"Welcome back." "So glad you're still listening." "Are you having fun?" "You must be wondering who's next, and why." "Is it you?" "What did you do?" "How did you end up on these tapes?" "Maybe you did something cruel." "Or maybe you just watched it happen." "Maybe you didn't even realize you were being cruel." "Maybe you didn't do anything at all." "And maybe you should have." "Too late." "I think you know exactly what you did." "And after these tapes, you'll never forget it." "I know I won't." "Oh, and, uh, by the way..." "I'm still dead." "Clay, you're gonna be late." "I made breakfast." "You... you did what?" "We're all having breakfast together this morning." "Oh." " We are?" " Are you awake?" " Are you alive?" " Yeah, I'm alive." "Door closed." "I have to be able to see you to know you're alive." " It's a minimum requirement." " You heard my voice." "I heard indistinct mumbles." "Well, you take what you can get in this life, Mom." "Shower, then breakfast." "Downstairs, please." "Friendship." "It's complicated." "But don't worry." "You won't go through this alone." "That's not fun." "Trust me." "I've been there." "Now, it won't always be easy." "It might even hurt a bit." "Or a bit more than a bit." "That depends on you." "But fear not, we'll get through this." "Step by step, tape by tape." "You and me." "Together." "And don't forget... there are others." "Eggs'll be ready in a minute." "Dig into the French toast." "Want cream with that?" "It's all right." "You don't drink coffee." "I don't eat breakfast either, so..." "It has been almost two weeks since we sat for dinner together as a family." "I am nothing if not a realist, so I am proposing that we have family breakfast every day instead." "We just each have to get up a little bit early." "How early did you have to get up?" "Yesterday?" "We won't do the full spread every day, but it's nice to start off right." "So, how'd your project end up last night?" "With Tony." "Fine." "For history, right?" "Yeah, uh, it's, um, it's this oral history project, about, like, students who came before us and stuff." "Clay, we know the last few weeks have been hard." "I stopped taking these two years ago." "Dr. Ellman said you could have them available if needed." "They're not." "And they're probably, like, expired anyway." "It's a new prescription." "I gotta go." "I need to get ready for school." "Don't forget your lunch!" "Might've been a more subtle way to introduce the idea." "He's keeping secrets." "He's 17." "I'd be worried about him if he weren't keeping secrets." "Secret-keeping is learned behavior." "As is the silence." "See, I can guarantee... that one of the reasons you're still listening is that you really want to know... who are the others?" "Who else is responsible for my death?" "Well, you're going to learn soon enough." "And, of course, they're going to learn about you, too." "It they haven't already." "What?" "Feeling paranoid?" "On edge?" "Yeah." "High school does that to a person." "You never really know who you can trust." "And who you can't." "Think fast." "Don't stop moving." "It's hot potato, fellas." "Hot potato!" "Don't hold that ball too long." "So keep your wits about you." "It's all part of the game." "But, remember, it's not a game." "Not at all." "Hey." "Skinny kid." "Closed practice." "Out." "Sorry, I just, uh..." "Is Justin here?" "Justin Foley?" "We've got this assignment, and..." "Who are you?" "Clay Jensen." "I'm in your fifth-period history class." "Oh, yeah, quiet kid." "Yeah." "So, uh, is he here?" "He's not." "And he wasn't here yesterday." "He'd better be here for this pep rally today." "So, if you see him, tell him his ass gonna be running suicides until the lights go out." "I will." "If I see him, I'll tell him." "Sorry to interrupt your practice." "Hey, Jensen." " Yeah, Coach?" " Tell me something." "Justin... he in any kind of trouble?" "I don't know." "Okay." "Tell him to come and see me." "No matter what, I'm here, okay?" "Zach, you're in." "All right, let's run it again!" " Keep up the pace." " Go, go!" "Okay." "Enough with the small talk." "It's time to meet the star of Tape One, Side B." "So, without further ado, let me introduce my former friend." "Step up, Jessica Davis." "You're next." "Hey." "Where the hell is Justin?" "I don't know, Jess." "You don't know?" "Probably just skipping first, sleeping