Stealing Bradford

DJ focused her attention on driving now. Not that she wasn’t a good driver, but knowing this was actually her car made her want to be extra careful. “It really is a nice car,” she said. “Thanks for helping to talk my grandmother into it.”

“Sure.”

“Was it true? What you said about safety and everything?”

“You think I’d make something like that up?”

DJ considered this. “Maybe…”

Taylor laughed. “You really do think I’m evil, don’t you?”

DJ didn’t answer that.

“For your information, it was true. My parents were going to force a Honda Civic on me, while all my other friends were driving cool cars.”

“Cool cars?” DJ wondered if this meant her car was an uncool car.

“You know, like Lexus, Audi, or even Eliza’s Porsche. And I told my mom that I’d settle for an Eclipse Spyder, which is like half the price of a Porsche, but pretty cool-looking just the same. Well, she checked out the safety ratings and said, ‘forget it.’”

“Oh.”

“But this car is okay for you.”

DJ nodded. She knew that was probably a slam. It felt like a slam. Still, she felt determined not to let Taylor spoil this. DJ had her very own car. Her first set of wheels. Woo-hoo!

After they got home, DJ showed her car to Casey and Rhiannon, both of whom seemed impressed. Then she offered to take them for a ride.

“No thanks,” said Rhiannon.

“Come on,” urged DJ. “We’ll open the sunroof and—”

“I’m working on a project,” said Rhiannon. “You guys go ahead and go. I’ll take a ride some other time.”

So DJ took Casey out and—although the clouds were still gathering—opened the sunroof, and the cool air whooshed through the car.

“Wow,” said Casey, “This is so cool. We won’t need to rely on your grandmother now. And no more walking home after volleyball.”

“So, how’s Rhiannon doing?” asked DJ as she slowed down to drive through town.

“She’s pretty bummed, although she tries to act like she’s not.”

“I wish there was some way to cheer her up or fix this.”

“After Eliza’s failed attempt, I think we should all just back off.”

“Yeah, I know. What a mess.”

“I just wish there was a way to get back at Taylor.”

DJ remembered what Taylor had said last night. “You know, it’s not really fair to blame Taylor for the whole thing. I mean, Bradford is involved too. No one forced him to get involved with Taylor.”

“Yeah, right. Taylor, the witch, probably put a spell on him.”

“Come on,” urged DJ. “Bradford is a big boy. He knew what he was doing.”

“Wait a minute,” said Casey suddenly. “What’s up with you anyway, DJ? Have you gone over to the dark side?”

“No, of course, not. But I just think there are two sides to everything.”

“How about when Taylor was going after Conner,” Casey reminded her. “Did you see two sides then?”

“Maybe not…”

“And Rhiannon and Bradford had been together a long time.”

“Well, to be fair, they’d been friends. It had only started to get serious just recently.”

“Still, it was wrong. Taylor is selfish and evil and just plain mean.”

“I’m not saying that Taylor was right. I’m just saying that maybe we all need to ease up…move on, you know?”

“You have gone over to the dark side.” Casey scowled. “Taylor’s already got you in her back pocket, doesn’t she?”

“No, she does not.”

“Why did she go with you to get this car?”

“Because my grandmother invited her.” DJ turned back toward the house now. If Casey wanted to argue, their little joy ride was about to end.

“But you could’ve said no. You could’ve refused.”

“Have you met my grandmother?”

“You just wimped out.”

“Fine, whatever. But for your information, Taylor was actually quite helpful with getting this car. Mrs. Carter had her eye on a Cadillac.”

“Eew.”

“Exactly. Taylor pointed out that a Honda Civic was a safe choice for teen drivers. She totally convinced her that it was the best car, and my grandmother believed her.”

“Was it a big lie?” asked Casey as DJ pulled in front of Carter House.

“I don’t think so.”

“But it might’ve been. For all you know you’re driving around in a death trap.”

“I doubt that.”

“But you don’t know, and your problem is that you’re buying into her, DJ. You are starting to trust Taylor, and that scares me!” Then Casey opened the door, hopped out, and ran into the house.

DJ leaned her head against the steering wheel and wondered how she could possibly survive the entire school year with all these girls who always seemed to be at odds with each other. Then she sat back up and smiled. Well, at least she had this little getaway car. Now, that was something!

15

THE WEEKEND PASSED QUIETLY, uneventfully even, an interesting contrast to their first week at school. DJ thought it was because, like her, they were all tired or, as in Rhiannon’s case, emotionally worn out. On Saturday afternoon, DJ and Eliza had gone to the varsity soccer match, cheering Harry and Conner on even when it started to rain. They stayed until they were soaking wet and chilled to the bone, then they waved to the guys and headed home to get warm.