Stealing Bradford

“Totally hot,” said another guy.

Taylor’s eyes filled with tears again and then without saying another word, she turned and ran from the room. DJ considered going after her, but wasn’t sure what she could say or do to make this any less painful.

“So Taylor gets to find out how it feels to be hurt for a change,” said Eliza smugly.

“Did you have this done?” demanded DJ, suddenly suspicious.

“No.” Eliza sighed. “Like I already said, this is way below me. I would never stoop to something as nasty and creepy as this.”

“Well, I honestly don’t believe that’s Taylor’s site.”

“No, of course not.”

“Who did it then?”

“Rhiannon would be suspect,” said Eliza. “Except that I’m pretty sure she’s next in line for sainthood.”

“Rhiannon would never do something like that.”

“Unless she has another side.” Eliza smiled. “Some religious people are like that. They act all holy and good, and then when no one is looking they—”

“Shut up,” said DJ.

“Well.” Eliza looked truly offended now.

“Sorry,” said DJ. “But Rhiannon is not like that.”

Eliza shrugged. “People are full of surprises, DJ. The sooner you figure that out, the smarter you’ll be.”

“Whatever.” DJ pulled out their assignment sheet and tried to act like she was researching—anything to keep her mind off the nasty business with Taylor. Who had done it? An enemy from California? And how did Conner find out about it? Furthermore, and perhaps more worrisome, did he look at those photos too? What was wrong with people? DJ wondered as she scanned the image of an old newspaper. Why would someone go to such lengths to hurt someone else?

17

TAYLOR WASN’T ANY WHERE TO be seen at lunchtime. Not that DJ blamed her. She couldn’t even imagine how she would react if something like this had happened to her. Naturally, it was the hot topic at their table.

“Were those photos really of her?” asked Bradford with a seriously freaked expression.

“We wanted to ask you the same thing,” teased Harry. “You’ve probably seen more of Taylor than anyone here.”

“Shut up,” said Bradford.

“Where’s Rhiannon anyway?” asked Kriti. “I haven’t seen her since this morning.”

“Do you think Rhiannon could have done this?” asked Harry.

“No way,” said DJ.

“Absolutely not,” added Bradford. “Rhiannon is not that kind of a girl.”

“I’d have to agree,” said Conner. “That is totally out of character for her.”

“Who then?” asked Bradford, glancing around the table with suspicion.

DJ noticed that Casey was being unusually quiet during lunch. And she couldn’t help but remember how Casey had been extra protective of Rhiannon lately, almost acting as if Taylor had offended her as much as she had hurt Rhiannon.

“How did everyone find out about the website?” asked DJ.

“Good question,” said Eliza. “I found out from you, DJ.”

“And I got the address from Conner.”

“Harry showed me the site in chem class,” said Conner.

“I saw it there too,” admitted Kriti with a severe frown. “Not that I wanted to see it. But the whole class was looking while Mr. Skinner was out.”

“How did you find out about it, Harry?” demanded Eliza.

“The same way most of the guys in school found it,” he said. “In the restroom. Someone taped a poster on the wall.”

“A poster?” DJ tried to imagine this.

“Not a poster-poster. It was just a piece of white paper with a photo of Taylor, obviously taken from the website. Then at the bottom were these tear-off pieces for the address so that it would be easy to find online. It reminded me of those posters you see on bulletin boards, like someone selling a car or looking for a roommate.

“This person is slick,” said Eliza.

“You mean sick,” said DJ.

They continued to kick it around and speculate, but no conclusions were made. And no accusations either, although DJ was getting more and more suspicious of Casey.

“How do we get it shut down?” asked DJ as they started to leave.

“Why bother?” asked Harry. “I’m sure the whole school has seen it by now anyway.”

“Because it’s wrong,” said DJ.

“It is wrong,” added Kriti. “Not to mention cruel.”

“That’s right.”

“But it’s not really your problem,” said Casey, probably the first thing she’d said during the lunch hour.

“Not my problem?” demanded DJ. “Taylor happens to be my roommate. I’d say that it’s a little bit my problem.”

“Has she been coming onto you?” teased Harry.

“No,” said DJ, now flustered. “But she’s hurting.”

“Yeah, right,” said Casey. “That girl has a heart of stone.”

“She was crying today,” said DJ, “when she saw the photos.”

“Really?” Kriti actually sounded concerned now.

“She was,” admitted Eliza. “It surprised me too.”

“Well, maybe it’s about time she got some of her own medicine,” said Casey.

“I can’t believe you, Casey,” said DJ. “I’d think you’d know how it feels to be hurt like that. I’d think you’d have a little more empathy.”

Casey shrugged. “You know what Eliza said—what goes around comes around.”