One of Us is Lying

Cooper and Nate provide the narration on the weekend of Simon’s memorial and funeral.

Cooper pitches at an invitation-only showcase event at the San Diego Padres’ stadium, at his father’s insistence. After an excellent performance, a Padres scout, Josh Langley, introduces himself and compliments Cooper on his much-improved fastball. Cooper’s father critically dissects his performance but overall is pleased. After his father drops him off at the memorial, Cooper runs into Leah, a girl who attempted suicide the previous year as a result of a story Simon shared about her. She is not attending the memorial and criticizes the hypocrisy of her classmates, who hated Simon and are as glad as she is that he is dead. She shows Cooper the latest Tumblr post from Simon’s professed murderer. Cooper is disturbed that the post intimates the murderer was in the room when Simon died. As the memorial begins, Cooper can’t focus on Simon. His head is “too full of other stuff”—Keely, Leah, the Tumblr post, and Josh Langley’s observation about Cooper’s fast ball (71). He notes that “competitive edges” can be “too good to be true” (72).

Simon’s funeral takes place the following day. Nate is at home, meeting with his probation officer, Officer Lopez. He reluctantly updates her about school and deflects her question about whether he has considered attending Alateen, a support group for teenagers who have alcoholic family members. He credits her for always trying to see the bright side and notes how pleased she would have been that he visited Bronwyn, instead of succumbing to his curiosity to finally try the drugs he sells to others. Bronwyn’s piano playing made Nate feel peaceful.

When Nate discloses to Officer Lopez that Simon’s funeral begins in half an hour, she insists that Nate attend and accompanies him. At the funeral, Simon’s friend, Janae reads, the poem “Song of Myself,” by Walt Whitman, which Officer Lopez calls an “[i]nteresting choice” (77). Nate notes the presence of plainclothes police officers. As the crowds exit the church, a police offer introduces himself to Nate and asks to speak with him.

Addy and Cooper pick up the narration, which immediately follows Simon’s funeral.

After the funeral, Addy stands outside waiting for Jake, who is serving as a pallbearer. A detective, Laura Wheeler, approaches Addy and asks her to come to the police station to answer a few questions. Addy doesn’t want to, but Jake, when he arrives, tells Detective Wheeler that Addy will go. Addy follows Detective Wheeler to the station, where she shows Addy an About That post Simon had planned to run the day after his death. The post reveals Addy’s secret fling with TJ, as well as Nate’s drug-dealing, Bronwyn’s cheating, and Cooper’s steroid use. Detective Wheeler tells Addy that the police know she lied about being in the nurse’s office and asks who put her up to stealing the EpiPens. Wheeler offers to cut Addy a deal if she admits she was part of a plot to murder Simon and discloses the details. Though Addy initially feels panicky without Jake there to tell her what to do, she remembers that she’s not obligated to answer any questions. She stands up and announces that she’s leaving. Detective Wheeler does not stop her. Outside the station, Addy longs to call Jake but can’t, since cheating on him is the source of her problems. Instead, Addy calls Ashton for help.

At the police station, Detective Chang shows Cooper the final unpublished post of Simon’s. When he reads what Simon wrote about him, Cooper is relieved. He is not surprised that Simon reported Cooper using steroids, since even the Padres’ scout recognized his unusual improvement. Detective Chang asks Cooper whose idea it was to place the four students in detention using the cell phones. Cooper suggests the group was framed, but the detective tells him there is no forensic evidence to support that view. Cooper asks to call his parents. His father tells him to leave immediately, then asks to speak to the detective. Cooper can hear his father yelling through the phone. After Cooper’s father hangs up, Detective Chang tells Cooper that it’s only a matter of time before one of the other students agrees to work with the police, and that the person who does cooperate will be dealt with more leniently. Cooper wants to tell Detective Chang “he’s got it all wrong,” but follows his father’s advice. He thanks the detective for his time, then reflects, “I sound like the ass-kisser of the century. It’s years of conditioning kicking in” (88).  

Bronwyn and Nate narrate their experiences in their respective police interviews following Simon’s funeral.

In the car on the way home from the police station, Bronwyn reflects gratefully that her parents were with her when Detective Mendoza cornered her after the funeral. Mr. and Mrs. Rojas accompanied her to the police station and instructed her not to answer any questions. In the car, she admits to them that she cheated in chemistry. On the day after lab, she noticed that her teacher had not logged out of his Google Drive and found the test questions for the entire year. She downloaded them onto a flash drive and used them to ace the tests.

Her parents, both high achievers, “are all about merit-based achievement,” and always encouraged her to work hard and do her best (91). When that failed to work in chemistry, she justified that one difficult class should not sink her future. Her mother points out that the police now have a motive for her. When her father asks if she is hiding anything else, she says no, adding, “If he knows I’m lying, he doesn’t show it” (93).

After Nate is questioned, Officer Lopez, who was present throughout his interview, drives him home. She tells him that if he deals drugs from this point forward, she will not be able to help him. She points out that the other three students have involved and well-off parents who will protect them. Nate is “the obvious outlier and scapegoat” (94). After she leaves, he enters his house to find his father has vomited into the sink and left it for Nate to clean. Breathing the “puke-infested air,” Nate says he is “so fucking sick of it all, [he] could kill someone,” adding, “Some people are too toxic to live. They just are” (95).

Nate thinks about Bronwyn’s nice home and gets on his bike to go see her, but when he arrives, her father comes outside. He tells Nate he can’t be there. Concluding that “[l]ines [have been] drawn,” Nate gets on his bike and leaves (96).

Ashton brings Addy back to her condo after the police interview. Addy admits that she cheated on Jake with TJ, and Ashton tells Addy that she needs to tell Jake what happened, before he hears it from someone else. Ashton drives Addy to his house, where Addy confesses to him. He punches a wall twice, bloodying his knuckles. He asks her why she did it, but she doesn’t have an answer. She suspects it’s tied to her insecurity, “years of not being enough finally catching up with me” (103). Jake kicks Addy out of his house, saying, “You ruined everything. You know that, right?” (104). She says that she does and leaves, sobbing. Ashton is waiting outside.