in." "Did he ride with you guys today?" "No." "So, where is he?" "Marcus?" "Did you see him last night?" "Yeah, yeah, he was at practice." "Why won't he answer my calls or texts?" "I'm sure he'll be there." "Oh, you're sure." "Thanks, Marcus." "Mr. Porter wants to see me now." "He left a call slip in my homeroom." "Miss Davis." "Don't you have a class to get to?" "Tell him I need to talk to him." "Now." "What you listening to, Clay?" "Miss Davis." "Hey, Clay." " Oh." "Hey, Sheri." " How's everything?" "Everything is everything." "I saw you and Coach Patrick this morning." "What a jerk, right?" "Well, kind of." "I..." "You were looking for Justin?" "Have you seen him?" "No, but Jessica's a bit freaked because she's his cheer escort to the assembly, and she missed the morning run-through looking for him." "This is her first event with the squad, and her round-offs are a bit shaky, so..." " Well, that's worrisome." "Yeah." " Right." "Why were you looking for him?" "No reason." "Just homework." "This is me, so..." "Clay." "Clay, are you sure you're okay?" "I'm trying to be." "Yeah." "You know, I miss her, too." "A lot." "You and Hannah were friends." "Well, you know, friendship's complicated, but... we were, yeah." "She ever tell you..." "Did she ever say anything about me?" "Hm?" "Anything... bad?" "God, no!" "No, Clay, she liked you so much." "Shoot." "German." "I can't be late." "Uh..." "We should get coffee or something sometime." "Monet's?" "Yeah, sure." "Be great." "I met Jessica a couple of weeks into sophomore year." "Apparently, we needed to be counseled." " Hey." " Hey." " Mrs. Antilly?" " Yeah." "Me, too." " Any clue why?" " None." "My new students!" "Come in!" "Come in!" "Did you two get a chance to meet outside?" "Hannah, meet Jessica." "Jessica, meet Hannah." "You're both new to Liberty, and I thought it would be good for you to know each other." "I thought, and I know this isn't how things are usually done, but I thought you could be friends." "Do adults understand how friendships work?" "Now, I recognize it's unusual to assign someone a friend, so think of it as a friendly face in a crowd, until you get your bearings." "So you want us to smile at each other in the hall?" "And how will that help us, like, directionally?" "Well, the point is, you won't be strangers." "Starting at a new school can feel overwhelming." "I just want you to have an ally." "Two allies." "Count me in as well." "So, just to be clear, we should smile at you in the hallway too?" "Sure!" "I'd love that!" "Listen." "I'm not under any illusion that this school is a friendly place." "I'd like it to be." "It isn't always, but... we three, we can be there for each other!" "That's all." "Mrs. Antilly, I'm sure Hillary is awesome, but..." "If we're gonna be great friends, you should know my name is Hannah." " What did I call you?" " Hillary." "That's not your name?" "No." "Hannah." "Crap." "I already got your best friend necklace engraved with "Hillary."" "Any students named Hillary we can set up with Jennifer?" " Jessica." " Sorry." "Jezebel." "No problem, Harriet." "Ooh." "Can I actually get a Jezebel?" "She'd be an amazing friend." "See?" "See, the senses of humor on you two." "It's a perfect match!" " Yeah." " Clearly." "Hey, Helmet." "Hey." "Why are you smiling?" "Why shouldn't I smile?" "No, I mean, you should." "I was just asking if there was an immediate recent cause or something?" "You literally can manufacture an existential crisis out of thin air." "It's a gift!" "It's a true gift." "Hey." "Is this yours?" "Thanks, Mr. Porter." "Haven't seen one of these in a long time." "What you listening to?" "Um..." "My dad had some tapes." "Um..." "Old music." "Ultravox?" "Duran..." "Duran?" "Yeah, sure." "Good stuff, man." "I do more jazz myself, but music is all good." "It gets you through the day." "Here you go." "Um..." "Listen, Clay, I would like to talk to you sometime about Hannah Baker." "Um..." "Hannah?" "Why?" "I'm just trying to understand what happened." "I know you guys were friends." "You worked together, right?" "Yeah." "Um..." "But, I mean, yeah." "Just come by my office and we'll just talk sometime, all right?" " Mm-hmm." " All right." "Mr. Porter was the replacement for Mrs. Antilly, who moved to another school district." "Which, as it turns out, was very unfortunate." "That's for another