Before We Were Innocent

Joni was recently discovered to be cheating on her girlfriend Willa, another social-media star, and although Joni ended her relationship with the third party, she now needs Bess to help cover up the truth of her movements on the evening that she ended the relationship, just in case Willa inquires. She would like Bess to say, if asked, that Joni left her own house at six, showed up at Bess’s at nine, and then stayed the night. Joni suggests that the two can claim they were planning a memorial service for the 10th anniversary of their friend Evangeline’s death. Joni has an important book launch coming up, and because she has built her platform on the concept of “radical honesty,” she does not want to appear to be a liar in the public eye. The request makes Bess uncomfortable, but she realizes that Joni still knows her well enough to know that she will agree.

The next morning, Bess goes to work early in order to communicate to Joni that she does not plan to rearrange her entire day around the surprise visit. She moderates a dating app called 5oulm8s. The two exchange pithy comments about each other’s lives and careers: Joni is critical of Bess’s sloppy appearance, her job, and the concept of “soulmates” in general. Bess snaps back at Joni about her career as a self-help guru, which Joni has rebranded as “self-growth” and wellness. Joni’s following strikes Bess as cult-like, but she feels a pang at the memory of their adolescent friendship, and she agrees to lie for Joni if need be.

Bess spends a solitary day moderating complaints on 5oulm8s and then heads to the convenience store at a nearby crossroads to purchase a packet of instant noodles. While she works, she broods about Joni. She has hoped to leave the past behind entirely, and the re-emergence of her old friend threatens her peace.

The narrative shifts to 10 years earlier. Bess’s friend Evangeline has just invited her and Joni on a 10-week-long summer trip to their family home in Tinos, a Greek island in the Cyclades. Bess and her family have only recently moved from Sussex to Calabasas, and her parents are horrified at their neighbors’ ostentatious wealth. Bess and her brother initially struggled to fit in at school, and Joni was her first friend. As a teenager, Joni is more individualistic than her peers, and she has a fierce temper. Evangeline is already Joni’s friend; the two have been inseparable since the seventh grade. Whereas Joni is loud and brash, Evangeline has a more “placid” temperament. Although initially intimidated, Bess bonds quickly with the two girls.

The narrative returns to the present moment in 2018. Now, Bess recalls Evangeline’s death in Greece. Initially she had instructed her parents not to come. By the time they did arrive, the media storm had already begun, and Bess and Joni became scapegoats for Evangeline’s death.

Joni calls Bess and explains that Willa is now missing. She is sure that Willa is punishing Joni for their disagreement. She claims that Willa likes attention and has disappeared before, but Joni wonders if Bess would consider lying about her whereabouts to Willa’s parents too, should they ask. Bess is increasingly uncomfortable but does not refuse. In the days that follow, she does not hear from Joni again. She watches old videos of Joni on YouTube, observing how her friend used Evangeline’s death and the resulting media storm to build a career as a self-help guru. She finds her friend’s delivery masterful in these videos and is struck by how charismatically Joni talks about their shared adolescent trauma, spinning it into the basis for a major comeback. Joni, of all people, knew how to reverse one’s fortune.

The police arrive at Bess’s door, asking about Willa. Bess realizes that Joni must have known that Willa had been reported missing and withheld the information from her. They question Bess about Joni’s whereabouts on the night that Willa was last seen, and they seem interested in her discomfort and unwillingness to describe Joni’s movements in detail. After they leave, Bess heads to a nearby bar to blow off steam, only returning late that night. She texts Joni “I did it” (39) in reference to her chat with the police.

Evangeline is older than Joni and Bess by three months, but she is the most naïve of the three. Although Bess is friends with both girls, she adores Joni, who is vocal and proud about her identity as a lesbian. Joni’s courage both intimidates and inspires Bess. Bess’s parents are happier than both Evangeline’s and Joni’s parents, and Bess quietly observes the differences in the various family dynamics. The girls are all excited for the summer trip to Greece, although Bess’s parents are uncomfortable with the fact that Evangeline’s parents are covering the entire cost and are also insisting on paying for Bess’s flight.

