Stealing Bradford

9

AS IT TURNED OUT, Rhiannon wasn’t mad at Taylor as much as she was hurt. She explained the whole thing to DJ the next day as they walked to drama together.

“I guess I’m a sucker,” she admitted. “But I actually thought Taylor just wanted to go to youth group.”

“But she really just wanted to put a move on Bradford,” finished DJ.

“I don’t want to judge her, DJ. Besides, it probably doesn’t matter now anyway.” Rhiannon looked the other way, like she wanted this conversation to end.

“Why not?”

Rhiannon turned and looked at DJ with tears in her eyes. “Because it seems that Bradford really is interested in Taylor.”

“No!” DJ grabbed Rhiannon’s arm and stopped walking. “That can’t be true.”

“It is.” Okay, now DJ thought she heard a trace of bitterness in Rhiannon’s voice. Like maybe this wasn’t as okay as she was trying to make it seem.

“How do you know that for sure?”

“To start with, they were joking around a lot last night, and I tried to make myself believe he was simply being nice, making her feel welcome at youth group and all. But then I couldn’t help but notice he was really looking at her, you know, in a way that gets your attention. But then I told myself that I was just imagining things.” Rhiannon let out a long sigh and looked away again. DJ could tell she was fighting to hold back the tears.

“You’re probably right,” proclaimed DJ, “he was just being nice.”

“No!” Rhiannon firmly shook her head.

“What do you mean no?” But even as she said this, DJ observed Taylor coming out of the courtyard toward them. So she grabbed Rhiannon by the elbow and started walking again. “Come on,” she said. “We can walk and talk. First off, I want to know how you can possibly think that Bradford likes her. And then explain to me, if he does, why you and Bradford went off by yourselves during lunch.”

“Because he wanted to tell me—privately—that we’re just going to be friends from now on.” Rhiannon’s expression was grim.

DJ got the picture. “Oh, Rhiannon. I’m so sorry.” She frowned. How could this be happening to someone as sweet and kind as Rhiannon? “What about God?” she demanded suddenly. “Have you prayed about this? Maybe he can make Bradford come back to you.”

Rhiannon kind of laughed, but there was no happiness in it. “I don’t think God works like that.”

“But you told me—”

“It’s okay.” Rhiannon made a very forced smile. “Besides, do you remember what Rod said last night?”

“Rod who?”

“The youth pastor.”

“Right.” DJ frowned as she tried to remember.

“Were you paying attention?”

“Yeah…but it’s kind of cloudy.”

“Rod talked about how God wants to use the junk in our lives to make something fresh and alive and new.”

“Oh yeah, his theory was that it takes stinky manure to make things grow.”

“It’s not a theory, DJ. It’s in the Bible…well, sort of…and it’s a fact of life too.”

“Even so, I can’t help but be ticked at Bradford. That is so low on his part. And I thought he was a Christian. Shouldn’t he act differently?”

“Let’s drop it for now.” Rhiannon looked over DJ’s shoulder and waved. “Hey, Taylor,” she called in a voice that sounded tight and forced, like she was going all out to be nice when she really wanted to smack that girl. Or maybe DJ was imagining things. “Going to drama?”

“Where else?” said Taylor as she joined them.

DJ couldn’t believe that Rhiannon could be this civilized to Taylor of all people. And DJ was determined not to do the same—she wouldn’t even give Taylor the time of day.

“What’s your problem?” Taylor asked DJ as they entered the auditorium.

“What do you mean?” DJ gave her an innocent look.

“I mean why are you acting like such a grumpy girl? Did you get kicked off the volleyball team or something?”

DJ just shrugged, but didn’t answer. Out of respect for Rhiannon, she was determined to keep her mouth shut. Still, she was fuming.

“Hey, girls,” said Eliza as she joined them. “It’s the big day.”

“Big day?” asked DJ, confused.

“Mr. Harper’s going to announce which play we’ll be doing.”

“Oh, right.” Not for the first time, DJ wondered why she’d taken drama. Oh, sure it was sort of fun, but when it came to acting, DJ felt fairly certain she would make a complete fool of herself. Hopefully, she could get a backstage assignment and avoid the limelight altogether. Rhiannon had mentioned that she primarily wanted to work on sets. Maybe DJ could be her assistant.

“Okay, class,” said Mr. Harper from the stage. “It’s time to unveil the choice for the next CCH production, but first I’ll give you some clues. For starters it’s a musical.”

Some of the kids, including DJ, groaned.

“Second, it’s written by Rogers and Hammerstein.”

“Is Harper gay?” whispered Taylor and those close enough to hear it laughed, although DJ did not. Fortunately, Mr. Harper didn’t seem to hear, not that he’d care, since most kids knew he was married, and that his pretty wife, Mrs. Harper, taught English.