tape." "Hey, Joanne." "Hazel." "Hey." "Are you following me?" "Um, I'm ahead of you." "Fair point." "This is a disaster." "We're walking in the same direction." "Pretty much the end of the world." "Impossibly Perky Counselor Lady can't turn out to be right." "How many cats do you think she has?" "Five?" "Seven?" "I was thinking 12." "And they're all, like, obese and purr..." "Really loud." " Where you going, anyway?" " Home." "I live on Bristol." "You?" "I'm going to Monet's for a hot chocolate." "Hot chocolate." "Intriguing." "Especially as the day is warm." "Hot chocolate is the cure for all things shitty in life." "Huh." "I got shit that needs curing, too." "Thus began the story of Monet's, the story of a friendship." "Yeah, Kat was the best." "When she moved, I just..." "Yeah, well, it sucked." "I leave friends behind every two years." "We're always moving." "Parents on the lam?" "Dad in the Air Force." "So you're always the new kid." "I had this friend, Amy." "I told her everything, including my series of embarrassing sex dreams featuring various Avengers, including Scarlett Johansson." "Then one day, you know, the moving trucks come." "I'm like, "Bye!" "Don't tell anyone about that Scarlett Johansson thing!"" "But she posts about it because that's the only communication you have anymore." "And it ends up getting around your new school." "And gets completely twisted." "So you end up That Girl." "I am so That Girl." "I'm That Other Girl." "Stupid Mrs. Antilly." "Bitch is good at her job." "It was a hot chocolate friendship, good for cold months, but maybe not perfect for all seasons." "What?" " Jessica." "Hey, Jessica." " What, Clay?" "Why are you avoiding Mr. Porter?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "You took off when you saw him." "Does he know about the tapes?" "Are you crazy?" "Shut your mouth." "I'm just trying to figure this out." "Then listen, don't talk." "But what happened to Justin?" "Why isn't he here?" "I don't know." "Mr. Porter pulled him in yesterday, then he walked out of Porter's office and out of school and vanished." "Is everything okay with you guys?" "You're together, right?" "Yes, we're together, and we're fine, okay?" "Thank you, Clay." " I didn't mean to..." " Forget it." "Just... don't believe everything you hear." "Okay?" "For a while, we were the kind of friends you wish you had." "We did disgusting things like  shop together." "Sorry!" "And compare what we bought." "That top is perfect for you." "It shows too much of my arms." "They're so fat." "They're not." "I have substitute teacher arms." "And talk about boys." "Uh-oh." "We've got a stalker." "Where?" "Play it cool." "Three o'clock." "It's after three." "No, three o'clock." "Directional." "Oh, my God, your dad is a fighter pilot." "He's a logistics expert, mostly." "Look over there." "He's checking you out." " He's checking you out." " No, you, and he's cute." " He's alone." " So?" "So that means he doesn't have any friends." "That's weird." "We didn't have any friends two weeks ago." "Um..." "Hey." " Hey." " Hey." "We saw you staring at us and wondered which one of us you were checking out." "Oh, I wasn't." "Oh, come on, don't play dumb." "Do we look dumb?" "No." "I mean, no." "Have you ever heard of the male gaze?" "The...?" "No." "Well, we have." "And we're not totally sure what it means, but you have it." "You should at least explain why you're sitting alone." "My friend thinks that makes you weird." "Are you weird?" "Well, I can't objectively answer the "weird" thing, but I'm sitting alone 'cause I just moved here." "I don't know anybody." "What's your name?" "It's Alex." "Alex Standall." "Okay, Alex Alex Standall... we are prepared to invite you to our table if you can answer one question." "What is depicted on the giant painting they just hung on that wall?" "Uh." "It's a... giant bleeding man?" "Or squid?" "Or man-squid." "Uh..." "In spring." "Good enough." "You're in." "Okay." "Thanks." "Uh, what am I in, exactly?" "If you have to ask, you don't know." "And just like that  two became three." "It's for my food blog." "And, like, before you know it, you're best friends." "Mr. Jensen." "Not so fast, young man, you're wanted at the office." "Why?" "What for?" "Surprisingly, they don't send a complete explanation." "They send a summons." "Attendance." "So, I guess this has to do with your attendance." "What