Olivia 11

Summary

• Returning to 'normal' life after being acquitted of a crime is difficult, with society still viewing the acquitted person as stained by their past.
• Asher doesn't return to school but instead registers to get his GED. He faces curiosity and notoriety in public due to the murder trial.
• Asher tries to integrate back into his old life by joining a hockey game but is confronted with prejudice and fights with another player over a derogatory term.
• Asher's interactions with his former best friend Dirk and other peers like Maya are strained or non-existent, emphasizing how his life has diverged onto a different path.
• Asher and his mother fall into a new routine that includes beekeeping, doing crosswords, cooking together, and watching movies.
• Maya visits Asher three weeks after the trial, revealing her acceptance to Williams College and her guilt about not supporting Asher during the trial.
• Maya confesses she wrote her college essay about Lily, unintentionally highlighting how her life progressed while Asher’s was derailed.
• Asher's mother overhears Maya mention a text that Asher supposedly never received and queries Maya, revealing a critical detail not mentioned at the trial.
• Maya reflects on her unrequited love for Asher and her resulting antagonism towards Lily, leading to a physical altercation and Lily's tragic accident.
• During Maya's confession, Asher and his mother realize the complexity of the situation and the role of mistaken intentions in Lily's death.
• Asher’s mother contemplates the nature of destiny and change, using bee colonies and royal jelly as a metaphor for transformation and potential.
• A few weeks after Maya's confession to the police, Asher expresses interest in college and moving forward with his life, showing signs of recovery.
• The prosecutor decides not to bring charges against Maya, with Asher showing mixed feelings of relief and confusion about the legal outcome.
• Asher’s mother experiences a rekindling of romantic feelings with Mike, acknowledging that they both, like everyone else, have complexities and imperfections to navigate.