he were here—physically, I mean. I need to see his body language ... to know if he really thinks I’m nothing but a naive child. But also, there’s no way I could have this conversation with him face-to-face. I’m supposed to be investigating him , and instead I’m telling him things I don’t normally tell anyone. But if I don’t answer his questions, I’m not sure he’ll talk.

Jay: I just looked at your Instagram again.

Aleeza: Why?

Jay: We’re roommates. I want to see what your life is like. You’re cute. Wholesome.

He called me cute before. But not wholesome .

Aleeza: You’re mocking me.

Jay: I’m not. Truthfully. I really do think you’re cute. You’re really into octopuses, aren’t you? Your grid is full of them.

Aleeza: Yeah, I collect them.

Jay: Is the orange one in your pictures the one that lives on my bed?

Aleeza: Yeah, that’s Tentacle Ted. Since I don’t have Mia anymore, he’s been keeping me company.

Jay: Mia’s the friend that ditched you, right? I saw her in your pictures.

Aleeza: Yeah, she was my best friend since we were kids. We haven’t spoken since I moved out Tuesday.

It’s the longest I’ve gone without talking to Mia since we met. My chest tightens. I have no regrets about moving out, but I didn’t expect this emptiness after losing that friendship.

Jay: Good riddance. I think you’ll find out that you can be yourself now. And be a much better person without her.

That’s ... kind of him to say.

Aleeza: Can I ask you questions just to get to know you too? Not for the podcast.

Jay: Go ahead.

Aleeza: What’s your favorite TV character?

Jay: The Swedish Chef and Nick Fury. What’s yours?

Aleeza: Wait. Why the Swedish Chef? Like the Muppet?

Jay: Yes, the Muppet. He loves good food, and I love good food. Also, there’s chaos whenever he’s cooking and nothing ever works out right, but that doesn’t stop him from trying again the next time. I like his commitment.

Aleeza: So you DO like commitment.

Jay: I am very committed to excellent meals. What’s yours?

Aleeza: Veronica Mars or Velma.

Jay: Velma from Scooby Doo. Of course. Teenage sleuths. Favorite type of food? Mine’s sandwiches.

I chuckle, remembering when Emma said he would take transit to Scarborough just for a sandwich.

Aleeza: Samosas, but only my grandmother’s homemade ones. That or bowls.

Jay: Bowls?

Aleeza: Burrito bowls, poke bowls, papri chat, curry bowls. I like a whole bunch of random things mixed in a bowl.

Jay: Were you the type of kid who mixed all the cereals together?

Aleeza: Yes, I still do.

Jay: We have the opposite taste in food. I like things neatly between bread, and you like them chaotically mixed. Ask me another question.

I do have another question for him. One that’s a bit heavier. I’m a little afraid to ask it. But I do anyway.

Aleeza: Why aren’t you more freaked out? About being missing, I mean. You seem to be taking it well.

Jay: I am freaking out. I’m freaking out so much that I went home yesterday for no reason and spent the whole day with my mother. But I have you, right? My own Veronica Mars to solve this case for me.

Emo bad-boy Jay Hoque is a huge optimist. And at the same time, a total pessimist. He’s a mystery.

Aleeza: You mentioned earlier that this is like a Keanu Reeves movie, but not The Matrix. What movie were you talking about?

Jay: The Lake House.

Aleeza: Never heard of it.

Jay: It’s a romance. It makes no sense, but I liked it. It’s gentle and cozy. My mom’s a big Keanu Reeves fan. I watched it with her.

Aleeza: My parents are really into science fiction. I asked them about time travel and technology, and my dad emailed me a list of all the best time-travel movies.

Jay: We should watch them together.

I frown. Did he want to spend time with me outside of our investigation?

Aleeza: How are we going to watch movies together if we’re months apart?

Jay: We’ll stream them at the same time and text each other while we’re watching. It’ll be fun. And it’s research. Do you want to start tomorrow after our eight o’clock update on the case? The Lake House must be streaming somewhere.

Why not? It’s not like I have anyone else to hang out with.

Aleeza: Sure. When are you going to talk to your cousin?