is it?" "Daily report." "You're on attendance alert starting this week." "Attendance alerts?" "You need to make sure you are marked present by all teachers, and the first two weeks, they have to note your participation." "But why am I on these?" "I have good attendance." "Someone wants to make sure you keep it that way." "I'm supposed to present a project with Justin Foley, and he wasn't here for homeroom." "Did he have a late admit?" "I can't release information on another student." " Another doctor's note, Alex?" " Yep, another one." "It's the same doctor." "Okay." "Hey, man." "Hey, Clay." "How are you doing?" "How am I doing?" "How are you doing?" "Yeah." "Females!" "Male!" "I have concluded that this school sucks!" "Except for you guys." "We fully support your conclusions." "Let's discuss this in our office this afternoon." "Wait, our office?" "My God." "Monet's." "Oh, right." "I love it." "There was nothing two hot chocolates and Alex's coffee drink du jour couldn't fix." "F.M.L." "Why?" "What happened?" "I got put in remedial math because my math from my old school is not the same math they have here." "Who knew that there was different math?" "But I bet there's a hot troubled bad boy in remedial math." "He broods, he wears leather, he's got a past he doesn't talk about and trouble with long division." "There are a couple of pregnant girls." "Will your parents freak?" "My dad would freak." "Yeah, my mom might, but my dad's a cop, so as long as I stand up straight and pass P.E., go shooting with him..." "Wait, your dad's a cop?" "And you go shooting with him?" "With guns?" "How did I not know about this?" "You never asked, I guess." "I love a man in uniform." "I would like to meet your father." "Ew." "And your dad wears a uniform." "Oh, yeah." "I never thought about that." "You need friends." "Even just hot chocolate friends." "Especially when your life goes to shit." "Day after day, drink after drink, we lifted our mugs and we lifted each other." "F.M.L." " F.M.L." " F.M.L." "Ew." "Cappuccino fingers." "Sorry, sorry." " Fuck Justin." " You don't even have to talk about it." "Ever." "Okay." "Okay." "Did you guys take that Vocational Interests and Aptitude Test?" "We got our results back today, and I'm suited to be..." "In spite of our differences, we were what we each needed at that moment in time." "Three drinks against the world." "Two hot chocolates, and whatever the hell Alex was drinking." "What the hell is that?" "I'm working my way through the menu." "I'm committed to this." "God, you're weird." "No, I'm a searcher." "The fact that you just called yourself a searcher is weird." "Something's up with you today." "My dad's being deployed again." " Oh, man." "I'm so sorry, Jess." " Wow, that sucks." "He'll be in the Middle East somewhere, and he can't tell us where, probably because it's some country we're not supposed to be at war with." "F.M.L. forever." "F.M.L. forever." "F.M.L. forever." "I'm not great at math, but here's one thing I learned for sure:" "one plus one plus one..." "is not a simple equation." "Alex was the first to stop coming." "He found some other friends." "He traded up." "We were still friendly in the halls, but that's it." "Then it was down to Jessica and me." "But then, Jessica stopped coming, too." "We all went our separate ways." "Or so I thought." "I'm surprised, you know?" " Yeah." " I mean, the other day," "I'm handing out the family dynamics papers, and I see hers." "Mmm." "I swear to God, I just about lost it." "Yeah." "I imagine." "It's still fresh." "I know." "I mean, I've been losing sleep." "I had Hannah in my class two years in a row." "How many students do you have, Pam?" "Hm?" " That's not the point." " Over 200." "I have 600 on the advisory list." "That's not..." "That shit'll kill you, you know." "You got a salad from McDonald's, the people who make the Big Mac." "Are you fat-shaming my salad?" "You called my lunch a murderer." " Thank you." " Anytime." "Can I ask you a super-needy, when-did- I-become-this-kind-of-girl question?" "Oh, my God." "Unfreeze." "It's not about my period." "Okay." "Do you think I could ever be as pretty as Jessica Davis?" "Great." "Thanks." "Got it." "No, I-I just..." "I mean, yeah, Jessica's pretty and all, but you're special." "Special." "Like retarded." "Did I say retarded?" "I didn't say retarded, and I don't