The It Girl

Hannah and April have become best friends despite their differences in wealth and family upbringing. April’s uniquely elegant wardrobe, flippant yet relaxed and fun attitude, notoriety as a prankster and a daredevil, and stunningly beautiful appearance all contribute to her reputation as Pelham’s It Girl. Other students assume she’s not intelligent and attribute her good grades to her father’s donations to the school. April does nothing to dispute these rumors; she encourages them. Hannah knows that April is more intelligent and talented than she allows her other peers to see, though Hannah also thinks April can be cruel and can go too far with her jokes. April pranks Hannah by pretending to fall out the window of their suite. When Hannah panics and runs to save her, April laughs at her and shimmies down the drainpipe.

While checking her mailbox, Hannah encounters Neville at the Porter’s Lodge. He teases her by withholding her letter and not relinquishing it until she says “please.” Neville comments that he likes “polite little girls” (70), which disturbs Hannah. She discusses the encounter with Emily and Ryan. Emily encourages Hannah to report Neville, while Ryan excuses Neville’s actions because of his age. While Hannah feels unsettled by the interaction and wants to report Neville, she doesn’t believe her accusation is strong enough to result in any repercussions for Neville.

Hannah experiences emotional distress after her phone call with Emily. She reflects on the details surrounding Neville’s guilty conviction, which all lead back to Hannah. Hannah filed a formal complaint against Neville at Pelham and reported to investigators that she saw Neville near the crime scene on the night of April’s murder. Confronting her own doubts about mistakenly accusing an innocent man of murder proves emotionally taxing for Hannah, who “is not okay. She is very far from okay” (75).

Over time, Hannah feels a stronger sense of belonging at Pelham. She and April have grown even closer, finding their differences in style complimentary. Aside from John Neville, Hannah’s only complaint is April’s growing relationship with Will. Hannah is still attracted to Will, which is problematic because he spends the night with April more frequently. Hannah wakes one morning to find a shirtless Will drinking coffee in Hannah and April’s living room. They exchange pleasantries before Hannah leaves for a morning run and make casual plans to see each other at breakfast. However, when Hannah returns to the suite, she can hear April having sex, presumably with Will. Hannah leaves for breakfast and discovers Will waiting for her as planned, revealing that April is with a different sexual partner.

Hannah and Will have a weekly date night, and, noticing the rising menu prices, Hannah worries about money and financial planning for their growing family. They discuss Emily’s phone call, and Will becomes upset when Hannah mentions Emily’s conversation with Geraint. He reassures Hannah that she wasn’t mistaken in testifying against Neville. However, Hannah reflects that Neville maintained his innocence even though confessing to the crime might have led to parole. Hannah feels responsible and guilty for potentially convicting an innocent man of murder, and the photograph of Neville as a feeble older man in prison intrudes on her thoughts.

Dr. Myers invites Hannah to a small gathering for a few promising students. April helps Hannah choose an outfit for the party. She gifts Hannah a shirt costing 800 quid and loans her a pair of crocodile leather heels. Hannah realizes that she rarely enters April’s room, which is cluttered with expensive clothes, half-eaten food, and partially finished schoolwork.

April plans to gatecrash Dr. Myers’s party. Hannah feels uncomfortable with April’s intentions, knowing how exclusive the party guest list is, but can’t dissuade April. Peeking out from behind their suite, Hannah watches April flirtatiously bribe her way into Dr. Myers’s dwelling with a bottle of champagne, smiling directly at Hannah as she closes the door that separates them.

When she thinks she hears April’s voice at the bar ordering a drink, Hannah is startled, standing abruptly and tipping her chair over. Hugh, coincidentally at the same restaurant, helps Hannah reset her chair and purse. Hannah thinks highly of Will’s closest friend. Hugh briefly mentions that Neville died, but the trio quickly changes the subject. Hannah reflects on Hugh’s emotional response to the news, noting that his experience during the police questioning and Neville’s trial was similar to hers. Aside from Hannah, Hugh was the only other eyewitness.

April’s successful gatecrashing of Dr. Myers’s party leaves Hannah angry and jealous. Hannah felt special for being selected as one of Dr. Myers’s promising students, and April’s attendance at the party detracts from Hannah’s achievements. Dr. Myers greets Hannah when she enters the party, introducing her to other favorable students. However, his introduction reveals her family’s working-class background, and while he intends this as a compliment, Hannah feels singled out and embarrassed. Hannah notices that the remaining guests are predominantly female. April, who has flirted with Dr. Myers all evening, casually mentions she might go to a bar with Dr. Myers and a few other girls.

Unable to sleep, Hannah scrolls through April’s Instagram account; all images appear frozen in time from 10 years earlier. Hannah wishes she could warn the past versions of April and herself about the murder. When Hannah falls asleep, she dreams about April, envisioning her living in Edinburgh in her late twenties. Hannah wakes and watches Will as he sleeps, enjoying his vulnerability.

Hannah is eager to return to Pelham after winter break, though she’s uneasy about her upcoming exams and seeing Will. She runs into Ryan on the train back to Oxford, and they discuss elitist politics at Pelham. Ryan suggests that the upcoming exams will challenge the more privileged students, saying, “It’s all of them. All them private-school types getting the shock of their lives as they realize we can’t all be top of the class” (111). Hannah agrees with Ryan’s prediction, noting that Pelham is more academically rigorous than the other Oxford colleges.

April gifts Hannah lipstick for Christmas. She applies the cosmetic on Hannah, and when Hannah looks in the mirror, she feels like a different version of herself. April clings tightly to Hannah with heightened emotion before pushing her away and suggesting they go to a bar.

Geraint Williams approaches Hannah at Tall Tales, where she works, and she demands he leave the store and not return. He mentions Ryan, which causes Hannah to pause. Ryan had a stroke five years earlier, which left him in a wheelchair with limited abilities to speak, write, and care for himself. Hannah feels guilty for not being a better friend to him. She begrudgingly agrees to answer an email from Geraint but instructs him not to bother her at work again.

Hannah and April decide to invite Ryan to join them at the pub. They both smell marijuana as they approach his room, and April pranks Ryan by impersonating a professor while knocking on his door. Ryan flushes his drugs down the toilet, fearing expulsion from Oxford, and becomes enraged upon discovering April’s ruse. Ryan grabs April by the arm and shoves her into a chair, causing Will to intervene as Ryan shouts at April. April refuses to accept blame but gives Ryan enough cash to cover the cost of the drugs, which appeases him. Will and Hannah walk together, and Will hesitates to discuss his feelings for April with Hannah. Hugh and Emily appear, and the group leaves for the pub.

At her prenatal checkup, Hannah’s midwife notes that her blood pressure runs high. While everything else seems fine, the midwife checks Hannah’s blood pressure twice and insists on a follow-up appointment in a week.

April insists on taking Hannah out for a drink at an exclusive club to celebrate Hannah’s excellent grades. Hannah agrees to one quick drink, needing to finish an essay due the following morning. The girls briefly discuss April’s parents over drinks, and April confides in Hannah that her mother uses drugs and drinks daily, describing her as a “professional fuckup” (136). April orders more drinks even though Hannah has agreed to only one, and April belittles Hannah when she asks about the amount of alcohol in a Vesper. An argument builds between the girls when Hannah wants to return to Pelham, and Hannah leaves April alone at the club. Although she’s mad at April for patronizing her, Hannah asks the club’s porter to ensure April gets home okay.