Jay: I’ll text her. We have lunch together fairly often. I’ll casually mention my new investigative reporter friend who’s into bowls and octopuses.

Aleeza: Okay. I’ll wait until you do before I contact her.

Jay: I’m heading to bed—I have water polo practice in the morning. Same time tomorrow?

Aleeza: Yep. Tomorrow we can start the scripts for the podcast too.

Jay: Good night! Say good night to the octopus for me.

“Jay says good night, Ted,” I say aloud.

Aleeza: Done. Talk tomorrow.

On Monday, between my classes, I start drafting the first episode of the podcast. And after my last class, I go to the campus security main office to try to get access to the camera footage from East House.

“Not without a warrant,” the guy at the desk says, barely looking at me.

“I’m doing an investigation on Jay’s disappearance—”

“Not without a warrant,” he says again, a smirk on his face. He looks like he’s on a power trip. Which he probably is.

“I assume that footage was given to the police?”

“Of course.”

“What about his student card logs? Did Jay use his card after—”

“Not without a—”

“A warrant. I know.” There has to be something this guy will tell me. “One question: Are there any exits in East House from the second floor? Like a back stairwell or something?”

“How would I know?”

I sigh. “Okay, can you tell me if there is a back-door camera?”

“I’ll throw you a bone. No, there isn’t, but the alarm on the door is connected to the system. We’d know if someone opened it.”

“Was it opened the night Jay Hoque disappeared?”

“Not telling you without a warrant,” he says. He suddenly looks over my shoulder and smiles.

I sigh. This is clearly going nowhere. As I’m leaving the office, I almost crash into someone in the doorway. And ugh. It’s Taylor. I wonder if this is who the security guy was smiling at. Mia once told me Taylor has a thing for cops.

“Hi, Taylor,” I say.

She stares at me like she doesn’t know who I am. Which is ridiculous because I was almost always there when she came by to see Mia.

I’m so not in the mood for this. I roll my eyes and walk out of the security office. I wonder if she’s hooking up with the guy.

On my way back to my room, I get a text from Gracie that says Bailey isn’t answering Aster’s calls. Figures. Nothing seems to be working out for me. When I get to East House, I search around the building, looking for other exits, but I can’t find one. Just the front door, and the fire escape door in the back. And Jay couldn’t have left from it because it’s alarmed.

Defeated, I head next door for dinner. Later, in my room at eight, Jay texts saying he made plans with his cousin for lunch on Thursday, so I should wait at least until then to speak to her. I paste the draft of podcast episode one in the chat. He reads through it and suggests some changes.

After we’re done, we both cue up The Lake House on our laptops and press “Play” at the same moment. We text each other while we watch.

The movie is weird, but I like it. It’s about a doctor and an architect who live in the same lake house two years apart and discover they can leave each other notes in the mailbox. It’s oddly similar to what Jay and I are going through, but also very different, because in the movie what one does in one time does directly affect what happens in the later time. Like he plants trees in the past and they magically appear in front of her eyes two years later. It’s strange and confusing. Also, the mailbox is inconvenient because they have to go all the way there and leave long letters for each other. I much prefer texting.

The house itself is beautiful, though.

Aleeza: The next time we find a time-skip, it should be in a beautiful lake house instead of this run-down old dorm room.

Jay: This room is crap, but East House is a cool building. Did you know the original architect who designed it, Ernest Tanner, built almost identical homes for each of his sons? There are two other old mansions in Toronto just like this one.

I guess that playboy who disappeared more than one hundred years ago was related to Ernest Tanner. I tell Jay about the research I did on that case before I decided to do the podcast on him.

Jay: Weird that two people have disappeared from this house.

Aleeza: That guy wasn’t living here when he disappeared though. And even if the history of this house is cool, it’s kinda falling apart.

Jay: I guess it would have been cool if we could only talk in a bar, or a fancy café instead of a dorm room. Or someplace iconic. Like the Toronto Reference Library, or the Art Gallery.

Aleeza: Even a West Hall dorm room would have been nicer than this.

