They Never Learn

Carly dyes her hair a fierce shade of red and dresses up in Allison’s clothing. Although her appearance is not perfect, she feels she looks dangerous.

A distraught Mikayla is at Scarlett’s door: She confesses to having been coerced into a relationship with an instructor. Scarlett assumes the man in question is Stright. Mikayla says this man has become possessive, and wouldn’t allow her to break things off. This morning, she woke up to him standing over her in her dorm room, and she hit him; she thinks she broke his nose and currently carries a knife out of fear. Although Scarlett was just about to flee, she decides to kill Stright first.

Carly has lured Bash to the dorm roof through subterfuge: She found Anna, the girl whom he hit on at the last party, and told her about him drugging Allison. Horrified, Anna agreed to help Carly teach him a lesson by texting him to meet. When Bash shows up, he remembers Carly as the girl whom Allison kissed, but cannot remember her name.

Scarlett heads to campus, intending to murder Stright with Mikayla’s knife, which she has thoroughly cleaned of fingerprints. There, she runs into Mina, who is in her office examining her case files. She asks why Mina hasn’t turned her in, and Mina replies she is uncertain how to interpret her data. They talk about Scarlett’s crimes, and although Mina still seems horrified, she admires Scarlett. They kiss, but then see Jasper standing in the doorway, watching.

Bash tells Carly how pretty she looks and kisses her. Although she planned to mace and kick him between the legs, she is frozen. She considers pushing him off of the building and tells him to stop touching her—but he doesn’t.

Jasper’s nose is bloodied, and Scarlett realizes he is the one who predated on Mikayla. He is snide, admitting to the relationship and claiming Mikayla was obsessed with him and Scarlett. He also admits to having followed Scarlett to Kinnear’s house the night of his house fire, and grows angry that she didn’t reveal herself as the campus killer—as he would have liked to help her. Scarlett wants to kill him, but does not want to do so in front of Mina. She asks Mina to leave, but Mina refuses.

As Bash touches Carly, Wes and Allison arrive. Wes shouts at Bash to stop, and Bash says Carly tricked him into meeting her, that she “wanted it.” Allison asks if he means the way that she “wanted it” on Halloween night. She kicks him and he stumbles, nearly falling. He insults the group and leaves. Allison is furious, and Carly realizes she does not understand that she was trying to get revenge on her behalf. She realizes Allison must think she is trying to seduce her attacker.

A fight ensues between Jasper, Scarlett, and Mina. All three are injured by one another and Mikayla’s knife. Scarlett wants Mina to stay out of the fight, but Mina is determined to protect Scarlett. Jasper slashes Scarlett across the collar bone, and Mina falls to the floor. Suddenly, he clutches his bloodied chest. Scarlett does not understand how he could have been wounded.

Allison leaves the dorm roof, and Wes tries to comfort Carly. He asks what happened, but she keeps Allison’s assault a secret. He asks about her and Allison’s kiss, and then tells Carly that she can do better than Allison—whom he reiterates is manipulative. Wes kisses Carly, gently and then forcefully. She feels uncertain and is forced to push him away. She expects understanding, but he is angry with her.

Mikayla screams, as she stabbed Jasper to save Scarlett’s life. Scarlett, Mina, and Mikayla regroup as Jasper lays dying on the floor. Scarlett tells Mikayla that she must tell the police that she dealt the final blow; she intends to take the fall for her student. Mina hushes her, places a knife in Jasper’s hands, and dials the police. When they answer, she cries out “You have to come right away. He’s going to kill us” (322).

Wes claims Carly has no reason to like Allison when he is “right here”—that she has no right to reject him. Carly does not understand why he’s acting this way. Then, her anger builds, and when he leans in to kiss her again, she digs her fingers into his shoulders. She realizes he is no different from Bash or Alex. Carly lets go of his shoulders, and he falls off the building.

When the police arrive, Mina tells them that Jasper attacked her. Because of the chaotic nature of the fight, she, Scarlett, and Mikayla claim they are uncertain how Jasper died. When pressed about why he would attack a relative stranger, Mina says Jasper always hated Kinnear—and perhaps by extension, her, his ex-wife. Scarlett hopes Jasper will be blamed for Kinnear’s murder, so she and Mina might have a future together.

Wes hits the ground. Carly runs downstairs to try to save him, but he is already dead. Samantha rushes out of the building, as does Allison. Although the RA is certain Wes’s death was an accident because she repeatedly warned students not to climb onto the roof, Allison screams that Carly killed him. Samantha calls the police, and when they arrive, the incident is treated like a tragic accident. Carly remains in school until Thanksgiving, and then returns home. Allison moves out of their room and refuses to speak to her. Carly’s parents pick her up and although her mother is sympathetic, she can tell that her father is angry. Carly thinks to herself “You’re next” (335).

Scarlett and Mina are settling into their temporary home in London. Although the police investigated Jasper’s death, they were ultimately unable to prove who dealt the fatal blow, or if he fell on the knife in his hands. Scarlett is certain that Detective Abbot still suspects her in Kinnear’s murder, but because Jasper’s cell phone records him near Kinnear’s house, she is cleared as a suspect. Mina now helps her prepare for kills.