“Third, it’s a war story.” He paused and looked out over the class now. “Any guesses?”

“White Christmas?” shouted a girl.

“No, but that’s a good guess…although White Christmas was an Irving Berlin production.”

“Sure he’s not gay?” said Taylor a bit more loudly, followed by more laughter.

“No, he’s not gay,” said Mr. Harper. “Did you have a guess, Miss Mitchell?”

“Did Mitzi Gaynor star in it?”

He looked surprised and then nodded. “Care to wager a guess?”

“That’s okay. I don’t want to spoil your surprise.”

“Okay, my fourth clue is that it’s set in an exotic location.” Now he pantomimed a drummer as someone behind the scenes played the audio for a drum roll. “We will be performing South Pacific!“

Some of the kids cheered, some clapped, but most of them seemed unfamiliar with the choice. Taylor feigned a yawn. What an actress.

“Okay,” he said, pointing toward the movie screen, which was already in place. “Let’s roll some film.”

The movie was actually sort of interesting once they got into it, but DJ wasn’t too sure about all that singing and dancing. She, for one, couldn’t carry a tune in a wheelbarrow. Then, when the movie stopped in the middle of an exciting scene, everyone moaned and complained.

“Sorry,” said Mr. Harper as the house lights came back on. “South Pacific will be continued tomorrow—in a theater near you.”

“Or tonight,” said Eliza as they exited the auditorium. “I plan to rent that movie after school. You guys in?”

“Sure,” said Rhiannon. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“I have,” said Taylor in her bored voice. “Cable gets killed.”

“Shut up!” said DJ. And she didn’t mean the “get out of town” shut up, but more like the “shut your mouth,” shut up. Fortunately, Taylor didn’t perceive it that way.

“Really, he does.”

“Ignore her,” Eliza instructed them. “She’s probably just making that up anyway.”

“Hey, I can give details,” said Taylor. “Lieutenant Cable goes out to—”

“Don’t spoil it for everyone,” said Rhiannon sharply.

“Fine.” Taylor walked off like she was in a huff.

“Do you think I actually offended her?” asked Rhiannon with surprise.

“I don’t think that’s even possible,” said DJ. “See ya later.” Then she headed off to her next class. She was trying not to hate Taylor, since she was pretty sure that Christians were not supposed to hate people. But in the case of Taylor Mitchell, she thought perhaps there could be exceptions.

By the time seventh period rolled around, DJ was extremely angry at Taylor for stealing Bradford from Rhiannon. Maybe even more angry than she’d been when Taylor had put the move on Conner. As a result, she totally ignored Taylor throughout PE. This was even easier to do now that Casey had changed her schedule so that she had PE with DJ.

“Did you hear what Taylor did?” she said quietly to Casey as they walked back to the locker room after a hard workout.

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been freezing her out,” said Casey. “What’s up?”

So DJ told her how Taylor had stabbed Rhiannon in the back.

“What’s new about that?”

“Nothing, it just really ticks me off. I mean, Rhiannon has been so good to Taylor. She invited her to go with them last night. Even when Taylor stepped over the line, Rhiannon didn’t get mad.”

“Rhiannon is too good to be true.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just that when something seems too good be to be true, it usually is.”

“That’s not very nice, Casey. Rhiannon has been really kind to you too. Are you saying she’s not what she claims to be?”

“I’m saying I don’t get her.”

“Well, you know that she’s a Christian.”

“So?”

“So…Christians are supposed to be good, aren’t they?”

Casey laughed. “They’re supposed to be, but most of them aren’t.”

“Maybe Rhiannon’s different.”

Casey just shrugged.

“Why don’t you come out for volleyball?” suggested DJ, ready to change the subject.

“I don’t know…”

“You used to like it,” DJ reminded her.

“Yeah, but I haven’t played in a while.”

“But you were good.”

“I thought you said the coach was making cuts today.”

“Not until after practice.”

“But I haven’t even been to practice once,” protested Casey. “I’d probably be cut straight off the bat.”

DJ glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “No,” she said quietly. “You probably wouldn’t. The team’s not that good.”

“So, you’re desperate?”

DJ grinned. “Come on, Casey, it’d be fun. Just give it a try. You’re already dressed down.”

Taylor was coming out of the shower now. She had the towel around her like a sarong, and DJ could tell by the way she walked that she thought she was pretty hot. DJ turned her back to her.

“What’s up with you two?” asked Taylor as she came over to join them.

“Not much,” said Casey. DJ didn’t say anything.

“Seems pretty chilly over here,” said Taylor as she began to towel dry. “Is DJ upset about something?”

DJ still didn’t say a word.