Jay: Nah. You’ll soon be glad you left there. Once you’re here for a while, you’ll see that it’s not about the newness. It’s the people that make a residence.

Aleeza: Maybe. But if we’re talking hypotheticals, I wouldn’t mind finding a time-skip with Keanu Reeves. Especially nineties-era Keanu. Yum. But current Keanu is hot too. He’s from Toronto—maybe I can find a house he used to live in.

Jay: You’re breaking my heart, Roomie. Are you saying I’m not as yummy as John Wick?

I laugh. Jay is fun to tease. And he’s easily as good-looking as nineties Keanu. Better, actually. Or, rather, he was as good-looking. Sometimes I forget that my new friend is actually gone , and no one knows where he is. And when I remember, it makes this whole ... friendship we’ve found seem fragile. It’s barely been a week since I met him, and I already can’t imagine losing him.

Is this why Jay has a whole disgruntled fan club? He’s so easy to get attached to. Maybe it makes sense that so many people were upset that they couldn’t have more of him than he was willing to give.

Or maybe those girls were smarter than me and knew not to get too emotionally invested. It’s possible that I’m only this attached because I’m vulnerable now. Because I lost my oldest friend and I’m in a huge city all alone.

Aleeza: We’ve never really met, so I don’t know? But then again, I haven’t met Keanu either.

Jay: Well, I suspect you’re a better catch than that lady though. All those pantsuits? No thank you. She seems emotionally unavailable.

Aleeza: How is she emotionally unavailable? She freaking fell in love with a guy after only a handful of rambling letters.

Jay: He’s a fantasy. She’s escaping her real life and her real feelings too.

I don’t say anything to that. Because I’m too busy worrying if that’s what I’m doing. Escaping my real life. Jay and I aren’t real to each other. Just a fantasy. And we’ve grown emotionally attached.

Or at least I have. Jay is quiet for a while before he finally texts.

Jay: On second thought, I think her falling for someone she’s never met IRL is pretty realistic. Shall we continue our study of time travel movies featuring Canadian actors with Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox?

On Tuesday I’m having lunch on campus when someone calls my name. I turn and see it’s Gracie and Aster, who wave me over to join them.

After I sit, Aster immediately grins. “Bailey finally resurfaced,” she says. “I was just telling Gracie about it.”

I stir my chickpea and feta bowl. “Did you ask her if she’ll talk to us about Jay?”

“I did,” Aster says. “And not surprisingly, she said no. She practically snarled. I’m not Bailey’s favorite person. But during a break in our psych lecture, I asked her if she knows who the Birdwatcher is. She turned the most interesting shade of white. Could have been the whitest person at her country club with that face.”

“We think Bailey Cressman is the Birdwatcher,” Gracie says, grinning. They are clearly excited about this deduction.

I’m not so sure, though. Jay told me he didn’t hook up with Bailey. Why would she care? “Really? Just because she turned white after you asked her about it?”

“Body language is everything ,” Aster says. “She clearly doesn’t think highly of Jay. She probably hooked up with him.”

“Did you ask her if she did?”

“No, but it makes sense. She hooked up with him and discovered he was a fuckboy. And she was so pissed that she created this whole Instagram account to re-spew all the crap that the Tumblr said last year. Plus posting about him being a player.” Aster grins.

It’s actually kind of adorable how invested they are about this investigation.

“I agree. This is textbook mean-girl revenge,” Gracie says. “People like Bailey are used to getting what they want.”

Aster nods. “When I asked her, she said, ‘Why would I care about someone who grew up in a townhouse in Scarborough with, like, three families?’”

“Jay told her that?” I ask.

Jay has been a bit secretive about his family life with me. I had no idea he and his mom lived with other families. Why would he have confided in Bailey Cressman? Maybe he sees me only as the person who can save him, not his friend. I mean, we haven’t known each other long. Only a week. I exhale. My life has changed so much since then.

“So what do we do now?” I ask, mostly because I don’t want to linger on questions about Jay that I don’t want to think about.

“I say we look into Bailey more. What’s her Instagram?” Gracie pulls out her phone.

