Liar

8 - Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone

"The only way to do that is to die young. Leave a beautiful corpse." Alison said.

"Don't joke." Emily said.

"It's not a joke. Oh, come on, haven't you guys ever thought about how deliciously tragic it would be to die in some incredibly mysterious way? That would be superior." Alison said.

"Is that really how you wanna go, Alison?" Spencer asked.

"I don't know about Ali, but I would wanna be murdered. Quick and easy but complicated. I want everyone to know my name when I die." Katherine said.

"Kat's right but not just yet." Alison said.

"Don't talk like that." Hanna said.

"It's gruesome." Aria said.

"It's not gruesome." Alison said. "It's immortality, my darlings."

"Where did she get that from? A movie?" Aria asked.

"Ali was a movie." Katherine said.

...

"You've done a great job, really." Jason said, as they all sat in Spencer's kitchen, except for Katherine and Hanna who hadn't arrived yet. "Mom and dad and I are all really grateful."

The door opened and Katherine walked in, not ready to see Jason again.

"There she is!" Jason said, with a big smile.

"Jason, hey. Sorry I was late, mom was being annoying." Katherine said, faking a smile. Jason just pulled her into a hug making her heart beat even faster.

Hanna walked in and while Jason was distracted with Katherine she snuck over by Emily.

"No problem." He said. "I was just saying, you've done some lovely work on the memorial. I might have done one or two things differently but we can adjust that along the way. Here's a copy of the program for the dedication."

"What? I didn't sleep for three days to make that program." Katherine said.

"Yeah, I e-mailed you the program that we worked up." Spencer said.

"Right. I saw the draft. This just fine-tunes it. Let's see, if Shelly Leonard's gonna play something, I don't think we can give her more than three minutes. I remember she's somewhat of a showboat with that cello." Jason said. "Oh, is this the picture for the program?" Jason asked, picking up the picture of Alison on the counter.

"Yes. It's everybody's favorite." Emily said.

Katherine was just glaring at Jason. She hated being in the same room with him. It wasn't the Jason that she knew. This Jason was wearing a suit and using words that Jason never would've used. She hated it.

"It's the one I would've picked." Jason said. "I thought I was gonna be able to get my whole family out here but you know, at the last minute, my mom, um, it's crazy talking about this, isn't it? When I think about her, I think about you. The six of you, in her bedroom, laughing, keeping secrets." He was looking directly at Katherine who just kept glaring. "Long time ago." He said, looking away from the girl he used to love. "I want each of you to speak. I'd rather hear from you than from Mrs. Slocomb from the PTA."

"The PTA was a lot of help." Spencer said.

"What about the rain?" Jason asked.

"The rain?" Spencer asked.

"Forty percent chance before the weekend." Jason said.

"Oh, they said that we can use the school's multipurpose room if we have to move the ceremony inside." Spencer said.