One of Us Is Next

When Maeve arrives at school the first person to greet her is Sean Murdock, who jokes about how he’s a real man and can guarantee satisfaction (119). A crowd gathers around Knox’s locker and Sean tells Maeve he hopes her ex-boyfriend likes the present they left for him. Phoebe intercepts Maeve and tells her that her being anywhere near Knox right now will make it worse. She tells her that there are limp noodles glued to his locker in a very specific shape. Phoebe reminds Maeve that people will believe whatever they want. Maeve thinks, “Phoebe was right: whoever it is isn’t worth all the time and attention I’ve been giving them” (122). At the end of the school day, Maeve goes to the auditorium in the hopes of finding Knox at rehearsal. She tells herself that if there is an even number of lights blazing above the stage, then Knox will forgive her. She counts 13 lights and notices that Knox isn’t there. Lucy Chen tells Maeve that Knox quit the show and thanks her for ruining the play. Maeve blames the horrible game, and Lucy counters, saying she said they should have told the principle two weeks ago. Maeve blocks Unknown’s number.

Maeve sits Café Contigo after school, and Mr. Santos notices her melancholy behavior. He insists that he make her favorite dish to lift her spirits. Luis emerges and says he’ll make the ajiaco dish for Maeve. Mr. Santos gives Luis the keys and leaves the two alone in the café. Luis takes Maeve into the kitchen and asks her to cut scallions while he prepares other parts of the dish. He asks Maeve why she seems distracted. She responds that she and Knox got into a fight, and she knows it was her fault. Maeve says she thinks she’s toxic. Luis reassures her she’s not toxic, and that everybody does stuff they shouldn’t from time to time. Luis recalls that in the middle of the Simon scandal, his father told him that he could either be, “the guy who goes along or the guy who stands up” (127) Luis says he didn’t stand up for Cooper or Addy at the start, and that all she can do is try better next time. Maeve is overcome with attraction and taken aback by Luis’s compassion. She thinks that she’s tired of never doing or saying what she feels and she kisses him. Manny interrupts their moment, saying he forgot his gym bag and his wallet. Maeve leaves, embarrassed and ashamed that she just kissed Luis after the day she had. As she walks out, she passes the table where she told Bronwyn about that night with Knox and realizes that anyone could have heard.

Phoebe thinks that today is a good day. Emma is sick, and though she isn’t happy about her sister’s illness, she feels relief at an opportunity to spend time away from her. She gets to take the car to school herself, and offers Jules a ride to catch up like old times. She puts on her favorite and shortest skirt and “feels more like myself than I have for a while” (130). On the ride to school, Jules says that Coach Ruffalo bought tons of tickets for Cooper’s game for any Bayview student or recent graduates who want to attend. She says they should go together, and more importantly, that Nate will be there. Phoebe decides to be honest with Jules and says that it’s probably time to give up on Nate. Jules gets defensive and says maybe she should go for Brandon. Her comment stuns Phoebe, who almost hits Matthias in the school parking lot. Jules tells her to calm down and wonders aloud why they haven’t received another text from Unknown. At Jules’s grin, Phoebe snaps that she’s not playing a game and things stopped being fun when her sister started hating her.

On the way to health class, Phoebe remembers the lesson for the day is on the male reproductive system. She shares the class with Knox and realizes that the class will be humiliating for him. Phoebe asks him if he’ll skip class with her. Knox agrees and the two go to Epoch Coffee in the mall. Knox looks directly at Phoebe and thanks her for showing him kindness and for saving him from further embarrassment. Phoebe thinks that one day, Knox will be attractive and make some girl very happy. Knox reveals that he has also blocked Unknown’s number. Knox says he must get to work, and Phoebe must help Addy and Maeve put together Ashton’s wedding favors.

As the two walk back to Phoebe’s car, they hear Jules and Monica, who presume that Phoebe is on a date with Knox. Phoebe hates herself for feeing ashamed for being seen with Knox. After dropping off Knox, Phoebe sits in her car and cries. She laments losing a friend she’s had since elementary school. As she drives off, she sees police cars and fire engines turning into the Bayview Mall.

At Ashton’s apartment, Maeve, Addy, and Phoebe assemble wedding favors. Maeve tells them about her kiss with Luis. Addy suggests she talk to him, and Phoebe agrees, but Maeve is too nervous to initiate a conversation. Addy opens the mail and sees a packet from Colegio San Silvestre in Peru concerning a volunteer trip where she would teach English to elementary school kids. Addy says she needs to figure out her next step in life and that this program could be her new beginning. She tells Maeve to investigate the program so they could go together. Maeve nods but remembers the bruises all over her body and worries about her future.

Ashton rushes in, exclaiming that she got an alarming text from Eli. Liz Rosen reports that a tragedy occurred at an abandoned construction site near Bayview Mall. She says that a group of teens gathered, and one fell through the roof, leading to the teen’s death. Another person, Liz reports, has sustained injuries. Phoebe tells everyone that Knox cut through that site today, causing Maeve to panic. Ashton leaves to call Eli and Maeve tries to call Knox. The call goes straight to voicemail and Maeve thinks how awful it would be if Knox died before she was able to reconcile with him. Ashton returns and says Knox is fine but that he is the one in the hospital. Ashton reveals that the boy who died was Brandon Weber. A loud thud startles the group as Phoebe pauses in shock, dropping the backpacks she was gathering so they could leave. The group learns that Brandon died trying to take a short cut through the construction zone and that Sean, Jules, and Monica were with him.

Maeve, Phoebe, and Addy visit Knox in the hospital, whose face is unrecognizable. One eye is blackened, and half closed, his rose is red and swollen, and the right side of his face is a giant bruise (145). On the TV in Knox’s hospital room, Sean is being interviewed. He recalls how they cut through the construction zone to save time. Sean says that Brandon was joking around and his voice trails off. Sean adds that Knox was in shock and ran after Brandon, prompting Sean to punch him so Knox wouldn’t fall through the roof as well. Knox says that something isn’t right about Sean’s story. Unfortunately, Sean punched Knox so hard that he doesn’t remember anything. But Knox says he knows one thing: he’s been around construction sites his whole life and chasing after Brandon is not something he would do.