Chapter 39
Maple
I pull the door quietly behind me and tiptoe down the drive.
It’s early – I think everyone else is still asleep – but I’ve been awake for ages.
Too excited to sleep maybe, now that I have a purpose.
Because I spent most of yesterday researching Ella Hart, and it is kind of a head-fuck that she seems to have completely vanished. I’m hooked on finding her now.
I reach the maple tree and climb up. Since Dylan and I hung out here on Tuesday, it’s become like my personal retreat.
I came yesterday, after Mom and Dad started fighting in the pool, and it was so peaceful.
No one nagging me to film a reel, or a short, or do a prank, or an unboxing. In fact, no one noticing me at all.
So I’m back, with my phone and a notebook. Ready to do more research into Ella Hart.
Yesterday, I checked out the Hart family socials, both refreshing my memory and picking up some new stuff.
Ella has two brothers and two sisters. Her mom, Selena, was a model before she had kids, and her dad, Bodi, was in a boy band called Crush.
They described themselves as a west coast NSYNC, but it turned out Bodi was no Justin Timberlake because his singing career was crushed – of course that’s how TMZ styled it – after one album.
Still, the Harts live in a huge ranch-style house in Austin now, with a pool, and stables, and a totally lit games room, so I guess he bounced back.
And I’m pretty sure that’s courtesy of YouTube because their @7Harts<3 channel – five kids, two parents, seven hearts – gets wild stats.
Ella started her own TikTok and Instagram accounts when she was thirteen, same as me (although I’m trying not to think too hard about our parallels), and her last post on both channels went up two weeks after she turned eighteen; two days before Dylan says she ran away.
Ella is an amazing dancer, and a lot of her posts are of her doing some form of that – ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, street dance.
In her early posts she looks happy and bouncy, a bit extra maybe, but like she’s loving life.
But something changed about a year before she disappeared.
She dyed her hair, and started dressing kinda emo, with heavier makeup in some posts, and none at all in others.
Her dancing style changed too. Still beautiful, but slower, and to sad Billie Eilish tracks rather than more upbeat hip-hop stuff.
Her last post was a reel on New Year’s Eve 2024. Ella deciding what to wear for her night out. But her back is to the camera because she’s facing her closet, commenting on different outfits. And that’s it. She still has over a million followers, but nothing new on her grid.
Then there’s one more post about her. Selena’s YouTube short – posted on January 4th, 2025 – where she explains that Ella has won a place at the Royal Ballet School in London.
She says they’re all super thrilled, but Ella’s intense schedule along with the school’s strict phone rules, means that she won’t be on social media for a while.
The post finishes with a collection of photos of Ella to a schmaltzy Mariah Carey song, and the last shot is Ella standing on a bridge with a backdrop I recognize from Heartstopper. The show that’s filmed in London.
But of course it doesn’t really mean that she’s there because everyone knows how easy it is to edit a photo. And there’s nothing about Ella on the Royal Ballet’s website. Except maybe they don’t showcase dancers until they finish training?
My phone buzzes. It’s Coco FaceTiming me and I quickly accept the call. It’s not the best signal up here, but I can still tell that she’s frowning.
‘Hey, babe,’ she says. ‘Are you in that tree again?’
I smile. ‘Is that bad?’
‘I guess it depends whether you’re doing it because you identify as a monkey now, or because you’re hiding from your mom.’
‘Definitely the second one,’ I promise. ‘I’ve been looking into Ella Hart some more.’
‘Oh, right. That’s great, babe.’
I feel a swell of relief. When I first told Coco about Dylan’s take on Ella’s disappearance, and how I felt this compulsion to find her, she seemed a bit salty, like I was treading on her toes or something.
So I explained how she’d inspired me, and how good it felt to finally have something to focus on.
She warmed up after that, and it’s good to know she’s still feeling the same way.
‘Have you found out anything new?’ she asks.
‘Not yet,’ I admit. ‘But there’s definitely something weird going on. For one, the only picture I could find of Ella in London was the one her mom put up. And also, she totally changed her vibe in the year before she disappeared. I’m sure she was freaking out about something.’
‘Sounds like her mom’s worse than yours,’ Coco says. ‘Are you sure you want to prod that bear?’
I consider that, and how my gut is telling me that Selena Hart’s lying to protect herself without giving a shit about her daughter.
‘Yeah, I’m sure. I just don’t know exactly how to do it.
I want to use my platform, but Mom runs my YouTube channel, and there’s no way she’d let me go that far off brand.
I could do a Live on Instagram or TikTok, but I’m just a kid who does stupid lip synchs on there.
Who would take me seriously, or even bother to watch? ’
She tips her head in thought. ‘Why not set up a new YouTube channel? Maybe brand it to show you’re serious. Maple Uncovers or something like that.’
I kick my foot against the fat branch. ‘You think I could?’
‘You’re Maybe Maple. You can do anything. You really need to start believing in yourself more.’