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Regardless of what the calendar says, there’s a certain subset of people already counting down the days until fall. Summer’s long days and winter’s cozy nights do nothing to quiet the all-consuming craving for Gilmore Girls<\/a><\/em> rewatches, Nancy Meyers<\/em> movie<\/a> marathons, and\u2014my personal favorite\u2014books that somehow hit even harder with a chill in the air. The moment Labor Day passes, my bookshelf is overflowing with dark academia<\/a> novels, cozy fantasies<\/a>, and, of course, a classic Halloween mystery.<\/p>\n While there\u2019s still a little time before it’s officially fall, I have the perfect treat to tide you over. We’re excited to share an exclusive excerpt from Aashna Avachat’s upcoming novel, Mischief Girls<\/em>.<\/strong> Ahead, discover everything you need to know about what’s sure to be one of the most talked-about mysteries of the season, plus an exclusive sneak peek at the book.<\/p>\n Every school has its secrets\u2014but at the exclusive Ellison College, the past might prove deadly\u2014in this twisty puzzlebox mystery.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Use code ‘TheEverygirl’ to get 3 books for the price of 1 with a new Libro.fm membership<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Aashna Avachat is a writer, reader, and lawyer from California. She studied English and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley and law at Harvard Law School. She is also the author of Love Craves Cardamom<\/a><\/em>. When she\u2019s not working, she\u2019s probably reading on a sunny patch of grass, going on long walks to grocery stores, or being cozy with one of her many foster cats. Visit her online at aashnaavachat.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n 30 YEARS AGO: three students walked into the woods surrounding Ellison College, and only one came out. They became known as the Mischief Girls, and their case was never solved.<\/p>\n HALLOWEEN WEEK, MODERN DAY: Ellison freshman Raina isn\u2019t interested in digging into the past. To combat her personal demons, she volunteers at Night Walk, a campus program dedicated to helping students get home safely. Until one night, Raina escorts a fellow freshman to her dorm\u2026only to learn that the girl disappeared before she ever made it through the door.<\/p>\n NOW: With the help of the missing girl\u2019s stepbrother, Raina begins to investigate. But when the pair of them discover that she\u2019d been looking into the Mischief Girls murders prior to her vanishing, the case suddenly becomes much more complicated.<\/p>\n From professors\u2019 offices to state penitentiaries, Raina relentlessly hunts down the truth. But if she wants to find it, she\u2019ll have to accept that maybe what happened to the missing girl didn\u2019t begin the night she disappeared.<\/p>\n Maybe it all started 30 years ago, in the woods.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mouth tastes disgusting,\u201d I tell Landon in the morning.<\/p>\n They shake a bottle of Gatorade. \u201cI need to be in bed alllll<\/em> day.\u201d<\/p>\n Our room is dim, the blinds drawn against the morning\u2014well, noon<\/em>\u2014light. Clothes from our costume deliberations are strewn across the floor, and makeup, hair gel, and body glitter clutter our desks. My nightstand is piled high with loose jewelry. I yawn and brush my teeth extra-long before crawling back into bed, bringing the covers up over my eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a guy last night,\u201d I mumble to Landon.<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d I can hear them turn over in bed. Landon and I met during Ellison\u2019s summer program (they were here to start training with the orchestra early), and we decided to room together once the semester started. It feels like I\u2019ve known them longer than I really have.<\/p>\n I poke my head out of my comforter. \u201cHe was at the taco truck when we were downtown, and then also at the LaSo party. We talked for a bit. He was cute\u2014like, really cute. I gave him my number, but he hasn\u2019t texted me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cName?\u201d Landon waggles their eyebrows.<\/p>\n \u201cI never got it,\u201d I admit. \u201cI was a little out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n They sit up in bed, suddenly energized. \u201cWell, what do you remember? Height? Hair color? Eye color?\u201d<\/p>\n I laugh. \u201cAre you the DMV?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEllison is small. I bet we could find him. We\u2019ll look at photos people posted last night. He\u2019s gotta be somewhere in them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait. That\u2019s such a good idea!\u201d I find my phone on my nightstand and click it open. There\u2019s a text in the Night Walk chat from Theo asking if someone can swap shifts with him tonight\u2014apparently he has a date\u2014but still nothing from Taco Truck Boy.