Pretty Little Liars: The Beginning {Episodes 1-10} (REVISED)

4. Emily 🏊‍♀️

Emily Fields opened the fridge in her kitchen and pulled out a pitcher of orange juice. She was still sore from the two hour long swim practice that she had finished not too long ago and was in desperate need of refreshment. It had been the longest first day of school she had ever endured, eased only by the rush of swimming in the Rosewood High pool and seeing her old best friend, Aria, after a year. It had been a nice surprise seeing her again after so long.

Her mother was in the kitchen with her, arranging a basket full of snacks and brochures. A new family had moved into Alison's old house. Emily had seen the moving truck, and so had Mrs Fields, considering she was putting together a Welcome Basket for them. "I can't believe they sold the house," Emily said glumly as her mom put a package of popcorn in the basket.

"Just too many memories for the DiLaurentises," Mrs Fields replied. "I can't even imagine."

"It's just so weird to think of other people living in Alison's house," Emily said. Although she had come to terms with the fact that Alison was probably never coming back, it was still way too hard to think about moving on from it. Alison had lived in that house for as long as anybody could remember. It wasn't going to be that simple to pretend like she never had.

Mrs Fields sighed as she watched her daughter pour a glass of orange juice. "I know, honey," she said sympathetically.

Emily didn't know what to say. She just wanted to either forget all about Alison for a second or curl up in her bed upstairs and cry while listening to whatever sad songs she had on her playlist. "Aria's back," she said finally.

Mrs Fields smiled. "Does she still have that pink hair?"

Emily smiled a little bit. Her mom had a knack for remembering every detail about her friends, new and old. Aria's pink hair had been one of the biggest changes her mother seemed unable to let go of. Emily's family was very conservative and reserved. Her father was in the army, serving in Afghanistan at the moment, and her mother went to church every Sunday. As their only daughter, her parents wanted what was best for her. This meant making sure she had the best swim coach at the best school in Rosewood, keeping her on the right track for scholarships and maybe even going pro or to the Olympics. All that would come in due time though.

"No, Mom. She doesn't," Emily replied.

"You know something? I never really understood that family," Mrs Fields said. "I mean, why would a mother let her daughter do something like that?" Mrs Fields had always had a little bone to pick with the Montgomery family. While her family was very picture perfect, the Montgomery family was eccentric and quirky, never acting the way one would expect. They were all artists after all, and Mrs Montgomery letting her daughter dye a strand or two of hair pink was absolutely unfathomable to the straight and narrow Mrs Fields.

"Because they believe their kids are their equals, not their property," Emily replied.

"Honey, I don't think you're my property," Mrs Fields said, putting down the brochure of Rosewood's greatest tourist attractions on the kitchen island. "But I'm your mom. What kind of mother would I be if I let you run around looking like a goth?" She put a couple jars of jam into the basket. "That kind of lifestyle might fly in Europe, but it's not gonna get you very far here in Rosewood."

Emily rolled her eyes. Luckily, her mom had turned away at that very moment. "Not everyone dreams of making it in Rosewood, Mom," she murmured.

"Oh?" Mrs Fields asked before walking away with the wicker basket of random junk.

"Some people dream of making it out," Emily said under her breath.

Mrs Fields asked Emily to take the welcome basket to the new family so that she could introduce herself to the girl that lived there. Apparently, the new family had a daughter that was around the same age as Emily was, and she'd be starting at Rosewood High relatively soon. Normally, Emily would've whined and complained about doing it (though still doing it regardless of how she felt about being assigned the task), but today she didn't mind throwing the basket into the backseat of her car and driving to Alison's old house. Better to confront the demons than avoid them, right?