The It Girl

Upon returning to her suite, Hannah finds Neville in the living room holding a package. His presence alarms her. Neville claims he’s delivering Hannah’s package but doesn’t leave when Hannah asks him to. Scared and upset, Hannah runs to her bedroom and locks her door.

A few minutes later, Will knocks on the now closed suite door. Hannah, emotionally distraught, collapses into Will and tells him about Neville’s presence in her suite. Will fully supports Hannah, justifying her suspicions and fear of Neville when even Hannah starts to doubt herself. Will and Hannah kiss but immediately pull apart, and Will leaves. Hannah feels she has betrayed April by kissing Will. As guilt sets in, she decides that she and Will can never date because of April.

Geraint tells Hannah he’ll create a true crime podcast focusing on April’s murder. Hannah recounts the details of the evening of April’s murder. April, Hugh, Ryan, and Hannah were at a bar celebrating the conclusion of April’s acting role in Medea when April went back to the suite to change clothes. Will was with his mother for the weekend, and Emily was studying in the library. When April didn’t return to the bar, Hannah left to check on her. Hannah saw Neville walking away from the staircase to their room, and she and Hugh hurried to find April. Hannah admits that she has repressed the memories of finding April’s body.

Then, Geraint reveals that April was pregnant at the time of her death, which Hannah never knew and finds unbelievable. When Geraint tells Hannah that Ryan has confirmed the pregnancy, Hannah dismisses this assertation as a prank April played on Ryan. Hannah considers the possibility of April having been pregnant and Will having been the father.

Hannah reassures April, who is very nervous, before the opening night of the Pelham play, Madea, in which April plays a leading role. Hannah enjoys this more vulnerable side of her best friend. Intentionally avoiding the Porter’s Lodge, she meets Emily and walks to the auditorium, where they sit with Will, Ryan, and Hugh. Will and Hannah awkwardly sit beside each other, and Hannah notes their avoidance of each other since their kiss.

The friends discuss their surprise at April’s extraordinary acting talent at intermission. April appears in full costume and asks each person what they thought of her performance, pushing them to elaborate on their compliments. She expresses disappointment over Will’s review being only “good” and then, at her urging, “great.” April grabs Will and kisses him aggressively, smearing her stage makeup on his shirt and face. The friends all note that April’s behavior toward Will seems strange.

Hannah contemplates the implications that April’s pregnancy, if confirmed, might have for Will and her other friends, potentially making them suspects in the murder. She’s particularly suspicious of Ryan since he knew about the pregnancy, and she suspects that Ryan could have been April’s mystery sexual partner. To complicate things further, Ryan and Emily were in a relationship in the months leading up to April’s death. She decides to visit Ryan in person, partly to absolve herself from the guilt of neglecting her friendship with him. At first glance, Ryan looks much older than he should, and the physical effects of the stroke are obvious. However, when he says, “Well fook me, if it ain’t Hannah bloody Jones. What in God’s name are you doing here, woman?” (191), Hannah feels more at ease, recognizing that Ryan’s cheeky personality hasn’t changed.

Hannah’s blood pressure is still high, and her midwife insists she return for another follow-up appointment in a week.

After April’s performance in Madea, Hannah reveals that she feels uneasy about walking past the Porter’s Lodge on the return walk to campus because she wants to avoid Neville. Emily shows Hannah how to climb over Pelham’s border wall away from the Porter’s Lodge. Hannah makes it to the top of the fence, though she cuts her leg in the process. Emily decides to walk around the main campus entrance, leaving Hannah at the top of the fence. Hannah feels someone grab her as she jumps down from the wall, and she only realizes that person is Neville once he has tackled her to the ground. Neville grinds his hips into Hannah’s, and she thinks she can feel his erection. A teacher approaches and stops Neville, and Hannah, terrified, sprints back to her suite.