<\/p>\n I swipe Theo\u2019s text aside, open Instagram, and head to the LaSo account, then to all the photos tagging them.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was tall, brown, with really dark eyes and eyelashes, and short but, like, soft hair,\u201d I say. \u201cHe was wearing an Ellison sweatshirt.\u201d I pause. \u201cThat\u2019s honestly all I\u2019ve got. Oh, and he was gorgeous.\u201d<\/p>\n Landon snorts. \u201cVery helpful. I\u2019ll show you every hot guy I see.\u201d<\/p>\n I grin and settle into bed, scrolling through the photos, and I see one with me and Abigail in the background. It\u2019s a photo of Poppy, posing in her Tinker Bell costume. The number by the heart symbol jumps out at me: twelve thousand likes.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when I realize where I recognized Poppy from: the internet. I remember hearing that an influencer was starting at Ellison in our class. I scroll through her posts. Poppy does lifestyle photos and vlogs, daily videos of her making breakfast, going to the gym, doing her makeup. No wonder she\u2019s been too busy to hang out with us plebs. She has a sort of effortless beauty about her. I wonder if she gets hungover, too, or if she woke up today looking as beautiful and pristine as she does in her morning routine vlogs. I\u2019ve just hit the button to follow her when Landon gasps.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you find him?\u201d<\/p>\n Landon shakes their head. \u201cNo, uh. An Ellison student is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone in our year. People are reposting a graphic her RA shared. She hasn\u2019t been seen in over forty-eight hours. And she lives on campus, so that\u2019s concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n I blink. \u201cOh, shit. Can you send me the post? I\u2019ll share it, too. Maybe Night Walk can spread it on our socials.\u201d<\/p>\n They nod, and a moment later, my phone buzzes with the text. I click it open and enlarge the image, and a chill spreads through my body.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my god.\u201d The words catch in my throat and come out croaky. \u201cI know her.\u201d<\/p>\n Landon sits up like they did when I told them about the guy, but this time, their face is contorted in concern. \u201cYou do? Anika Mehta?\u201d<\/p>\n Hearing her name out loud makes it all the more real. \u201cShe came into Night Walk the other day. When\u2014when did she go missing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt says she was last seen Thursday. She never came home that night.\u201d<\/p>\n A weight settles in the pit of my stomach. \u201cNo. I saw her Thursday. I walked her home. I\u2014 How\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n Panic creeps into me. I walked a girl home, and now she\u2019s missing. And, according to Landon, she never even made it all the way back. Which means\u2014in the time between my dropping her off and however long it would have taken her to get to her room, something happened. Something bad.<\/p>\n I rack my brain, but now I can\u2019t remember: Did I check to make sure she went inside before I turned around? Did I make sure nobody followed her in?<\/p>\n Was this my fault?<\/p>\n I see Anika in my mind\u2019s eye, replaced by Maya. Anika could be someone\u2019s younger sister. How would I feel if Maya didn\u2019t make it home one day? Fear racks my body. I was supposed to protect her.<\/p>\n Landon is at my side in a moment. \u201cHey,\u201d they say gently. \u201cDon\u2019t jump to conclusions.\u201d But that\u2019s not true, and I know it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was literally my job.\u201d I add. \u201cLike, the job I get paid to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Landon rubs my wrist. \u201cBreathe. Think about it this way. You can tell the people looking for her that you saw her Thursday night, and maybe you can help them get more information. Right?\u201d They squeeze my hand.<\/p>\n I nod, unable to form coherent thoughts. \u201cYeah.\u201d With numb fingers, I type out a comment saying I walked Anika home through Night Walk on Thursday, and I can share more information with whoever needs it.<\/p>\n When I press Send, Landon stands. \u201cLet me make some tea. We both need it.\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody replies to my comment on the post.<\/p>\n I spend the rest of the day rigid with unease and adrenaline, like I\u2019m ready at any moment for danger, but of course, nothing happens. In the evening, I head over to my Night Walk shift and call Pooja on the way there.<\/p>\n \u201cRaina,\u201d she says after I tell her everything about the missing girl, because she knows me so well, \u201cbreathe. Please, please breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThursday. I might have been the last person to see her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d she says calmly. \u201cMaybe not.