Bess wakes up to find Joni banging on her door. It is 7:10 a.m., and Bess has a pounding headache from her night out. Joni has brought a baggie of cordyceps, an adaptogenic mushroom powder which she claims will help Bess. Bess accuses Joni of knowing that Willa was missing, but based on Joni’s surprised response, Bess is now convinced that Joni was unaware of this fact. The two hold a tense conversation, and Joni leaves. Bess remembers that she is supposed to meet her brother Steven that week and emails him.

The narrative shifts to 2008. The girls arrive at the airport. Bess has flown in and out of LAX frequently over the years, traveling back and forth between the US and the UK, and her knowledge of the airport irks Joni. On the plane, Evangeline reveals that her brother Theo, on whom Bess has a not-so-secret crush, will be joining them for a week in Greece. He and his friends are on a summer tour of Europe. According to Evangeline, Theo is trying to sleep with one woman in every European city that they visit.

In 2018, Bess recalls that after Evangeline’s death, various individuals who had interacted with them at the airport would misremember her as bossy and characterize the girls as “boy-crazy.”

Bess meets Steven for drinks. He tells her that he is getting married, and that his fiancée Nova was in the same year as Willa at the University of Southern California. He does not trust Joni’s version of the story and wishes that Bess didn’t either. Bess defends Joni, but Steven characterizes her as a “vampire.” He tells Bess that everyone else perceived Joni’s “ruthlessness” except for her, and he reiterates that Joni is not trustworthy. He also reveals that he occasionally sees Evangeline’s brother, Theo. Bess is upset; she thinks that he has organized this visit not to tell her about his engagement, but to question her about Joni and Willa. She remembers what it was like to be mischaracterized by the media and resents Steven for his willingness to indict Joni.

The Aetos house in Tinos, Greece is rustic, as Evangeline has tried to warn Joni and Bess. It is a stark contrast to their palatial residence in Calabasas. Even so, the girls enjoy their first few days and spend their time exploring the island in the family’s old Fiat, eating in various local tavernas, and lounging at home. Evangeline cooks elaborate meals, and the three girls open up about their family lives. Joni’s father left her mother for a younger woman, and Evangeline tells her that people’s souls choose their parents based on what they will have to teach us, and that these lessons are not always pleasant. Bess is moved by this metaphysical idea, but Joni finds it ludicrous.

Theo, who grew up to start an investment company and marry a sleek, beautiful fashion journalist named Sophia, still remains a source of fascination for Bess, although the two do not speak. She often stalks his sparse online profiles and wonders about his life. Theo has been emailing Bess for years, asking to talk to her, but she has never responded.

The trip loses its novelty very quickly for Joni and Bess. The island is secluded, hot, and windy, and the house is decrepit. However, their disappointment goes beyond the setting. Evangeline, who had been taught disordered eating by her mother, does not provide as many meals as Joni and Bess require. They also notice a certain snobbishness in her that they had not observed before, and they realize that she has inherited her father’s arrogant attitude about people. Evangeline clearly believes that the girls are in Greece to make Evangeline’s life easier and more fun, not to enrich their own. Bess and Joni begin to sneak into each other’s rooms at night to complain about Evangeline, and there is a subtle shift in their group dynamics as a result.

Unable to concentrate, Bess heads to the convenience store in town to buy lunch. Ryan, the cashier, tells her that someone (possibly a reporter) came in looking for her. He proudly tells Bess that he did not give the man her address. He then admits that he recognized her the first time that she came in and assures her that he, unlike so many others, never believed in her guilt. Bess remembers other men who expressed similar opinions and thinks back to how salacious the media coverage of her and Joni was after Evangeline’s death. She goes home, sees the same car pass by her house multiple times, and then hears what she thinks are footsteps outside her door. In a panic, she calls Joni, who sends a car for her.