think we're supposed to use that word anymore." "Regardless..." "I saw you try to be kind... and, you know, fail." "Wait, I didn't..." "Wait, how did this conversation go so wrong, so fast?" "It's how you're socialized." "I keep thinking you're some different kind of male." "Clearly, there's no such thing." "Enjoy your movie." "Hey." "You're here?" "No, I'm animatronic." "You don't work Wednesdays." " I'm covering for Karen." " Oh, okay." "Yeah." "That's cool." "I guess." "She's in a junior college play, A Few Good Men, which is so not the story of her life." " Oh, thanks." " Put it away." "What good is having a best friend who works at the movies if you can't get in for free?" " Hey, Hannah." " Hey, Alex." "Fancy seeing you here." "Hey, you work Wednesdays?" "Covered this." "Jess can fill you in." "Oh, yeah, we were, um..." "we were just hanging out." "Together." "So I see." "Cool." "Um..." "So, could I get one?" "Ten dollars, please." "Oh." "Um..." "Here you go." "Enjoy your movie." "Please, let us know if we can make your visit more pleasant." "Okay." "It was fine, Jess." "It was." "You're the kind of girl that boys like to like, not spread rumors about." "You're the nice girl, the kind that becomes a cheerleader." "Hey there, Liberty Tigers, it's an exciting day at Liberty High." "Our varsity basketball team is kicking off its pre-season today, the first step on the road to returning to the state finals!" "By Liberty tradition, I'm happy to welcome to the podium the winner of this year's Captain's Award to introduce the varsity squad." "Walker!" "Now, this season's winner is co-captain of the football team and the baseball team, and was called "an inspiration to his entire team, friend to all..." ""a tough mother-bleep..." ""... and a true born leader,"" "and I am delighted to bestow the Liberty High Captain's Award on Bryce Walker." "Thank you, thank you, thank you." "Ah, it's an honor, and I'm proud to be a Liberty student athlete." "Go Tigers!" "Now, this year's starting lineup..." "Willem Barclay!" "Zach Dempsey!" "Justin Foley!" "Anders Anderson!" "J. B. Garrison!" "How could you do this to me?" "Call me back, or at least text me." "Jessica?" "What, Clay?" "What do you want?" " We need to talk." " No, we don't." "We have to tell someone about Justin." "Like, Mr. Porter." "Mr. Porter?" "Really?" "That's a fantastic idea." "Does he know about the tapes?" "I will say it one more time." "Keep your mouth shut, got it?" " Jess..." " Back off, Clay!" "Leave me alone." "When Jessica has something on her mind, she lets you know." " What?" " We need to talk." "And I knew what she wanted to talk about." "Alex's list." "Hey, Clay." "What's up, man?" "Hey, Marcus." " Need a ride?" " Where you going?" " I'm good." "I got my bike." " Just throw it in the trunk." "We're gonna go hang at Bryce's." "You should totally come." "Hey, Clay." "You all right?" "Yeah, thanks." "You sure?" "Yeah." "You heard him, boys." "He's all right." "You see, that's just how it works in high school." "Boys talk, girls listen... and everything gets messed up." "Or at least that's how it was with us." "Right, Jess?" "F.M.L.?" "I should have known." "I know the rumors, Hannah." "Well, you can't know rumors." "You can hear them, but you can't know them." "We were friends." "How could you betray me like that?" "Like what?" "What did I do?" "Is it you and Alex now?" "No!" "How could you even..." "Of course not!" "He likes you, you like him." "I'm the one who's out." "Yeah, and that pissed you off, didn't it?" "A little." "I mean..." "It made me sad." "Why didn't you just tell me?" "Maybe I was afraid of something like this." "Something like what?" "You needed it to be my fault... so it was my fault." "Jess." "You know this doesn't mean anything." " Don't act innocent." " But I am." "I had nothing to do with this." "Alex did this on his own." "He just broke up with me on his own." "I didn't know he broke up with you." "I'll just say this: enjoy it." "'Cause you will, won't you?" "'Cause that's what sluts do." "Fuck you." "Friendship." "It's complicated." "Is it working?" "The hot chocolate?" "No." "Why did you and Hannah fight?" "I don't get it." "Of course you don't." "You're a guy." "You guys were friends." "We weren't friends." "Friends tell the truth, friends don't turn on each other." "Hannah's a user and a liar." "You