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Aria Montgomery watched Mona and the others from her favorite spot on the school’s low stone wall, her Moleskine journal open on her lap Art was Aria’s last class of the day, and her teacher, Mrs Cross, let her roarounds and sketch whatever she liked Mrs Cross insisted it was because Aria was such a superior artist, but Aria suspected it was actually because she irl in the class who didn’t chatter with friends during Art Slide Day or flirt with boys when they orking on pastel still lifes Aria wished she had friends, too, but that didn’t mean Mrs Cross had to banish her from the classroom

Scott Chin, another sixth-grader, saw the flyer next “Sweet” He turned to his friend Hanna Marin, as fiddling with the brand-new sterling-silver cuff bracelet her father had just bought her as an I’ain present “Han, look!” He nudged Hanna’s ribs

“Don’t do that,” Hanna snapped, recoiling Even though she was alh Hanna’s Teen Vogues alhy, yucky sto her eyebrows in surprise “Huh”

Spencer Hastings alking with Kirsten Cullen, chattering about Youth League field hockey They almost bumped into dorky Mona Vanderwaal, whose Razor scooter was blocking the path Then Spencer noticed the flyer Her mouth dropped open “Tomorrow?”

Emily Fields nearlyfriend, Gen

Emily’s eyes danced over the headline She shivered with excitement

By now, practically every Rosewood Day sixth-grader was gathered around the bike rack, gawking at the piece of paper Aria slid off the wall and squinted at the flyer’s big block letters

Time Capsule Starts Tomorrow, it announced Get ready! This is your chance to be immortalized!

The nub of charcoal slipped froame had been a school tradition since 1899, the year Rosewood Day was founded The school forbade anyone younger than sixth grade to play, so finally getting to participate was as big a rite of passage as a girl buying her first Victoria’s Secret bra…or a guy, well, getting excited over his first Victoria’s Secret catalogue

Everyone knew the game’s rules—they’d been passed down by older brothers and sisters, outlined on MySpace blogs, and scribbled on the title pages of library books Each year, the Rosewood Day ad and had specially selected older students hide the to each piece were posted in the school lobby Whoever found a piece was honored in an all-school asseot to decorate it however they wanted, and all the reunited pieces were sewn back together and buried in a ti a piece of the Tie deal