Maya's Chapter — Chapter 46 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens in February 2012 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where Maya is skiing with Daisy. Maya, who was not raised skiing and is deathly afraid of heights, grips the chairlift in terror as it climbs the mountain. Daisy is relaxed and enjoying the view. Dark clouds and icy wind signal an approaching storm.

When they reach the top of the run, Maya is terrified by the steep descent but pushes off anyway. She finds a rush of adrenaline as she skis, cutting back and forth through the snow. Daisy waits at a fork and leads Maya onto a Black Diamond run. The trail narrows, and Maya loses sight of Daisy. She stops, removes her skis, and realizes she is lost and angry that Daisy left her.

Maya senses she is being watched. A buck with large antlers emerges from the trees, close enough to be threatening. Maya freezes, unsure whether to run. The deer eventually bows its head and leaves. As Maya pushes herself up, a branch cracks loudly behind her, and a heavy weight lands on her shoulders. She screams until she hears laughter—Daisy, Cecily, and Kai have pranked her. Cecily reveals the real purpose of the prank: whoever is last down the mountain must put drugs in Matthew's drink. Maya is, of course, last.

That afternoon at the cabin, the altitude affects Maya—headache and nosebleeds. That night, the group makes margaritas and hosts a party with Cecily's boyfriend Theodore, Lila, and other Greystone members and alums. Maya gets drunk quickly in the hot tub. She spots Professor DuPont outside talking to alums and feels her anxiety rise, knowing what she has to do.

Cecily whispers that it's time. Maya finishes her drink, and Cecily goes to invite Professor DuPont outside for a toast. Maya heads to the kitchen where she has hidden the vial of GHB. She glances at the hidden camera behind the flower arrangement on the mantel and notices the red light isn't on—it isn't recording.

Marta appears and asks what Maya is doing. Maya lies, saying she's looking for shot glasses, which are lined up on the counter. Marta seems suspicious. Maya sends her away by asking for towels. Alone, Maya prepares the shots, adding what she describes as a large amount of the GHB—she reasons that DuPont is an abusive creep and deserves it.

Marta returns with towels and warns Maya that Lila shouldn't be there. Maya remembers Marta's earlier confrontation in the library, showing her files and photos that Professor DuPont had been hiding. Maya promises to make sure nothing happens to Lila.

Maya then goes to the living room to fix the camera, turning it on and concealing the red light behind the vase. But when she returns to the kitchen, the shot glasses are gone. One of Matthew's friends has brought them outside. Maya runs out to find everyone holding a shot glass and a beer.

Panic sets in. Maya doesn't know which glass contains the GHB. She worries that an innocent person could get sick. She tells Cecily she doesn't know which one it is, and that she put a large amount in. Cecily brushes her off, saying it's fine.

Cecily gives a toast thanking Professor DuPont, and everyone raises their shots. Maya watches in frozen horror as each person drinks. She studies everyone for signs of the drug taking effect, but everyone seems equally drunk. The party continues—Kings Cup, more shots, laughter.

Maya feels someone staring at her. Professor DuPont sits in the far corner of the deck, watching her with a dark, knowing look. Maya shudders.

A wave of nausea hits Maya. The heat, the alcohol, the altitude—it's too much. She tries to get out of the hot tub but misses the edge, catching herself just in time. Theodore and Daisy ask if she's okay. She says she's fine, then her vision goes. She falls, hits her head on something sharp, and the night goes dark.

Key Events

• Maya skis with Daisy despite her fear of heights and gets lost on a Black Diamond run

• Daisy, Cecily, and Kai prank Maya with a staged deer encounter and reveal the