Where Sleeping Girls Lie

In preparation for the party, Sade bleaches Baz’s hair on Friday evening, then heads to Newton for a swim. August is already there, and they swim together for almost an hour. August once again urges her to try out for the swim team, claiming it is “a waste” for her not to be swimming. He asks again why she gave it up, but she refuses to tell him. Hoping to change her mind, August shows her the giant new practice pool that is almost finished. It will be reserved for the swim team only, and Sade hesitates. However, she reminds August that he is “a gentleman” and would let her in to use the new pool. This makes August’s smile slip, and he replies that he is a gentleman “most of the time” (181).

Back at her dorm, Sade finds an apple and a short note from Persephone waiting for her at her door. Jessica catches her outside and writes her up for missing curfew again, but Sade no longer feels like her empty room “weighed her down” (182). As she goes to sleep, she realizes it is because she now has friends.

Saturday is “the biggest event in the Alfred Nobel Academy calendar year” (183). April and August co-opted the Halloween party that used to be hosted by the school and turned it into their yearly birthday celebration. Sade finishes taking her braids out with a few hours to spare, so she goes to the library, where she is surprised to see Persephone reading at her usual table. Persephone is going back to her room to marathon Halloween movies, and Sade admits she is feeling nervous about the party. Persephone tells her it could be worse, sharing about the “stuffy” art galas she used to attend with her mother. At least, she says, April was there with her. The two girls have been friends since childhood, and Sade realizes that the “intensity” she senses between them isn’t a “lack of closeness” but rather stems from the fact that “[t]hey knew each other too well,” as if they were “siblings” (186).

Hawkins House is huge and more lavish than the other houses’ dorms. Most of the school’s golden boys, including the swim team, are assigned to Hawking House, so Sade assumes they are granted special privileges. Sade and Baz are soon approached by a tall, dark-skinned boy, who turns out to be Baz’s rowing crush, Kwame. Sade assures Kwame that she and Baz are just “platonic buds” and hurries off to give the boys some privacy. She is stopped on the way to give April her gift by Jude, who eyes her body “like she was a meal” (190) and invites her to play foosball.

Sade loses the game, and Jude insists on taking her on a date before Juliette leads Sade off to find April. She correctly guesses that Sade’s gift for April is a pen and tells the other girl that April will love it; she often writes poetry. April is drinking spiked apple juice and accepts the gift happily when Persephone appears, surprising the girls by attending the party after all. She is dressed as the Queen of Hearts, and Sade’s heart quickens when she sees her. Sade decides to find August, and the three girls look at her suspiciously when she asks for his room number.

August is surprised to see Sade and invites her in, telling her he would rather be swimming than forced to attend his birthday party. August doesn’t have a roommate, and Sade teasingly accuses the Hawkins boys of “bribing the school board” (197). She sees a hoodie on the floor with the same design she saw on the CCTV footage of the music box thief. She compliments it casually, and August tells her that all members of the swim team have one. He heads to the vending machine, and while he is gone, his phone vibrates with notifications. Sade sees message alerts from a group chat called “The Fishermen.” Her curiosity is peaked, but August returns.

Back downstairs, Sade tells Baz about her unsuccessful search upstairs, and he agrees that the place is too crowded. Baz teases her about visiting August’s room, and she teases him back about Kwame. He insists that Kwame doesn’t like him; he just wants help with his German homework. Sade gently reminds Baz that he “really suck[s] at German” (200), and Baz slowly realizes that Kwame wasn’t actually looking for homework help. He hurries off to find his crush while Sade waits, thinking of Persephone and wondering if she is still at the party.

On Sunday morning, Sade receives a bouquet of flowers and a note from Jude. She thinks briefly about canceling but decides not to, on the principle “of keeping your friends close and all” (205).

Sade and Baz make a plan to distract the matron and search the student records for someone with the initials “TG.” Sade pulls the file for a fourth year named Theodore Grenolde and takes Jude Ripley’s file on impulse, stuffing it under her shirt and out of Baz’s sight. Sade and Baz reconvene in Turing House, and Baz explains that Teddy is a likely suspect because he is the president of the biology club and “Elizabeth’s nemesis.” It’s strange he would have given Elizabeth the music box, but Baz reasons that much of Elizabeth’s dating life was a “secret,” so it’s possible they were together.

Jude takes Sade to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is closed when they arrive, but a guard opens the gate for them. He welcomes Jude “back” and gives him a key. It’s clear that he has brought other girls there, but the museum is still beautiful. Back at school, Sade tells Jude she had a “nice” time and says she’ll “think about” going out with him again. Jude tries to appear “unaffected by the semi-rejection” and bids her goodnight at the door of Turning House (218). As Sade heads to her dorm, she is surprised to see a package waiting by her door. She is even more shocked to see it is addressed to Elizabeth Wang.