“She was just trying to talk me into going out for volleyball,” said Casey. And DJ wished she’d quit talking to Taylor.

“Oh, so she’s still able to talk,” said Taylor. “I thought maybe she’d suffered a stroke in PE; maybe she was speech impaired now. Apparently she’s just manner impaired. I wonder what Mrs. Carter would say about that.”

DJ glared at Taylor. “I wonder what Mrs. Carter would say about girls who stab other girls in the back?”

Taylor feigned a wounded expression now. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m not suggesting anything. But if you want to talk about bad manners, maybe you should take a look in the mirror, Taylor.”

Taylor frowned at DJ. “Really, I do not get you. I go out of my way to be nice, and you’re acting like I’m your worst enemy. Why?”

“Why?” repeated DJ. “Why?”

Taylor nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Because you stole Bradford from Rhiannon.”

Taylor blinked. “I what?”

“You stole Bradford.”

Now Taylor laughed. “In the first place, I haven’t stolen anyone. In the second place, Bradford and I are only friends. That’s all.”

“That’s not what I hear.”

“What did you hear?” Taylor focused her attention on fastening the front clasp on her black lace bra.

“Bradford broke up with Rhiannon.”

Taylor looked up. “Since when?”

“Since lunch today.”

Taylor shook her head. “Hey, I didn’t know about that, and I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Except that you’d been flirting with Bradford,” interjected Casey.

Taylor tossed a menacing look at Casey. “Says who?”

Casey sort of shrugged. “It seems to be common knowledge.”

Taylor put her face closer to Casey’s now. “Have you ever seen me flirting with Bradford, Casey?”

Casey looked somewhat intimidated now. “I don’t know…”

“Then maybe you should butt out of things that don’t concern you.”

Casey stood now. She looked like she was about to say something, but then she just turned and walked off toward the bathroom.

“So…” Taylor turned to DJ now. “Are you the one spreading vicious rumors about me?”

“I told Casey that you’d been flirting with Bradford last night and that he’d broken up with Rhiannon today. I’m sure anyone can put two and two together.”

Taylor actually looked wounded now. “It’s just not fair,” she said as she pulled on her shirt.

“What?” demanded DJ.

“The way everyone accuses me of flirting. It’s just the way I am. I like guys, and guys like me. That doesn’t mean that I want to hook up with every single one of them.”

“Just most of them.”

Taylor narrowed her eyes. “You know, DJ. I’ve thought about all the girls at Carter House…and all the girls at this school…and I asked myself which girl I’d most like as my friend, and I thought it was you. But then you treat me like this.”

DJ blinked in surprise now. “Seriously?” she asked skeptically.

“Seriously.” Taylor was buttoning her skirt now.

“Why?”

“Because you’re fun and—admit it or not—you’re a little like me.”

“I’m like you?” DJ really couldn’t believe this. The weird thing was that part of her was hugely insulted and yet another part was flattered.

“Yeah.”

“Care to go into more detail?”

“You like to have fun. You’ve usually got an attitude going on. And you’re pretty.”

DJ wasn’t sure how to respond. “Well, thanks…I guess.”

“And just so you know, I wasn’t trying to steal Bradford. I was just being myself and having a good time. Anything wrong with that?”

DJ shook her head. “I guess not…”

Now Taylor nodded as she put the strap of her Kate Spade bag over her shoulder. “By the way,” she said. “I got a couple of helmets for the Vespa. You and I should take it for a real spin this weekend.”

“Sounds fun,” admitted DJ.

“See ya!” Taylor waved and then walked out of the locker room like she was a rock star. In some ways, DJ supposed that she almost was.

“What just happened?” asked Casey when she returned.

“I’m not even sure.”

“That girl is up to something.”

DJ wondered. Part of her felt certain that Casey was right. But part of her wasn’t so sure. Fortunately, she didn’t need to think about it as they went to volleyball practice. Maybe that was why DJ liked sports so much. Things were almost always what they appeared to be. You played hard. The rules never changed. The best team usually won. And when you were done, you felt good about it. Not too many other things in life seemed to be like that.

“Congratulations, Casey,” she said when they were back in the locker room. She gave her a high five.

“I can’t believe I made the team,” said Casey.

“We probably shouldn’t make a big deal of it right now,” said DJ in a lowered voice. Some girls had been cut today, and it didn’t seem right to celebrate in front of them.

“Thanks for encouraging me to try out,” said Casey. “I think it’s going to be a fun season. And I like Coach Jones.”

DJ literally bit her tongue to keep from saying that Coach Jones seemed to like Casey too. DJ had no intention of becoming like those other mean girls. But Coach Jones had seemed very interested in Casey. She was certainly glad that she’d come out for the team. Hopefully that was all there was to it.