Stealing Bradford

“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.”