After years of silence, Hannah and Ryan reconcile. They discuss Geraint’s lack of confidence in Neville’s defense team. Ryan further explains Geraint’s theories to Hannah, noting that most of the evidence used against Neville (specifically Neville’s inappropriate behavior toward Hannah) shouldn’t have been admissible because “it prejudiced the jury and none of it spoke to him being a murderer, did it?” (204). Hannah realizes that Geraint and Ryan are correct and feels persuaded to uncover the truth surrounding April’s murder.

Hannah asks about April’s pregnancy, and Ryan admits that he was sleeping with April for the entire academic year. Ryan also declares that he felt somewhat obligated to have sex with April to prevent her from revealing their affair to Emily. April left the pregnancy test in Ryan’s campus mailbox. He thinks April might have pranked him by faking the pregnancy test, but April was murdered before he could ever discover the truth. Ryan never said anything about the pregnancy at the time of the murder for fear of implicating himself, and he admits to feeling relieved after Neville’s arrest. Now, he feels incredibly guilty about the entire situation.

The morning after the assault, Hannah wakes to the sounds of April and an unknown partner having sex. Thinking Will is with her, Hannah leaves the suite to shower and eat breakfast. She sits with Emily and Hugh. Upon noticing Hannah’s bruises and hearing about the assault, Emily insists that she report Neville. Hannah tentatively decides to speak with Dr. Myers about the incident, and Emily accompanies her to his room. Dr. Myers gives Hannah and Emily only 10 minutes, politely doubting Hannah’s account of events. Dr. Myers refuses to proceed with a more formal investigation until he speaks with Neville. Hannah asks Dr. Myers to delay speaking to Neville while she considers her options, and she decides it’s a mistake to trust Dr. Myers.

When Hannah thinks about hearing April having sex on the morning she went to speak with Dr. Myers about Neville’s assault, she deduces that neither Will nor Ryan could have been April’s sexual partner that day. April was sleeping with someone else, potentially the father of her baby.

Hannah feels the baby move for the first time, which fills her with immense happiness.

While studying in the suite, Hannah overhears April and Will arguing. Will emerges from April’s room and tells Hannah that they’re fighting because he’ll miss April’s final performance of Medea to be with his sick mother on her birthday. Hannah wants to comfort Will but feels she’d betray April by doing so. Will nearly touches Hannah but stops himself and leaves the suite. April appears and vents about Will, still referring to him as her boyfriend. Hannah offers to throw a party after the finale to celebrate April, which excites her.

When Hannah calls Will to tell him about feeling their baby move, the news thrills him. He confesses that he’s having a terrible day at work, and Hannah stresses about their careers and financial situation as she approaches maternity leave.

Hannah admits that she visited Ryan to question him about Geraint and April’s pregnancy. While Will understands Hannah’s desire to see Ryan in person, he’s furious with her for investigating April’s murder further. Will believes that Neville’s guilty conviction and death should allow him, Hannah, Ryan, Hugh, and Emily to move on with their lives. Hannah accuses Will of not caring about April because he doesn’t want to ensure that whoever killed her is brought to justice.

At the Medea afterparty, April gives a speech about true friendship while nodding to Hannah and then excuses herself to change out of her costume and makeup. The other cast members comment on April’s speech, proposing that her focus on her female friendships is a distraction from her breakup with Will. Many male cast members assert that they want to sleep with April despite not enjoying her personality. Ryan appears angered by this talk.

April hasn’t returned to the party after some time, so Hannah decides to return to their suite. Hugh offers to walk her home, and he confides in her that Oxford is more challenging than expected. She reflects on her own academic experience, noting that her less supportive upbringing prepared her for the independence and self-reliance necessary to ensure success at Pelham.

Although it’s difficult to see clearly at night, Hannah spots Neville walking away from the staircase leading to her suite. She suspects that Neville was trying to enter her suite again and rushes to check on April. Hannah reaches her suite and sees the open door, and then her memory goes blank.