can't believe anything that she says." "Not a thing." "I mean, what she said, on the tapes, about us and Monet's, she's the one who stopped coming, not me." "She's the one who ended our friendship, and she knew it." "She's a liar." "Was a liar." "Why would she lie?" "Why do you think?" "I don't know." "I don't understand any of this." "I mean, I know people talk." "Relationships start." "They end." "I guess I always thought, "How much does high school stuff really matter?"" "But..." "I mean, it does." "But, you know, it..." "We're only here for four years." "If you live that long." "Can I ask you something?" "Zach and Marcus really wanted to give me a ride just now at school." "So?" "So... that's never happened before." "They even invited me to hang at Bryce's." "At Bryce's?" "Oh, my God." "Of course they did." "Any idea how I acquired these new friends?" "They're not your friends." "Official word is he's not here." "Yeah, well, Coach is looking for him now, too." "He's fucking pissed that he missed the assembly." "He's in the pool house." "Stoned off his gourd, by the way." "He's been here all day?" "Yeah, since last night." "What'd he do?" "Who the fuck knows?" "Yo, man." "You okay?" "Fuck you, am I okay." "What are you, my bitch now?" "Close the frickin' door." "Hey, Jessica's looking for you." "She looks bad." "Yeah, she has for a while." "You gonna talk to her?" "And say what?" "Tell her to get her shit together." "She's acting like a nut job, drawing attention to herself." "And you." "Not me." "I ain't there." "You need a refill?" "You're parked in a loading zone." "I'm not staying long." "That was the table, yeah?" "Don't pretend you don't know." "You listened to the tapes." "You had to." "Who else has?" "I'm not here to tell you that." "Then why are you here?" "Clay, you're the slowest yet." "What is taking you so long?" "It's hard." "To listen." "Of course it is." "It's tapes from a dead girl." "Doesn't this affect you at all?" "More than I can tell you." "Why can't you tell me?" "You remember seventh grade?" "Those fucknuts stuck your head in the toilet and that shit?" "Yes." "And I told you that me and my brothers could fix it, and you said," ""Sometimes, a guy's gotta get through things on his own."" "I remember." "This is one of those things." "I can't hear her voice... without thinking of her." "Without seeing her." "Seems like maybe that was the idea." "It's all you, bro." " You are such a fucking asshole!" " Hey!" " Come on!" "Hey!" " How could you do that to me?" " What did you tell him?" " What did I tell who?" "Mr. Porter!" "What did you tell him yesterday?" "Why haven't you been at school?" "I just needed a day off to chill." "They day after you talk to Porter, you need a day off?" "You're not telling me something!" "What would I not be telling you?" "Clay has the tapes now." "I know." "Don't worry about it." "He's not like the rest of us." "He could say something." "He won't talk." "We'll make sure of it." "You could lose your shot at a scholarship." "We'll deal with it, okay?" "Just..." "Just chill!" "How far is he, anyway?" "He's not there yet, if that's what you mean." "Justin?" "If Hannah was lying... why are you here?" "Losing a good friend is never easy... especially when you don't understand why you lost them in the first place." "Andy." "Andy!" "It's nothing." "If anything, it's a compliment." "A compliment?" "I don't think so." "Well, you remember what we saw on her Facebook, the texts?" "She had some unkind classmates." "She was bullied." "This is bullying!" "I'm not sure the court will see it the same way." " With everything else..." " What else?" "Some text messages?" "Facebook posts?" "Online comments?" "A picture of our daughter on a playground with anonymous insults that might have come from anywhere." "We have no idea what that means, or who wrote it, or where it came from." "We have to find out." "What if we find out something we don't want to know?" "I know our daughter." "Are you sure?" "Hi, um, it's Olivia Baker." "I'm sorry to bother you again." "You've done so much for us already, but, well, we found something inside one of the books in Hannah's locker, and we... we don't know what it is, so I was hoping that maybe you could tell us." "Sure, Mrs. Baker, I can be right over." "Yeah, no problem." "Yes." "All right, bye." "Like I said... it's complicated."