\u201d Pooja\u2019s a journalism major, and she wants to be an investigative journalist someday. She\u2019s great at talking to people, putting them at ease. \u201cThe post you sent me says she hasn\u2019t been back in her dorm since Thursday, but it\u2019s only Sunday now. It\u2019s entirely possible she took a long weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen why would her RA be making a missing poster for her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, breathe. And \u2018missing poster\u2019 is a bit of an exaggeration. It\u2019s just a pink square that says \u2018If you\u2019re friends with Anika Mehta and you\u2019ve heard from her in the past few days, please contact me.\u2019 Just because she didn\u2019t show up to a scheduled meeting they had, and her roommate said she hadn\u2019t been home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd because she hasn\u2019t answered anyone\u2019s calls or texts. Obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, and I\u2019d probably make a dramatic post like that if you hadn\u2019t texted me back in two days, too,\u201d Pooja says. \u201cBut knowing you, you\u2019d probably have been finally catching up on all the sleep you miss or stuck studying in the Student Center basement without service. Just because somebody doesn\u2019t answer their phone doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re in danger. She might just not like her RA. Or her roommate. God knows I don\u2019t text people back for a week sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrue.\u201d But my heart is still pounding.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not what happened with Maya,\u201d Pooja says, and my stomach contorts. I squeeze my eyes shut. I don\u2019t want to think about that. But Pooja goes on: \u201cAnika is an adult. She\u2019s a college student. You are not responsible for her. And you weren\u2019t responsible for Maya then either\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStop.\u201d My tone is sharp. \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Pooja quiets. \u201cOkay,\u201d she says, then, as if to lighten the mood, she jokes, \u201cYou know, I have always wanted to do an investigative piece on a scandalous college news story. So if this ends up being anything more interesting than a girl ghosting someone for a few days, you know who to call.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Night Walk office, the phones keep ringing. Foster stops spinning in his chair and takes charge, in full supervisor mode.<\/p>\n \u201cRaina,\u201d he says when I walk in, curling a finger to beckon me closer. \u201cI need you on phones. We have temps back on standby to walk students through campus, but assigning walks is getting messy. Can you help with intake?\u201d<\/p>\n I nod quickly. \u201cOf course.\u201d I\u2019m relieved. I want to be here today, especially to help students feel safer on campus, but I can\u2019t say I\u2019m not nervous to walk people home tonight. What if something bad happens again to someone I walk with? How much safety can I really guarantee someone?<\/p>\n Theo and Foster are both tall, bulky. They\u2019re men. They\u2019d probably ward off someone with malicious intent. Despite my self-defense training, I\u2019m relatively small, at least compared with the two of them. I might look like an additional target. The thought makes me shiver. But I remind myself of what Pooja said. We don\u2019t know what happened to Anika. She could just have taken a spontaneous vacation somewhere. Maybe she slept over at someone\u2019s place and her phone died. Maybe nothing bad\u2019s happened at all.<\/p>\n The phone rings, and Foster gestures at me. I settle into the office chair and grab the receiver. \u201cNight Walk, how can we help you?\u201d<\/p>\n From there, the requests keep coming in quickly. \u201cHi. Can I please have someone walk me from Chandler Library to my dorm?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan someone come get me from the gym? I\u2019m going back to Ellicott.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys are in Koenig, right? How do I get there from Wheeler?\u201d<\/p>\n When I finish the last call in the series, Theo comes back from a walk and slides into his seat next to me. \u201cThis is wild, isn\u2019t it? Foster didn\u2019t let me take the evening off. Had to miss my date.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPoor Theo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting a lot<\/em> of calls, though.\u201d He shakes his head. \u201cIs it because of that post about the girl?\u201d He frowns. \u201cDidn\u2019t you walk her back the other day?\u201d<\/p>\n I wince. \u201cYeah. She seemed fine then. I sent a message to whoever made the posts, but they haven\u2019t gotten back to me. Should I send an email to the dean, too?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure if it was actually something serious, they\u2019d have already reached out. We didn\u2019t even get a campus security alert, so there\u2019s probably nothing to worry about.