After a few minutes of looking at her grid, we find nothing of use. Her pics are heavily curated, and most are just of her. Selfies. Bailey at the beach. Bailey shopping in Yorkville. Bailey posing with ...

“Is that Justin Bieber?” I ask.

Aster snorts. “Looks like it.”

“There are no pictures of friends here. Just random celebs.”

I notice the red circle around her picture, which means she has an Instagram story. I open it.

It’s a shot of Bailey in a store fitting room, wearing a tight, low-neckline, pale-pink dress. Her curling-iron waves reach down her back, and one hand rests on her hip. She’s posted a poll for her followers. This dress for Jack’s party on Saturday? Yes/No.

Her next story is also about Jack’s party. Y’all, no! I can’t get anyone an invite to the party! Ask him yourself!

An idea comes to me. “Hey, didn’t Emma say that Bailey is loose-lipped when she’s drunk?”

Gracie nods. “Yep.”

“I’ve seen her drunk,” Aster adds. “Bailey Cressman would be what one would call a messy drunk.” She laughs to herself at the thought.

“Can we get an invitation to this Jack guy’s party?” I ask.

Aster raises a brow. “Are you out of your mind? You seriously want to go to Jack Gormley’s party?”

I frown. Should I know who he is? Is this the same Jack who Jay is still friends with?

Gracie shakes her head. “Jack’s parties are legendary . They’re like ... rich-people debauchery.”

“You’ve been?” Gracie doesn’t seem the type to ... well, do whatever “rich-people debauchery” is.

“No. Aster has, though,” Gracie says.

“I’ve known him for years.” Aster frowns. I get the impression that she doesn’t like this Jack guy much. “Jack Gormley is, like, a professional student. Lord knows how many years he’s been working on his BA. His parents bought him a boat last year, and I think he lived on it all summer. Jack’s family is ... Toronto old money. He throws these enormous ragers for only the poshest of the posh. Bailey’s whole crew will be there.”

I frown. I can’t believe this is the same guy who Jay said he was thinking of moving in with. “Hey, was Jay ever at one of Jack’s parties?”

It’s hard to reconcile the guy I watched an old romance movie with last night and this rich-people debauchery .

Aster nods while taking a bite of her burger. After chewing, she says, “Yep. He and Jack used to be really tight. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I think you should investigate Jack too. I don’t trust him.”

“Why? I thought the people posting on Birdwatcher were all girls who Jay had ... wronged. Wasn’t Jack Jay’s friend?”

Aster shrugs. “There’s something about Jack. I don’t know. He got into trouble last year for being behind this other secret whistler Instagram account that aired all these rich people’s dirty laundry. My parents were spared, but he ruffled a lot of feathers. The Birdwatcher Instagram thing sounds like something Jack would do.”

Hmm ... maybe the fact that Jack is the only one from this group who Jay has even mentioned to me means Jack was involved somehow. Because, as I’d recently learned, your closest friends are sometimes the ones who betray you the most. I pull out my notebook and add Jack Gormley to the list of suspects.

“So, can you get us an invite to this party?” I ask.

Aster squeezes her lips together, uncomfortable. Why is she reluctant about this? From what I’ve figured out about Gracie and Aster, they are not a couple, but Aster clearly wishes they were. Maybe Aster doesn’t want Gracie to see what her life is really like with all the rich kids? But I need to go to this party. Jack, Bailey, and Jay’s former friends will all be there. “It would be really cool if you could swing it. Maybe mention it to Jack?”

Aster sighs. “He’ll say yes if I ask him.”

“Will you ask?” Gracie asks.

“Yeah, all right. I’ll get back to you on it.”

Gracie looks at her watch. “I need to run to class. Hey, Aleeza, a bunch of us from East House are going to watch a movie in the common room tonight. You should come.”

I shake my head. “Sorry. I have ... plans.” Jay and I are watching Back to the Future tonight.

She shrugs as she stands and picks up her food tray.

“Wait,” I say. “Can you ask around to find out who the anonymous witness who saw Jay that night was?”

Gracie looks at me blankly, then nods. “Sure.”