Two years after the murder, April follows her sister's lead, getting pregnant a few months before high school graduation. Even after Stephanie's death, she feels neglected in favor of her nephew, Stephanie's son, who is being raised by Gloria. Words don't do April justice. She measures her life in terms of what Stephanie had done while she lived, and what she hadn't been able to do because she died. And Stephanie wanted three strippers at her party.
Death does interesting things to relationships.
In Stephanie's case, death stabilizes hers with her mother. But with April, death seems to jeopardize the relationship, deepening a rivalry that April claims to have always felt, and forcing the younger sister to become the older one. Likewise, film does interesting things to death. Stephanie is forever 17, not just in memory but on video shot by a relative and used to chilling effect by the filmmakers. Along with this personal footage, there's also footage from the local news.