\u201d Theo twists the class ring on his pinky finger. \u201cMount Echo\u2019s, like, the safest town ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not true,\u201d says Evelyn Toomey, another Night Walk veteran, walking by us. She usually takes the shift before me, but Foster\u2019s asked for all hands on deck. \u201cJust because you don\u2019t hear about things doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, what, we have a mafia here I don\u2019t know about?\u201d Theo asks, grinning.<\/p>\n Evelyn sighs, looking at me. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be a movie villain to be unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n I know what she\u2019s talking about. Last year, there were rumors a senior at Ellison was hitting on local high school girls. It was super gross, and he graduated quietly and online, \u201cchoosing\u201d to take his last semester virtually. It was never big campus news, but the girls at Ellison knew.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue,\u201d I say. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s why we have Night Walk, right? To be safer?\u201d<\/p>\n Theo shrugs. \u201cGuess so.\u201d It\u2019s never been wholly clear why Theo signed up for Night Walk. If I had to bet, I\u2019d say his dad made him get a job to \u201cbuild character.\u201d<\/p>\n The front doorbell rings then, and in walks a silhouette I immediately recognize. At first, my heart leaps at the sense of recognition, and I think, Anika<\/em>? As if she\u2019s suddenly shown up here to reveal she\u2019s completely fine. But obviously, it\u2019s not her. It\u2019s the guy from last night: Taco Truck Boy.<\/p>\n I stand, as if he\u2019s here for me, though of course that can\u2019t be the case. He looks around but doesn\u2019t see me, and when he gets to Foster, he says, \u201cHi. Is someone named Raina Chandra here right now?\u201d<\/p>\n Wait, what?<\/p>\n Foster crosses his arms across his chest, and I know he\u2019s about to ask why the guy wants to know, so I call out, \u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d as though a teacher\u2019s taking the roll.<\/p>\n The guy\u2019s eyes flash over to me, and recognition passes over his face. So he didn\u2019t know Raina Chandra was me<\/em>. Although, how could he, considering I put my name in his phone as \u201cHalloween Girl\u201d? Foster looks my way, and I nod permission. Evelyn heads back to her station, and Theo glances at me out of the corners of his eyes, clearly curious. \u201cWhat\u2019d you dooo, Raina?\u201d he singsongs.<\/p>\n I ignore him.<\/p>\n When the guy approaches, he knits his eyebrows at me. \u201cYou, uh, you look different without the green wig.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d hope so.\u201d I offer a shy smile. \u201cI thought we were going to plan the next time we saw each other.\u201d My tone is light, but I\u2019m confused about why he\u2019s here.<\/p>\n \u201cI was going to text you,\u201d he says awkwardly. \u201cI just . . . Something happened. But . . . you\u2019re Raina.\u201d<\/p>\n He looks mostly the same\u2014beautiful, tall, kind brown eyes. The only difference is the easy smile from yesterday is gone. He looks worried. What is he here<\/em> for?<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. And you are . . . ?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRohan.\u201d He grimaces. \u201cSo.\u201d<\/p>\n I wait as he tries to figure out what to say.<\/p>\n The guy puts his hands on his face and lets out a deep sigh before launching into it. \u201cI\u2019m really sorry to barge in like this. The thing is, um, I saw your comment on the post about Anika. Mehta? She\u2019s my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n My eyes practically bulge out of my head.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t text every day, so I didn\u2019t notice anything was different.\u201d He pauses. \u201cI saw your comment on the post about her, and I think . . . you might have been the last person to see her before . . .\u201d He trails off.<\/p>\n Beside me, Theo is watching like we\u2019re the most engaging match of Ping-Pong he\u2019s ever witnessed, his head snapping back and forth as he watches each of our faces.<\/p>\n I falter. So this isn\u2019t just a case of Anika ghosting people she doesn\u2019t like. Even her family doesn\u2019t know where she is. \u201cDid\u2014did you go to the police?\u201d<\/p>\n Rohan nods. \u201cYeah. They filed a missing-persons report. But she\u2019s eighteen, so they think she probably just left on her own.\u201d<\/p>\n Theo leans forward. \u201cDid she?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d Rohan says immediately. \u201cShe\u2019d have no reason to do that.\u201d He looks at Theo, then back to me and asks, \u201cCan we speak separately?\u201d<\/p>\n I stand, nod. \u201cYeah. Um. Of course.\u201d<\/p>\n We walk into the small kitchenette with a mini fridge and a sink, and I turn to face him. There is a hollowness under his eyes, like maybe he was awake all night. It\u2019s so strange to see him now, under the fluorescent office lighting. One moment, we\u2019re flirting and planning a date. The next\u2014I\u2019m the last person to see his sister before she disappeared.<\/p>\n I feel, suddenly, like I might throw up.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you\u2014 How are your parents?\u201d I ask, stumbling over my words.<\/p>\n Rohan sighs. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a complicated situation. My dad and her mom were married for a bit, but they divorced last year. Anika\u2019s my stepsister, or . . .\u201d He scrunches up his face. \u201cWas. But I\u2019m not close with her mom. My dad talked to her, though. And they\u2019re both talking to the police. I\u2019m just . . . I\u2019m the only one who\u2019s here<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n I swallow. \u201cAnika said . . . on our walk, that she was from Brookline.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHer mom\u2019s been out of town this past week. She\u2019s coming back, but I don\u2019t know what she can do even if she\u2019s here. Nobody\u2019s heard from Anika, and her phone keeps going to voicemail, like it\u2019s been turned off. I don\u2019t want to scare her mom too much.\u201d He glances at me apologetically. \u201cThis really isn\u2019t how I thought we\u2019d see each other again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d I say immediately. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to talk about that.\u201d<\/p>\n He nods slowly. \u201cHer mom hasn\u2019t been well for a while. So I don\u2019t want this to make her health worse.\u201d Rohan\u2019s voice breaks. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. It\u2019s just that the cops are being useless. My dad seems to think she left on her own, too, but he never really tried to get to know her. I knew her. I just need to figure out what happened. I need to find her.\u201d<\/p>\n And maybe it\u2019s the big sister in me, or the fact that I saw Anika last, or the fact that I have a new soft spot for Rohan . . . or maybe it\u2019s that memory from my childhood, the one I try to keep tamped down whenever it\u2019s itching to come to the surface, the one Pooja tried to bring up, but I get<\/em> it. And I want to help.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d I say. \u201cWhere do we start?\u201d<\/p>\n Every school has its secrets\u2014but at the exclusive Ellison College, the past might prove deadly\u2014in this twisty puzzlebox mystery.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n As an Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers\u2019 lives, from must-read books and behind-the-scenes interviews to beauty products she can\u2019t live without. When she isn\u2019t sitting in an AMC watching the latest buzzy release, she can be found scouring Goodreads for the perfect pick for The Everygirl Book Club<\/a>. There, she co-hosts discussions with members, debating plotlines, fancasting characters, and, of course, tossing in her own recommendations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Feature graphic images credited to: D\u00e9bora Carvalho | Dupe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n window.fd(‘form’, { \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0var skimlinks_settings = { The post Read an Exclusive Excerpt From Aashna Avachat’s ‘Mischief Girls’<\/a> appeared first on The Everygirl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"Mischief](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/first-look-mischief-girls-aashna-avachat-the-everygirl.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nAashna Avachat<\/div>\n\n
\n Mischief Girls <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nExclusive Libro.fm offer!<\/h2>\n
About the author<\/h2>\n
What is Mischief Girls<\/em> about?<\/h2>\n
Exclusive excerpt from Mischief Girls<\/em> by Aashna Avachat<\/h2>\n
My hand is shaking until Landon takes it. \u201cHow can I not?\u201d All of me is shaking now, with a memory tugging at the edges of my mind that I really, really don\u2019t want to remember. \u201cNothing like this has happened to me before.\u201d<\/p>\nPre-order Mischief Girls<\/em>, releasing September 29, 2026<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n
\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nAashna Avachat<\/div>\n\n
\n Mischief Girls <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n ![\"lauren](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Lauren-Blue-Headshot-TEG.jpeg\")
\n <\/div>\n\nABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/div>\n\nLauren Blue, Editor & Book Club Co-Host<\/h3>\n
READ LAUREN\u2019S FULL BIO<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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