“Yeah, right,” said Casey in a gruff voice. “Thanks, DJ.”
“Get a load of the lesbians,” said a slightly familiar girl’s voice. DJ looked over to see Tina pointing at them now. “Why don’t you two dykes get a room?” she teased, making Madison and several others laugh.
“Why don’t you get a life?” DJ tossed back in anger. As Casey slipped off, DJ noticed that some of her friends, including Conner, were also in the crowd of onlookers. Well, it just figured. Still, DJ held her head high as she turned and walked away. What difference did it really make what they thought of her anyway? Why should she even care?
Her next class was drama, which seemed appropriate, although she wondered why she’d taken it—probably because it sounded easy. Now, despite the ravenous growling in her stomach, she kept walking toward the auditorium where the drama class was supposed to meet. Too bad she hadn’t had the sense to take her cheeseburger with her when she’d made her hasty exit from the cafeteria.
“Hey, wait,” called a voice from behind her. She turned to see Rhiannon jogging to catch her.
“What’s up?” asked DJ as they walked together.
“That’s what I was wondering,” said Rhiannon. “How’s it going?”
“You mean you didn’t witness that last little episode?”
“In the cafeteria?”
“No, I’ve managed to embarrass myself twice in one day.”
“I actually meant how’s it going on the inside?” clarified Rhiannon.
“You mean the God thing?” DJ shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
“I mean you, DJ, how are you doing?”
“I’ve had better days.”
“Sorry.”
“But then I suppose I’ve had worse ones too.” She forced a smile for Rhiannon’s sake. “So, you didn’t catch that little scene with Casey and me in the courtyard just now?”
“No, what happened?”
So DJ gave her the condensed version. “I probably would’ve been more cautious if I’d known I had an audience.” She shook her head. “But then again, maybe that was for the best. Maybe it helps Casey to see that I really do care about her…no matter who’s looking.”
“That’s totally cool that you connected with her like that, DJ. Casey really needs to be loved.”
Then DJ told her about Casey’s near-mugging incident.
“Wow, you’re having a busy day.”
DJ kind of laughed. “Yeah, if the first day is any indicator of how my year’s going to go, maybe I should quit while I’m ahead.”
Rhiannon pulled an apple out of her bag and handed it to her. “I noticed you didn’t eat your lunch. Want this?”
“Thanks.” DJ took a bite of the apple. “Are you going to drama?”
“Yeah. You too?”
DJ nodded as she munched. “I hope it’s not a mistake.”
“No way,” said Rhiannon. “Drama is cool. And Mr. Harper is a fantastic teacher. He’s funny and smart and really good looking too. You’ll be glad you’re taking it. Eliza and Taylor are in the class too.”
“Really?” DJ felt disappointment sink in. Eliza was okay, but she’d had enough of Taylor for one day.
“Yeah, we were just comparing schedules at lunch.”
“It figures.” said DJ.
“Taylor?”
“I think she’s seriously got it out for me.” DJ sighed. “And if it’s about Conner, I don’t see why she doesn’t just give it a break. It’s plain to see he’s not interested in me. For all I care, she can have him.”
“I don’t think he’s interested in Taylor either.”
“Whatever.”
“I just think she’s one of those girls who always wants what someone else has. If it makes you feel better, she’s even been flirting with Bradford.”
“With Bradford?” DJ stopped walking and turned to stare at Rhiannon. “Are you serious?”
“Oh, yeah…even Bradford noticed it. She was all over him during art this morning. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to find out he’s got drama with us as well.”
“Sheesh, why doesn’t she just try to get all the guys? Maybe she’s going after Harry too.”
Rhiannon laughed. “I think Taylor is a little more cautious when it comes to Eliza’s territory.”
“And just why is that?” demanded DJ.
“I think she’s afraid of Eliza.”
“Afraid? Of Eliza?” DJ frowned. “That just does not compute.”
“It does on some levels,” said Rhiannon.
DJ still didn’t get it. Eliza might have her faults, but for the most part she was pretty nice. Why would anyone be afraid of her? Especially someone like Taylor. It made no sense. But then, DJ figured, she had a lot to learn about a lot of things. She took a last bite of the apple and tossed it into the trash can by the door to the auditorium.
Rhiannon’s take on Mr. Harper was pretty accurate. DJ decided she liked him and that he was funny. Maybe drama wouldn’t be too bad after all. Plus he had this easygoing way of making kids feel comfortable. And before class was over, he had several of them up on the stage in a sort of spontaneous audition. Not DJ, of course. She wasn’t ready to humiliate herself in public again. Twice in one day was plenty. But both Taylor and Eliza willingly complied, winning instant approval from both Mr. Harper and the class. And, although DJ would never admit it to anyone, Taylor was an excellent actress—just the way she took center stage with complete confidence, standing tall as she recited the lines in a totally natural-sounding way, tossing in a little tilt of her chin or a hand movement at just the right moment, like she’d been doing this kind of thing all her life. Was there anything that girl could not do? Well, other than being nice—that did not seem to come naturally to her. Even Bradford did a mini audition, and to everyone’s surprise he stole the show. The whole class erupted in loud applause.
“This is going to be a fun class,” said Eliza as they sat in the auditorium seats and waited for the next “audition.”
“It seems like it,” said DJ. She wanted to add, “especially if Taylor continues to keep her distance from me.” At the moment, Taylor was still on the stage, standing off to the side, right next to Mr. Harper. She was probably schmoozing and setting herself up for the lead in the next production, which was aggravating, but way better than hooking her claws into DJ again.
“So, what exactly is up between you and Conner?” Eliza asked quietly.
“Nothing.” DJ slumped down in her chair, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.
“I thought you liked him.”
“I did.”
“And he obviously liked you.”
“It seemed like it.” DJ watched as Taylor actually seemed to flirt with Mr. Harper. What was up with this girl anyway?
“So, what happened? Did you guys have a fight?”
“I don’t know what happened.”
“Maybe I should ask Harry what’s up. He and Conner probably talk about this kind of thing.”
“No,” said DJ firmly. “Please, don’t, Eliza. Let’s just let it go, okay? I don’t think Conner and I were meant to be.” But even as she said this, she felt sad and slightly defeated.
“Okay.”
The afternoon progressed. DJ was relieved when it was time for her final and favorite class. She grabbed her gym bag from her locker and hurried down to the gymnasium complex. She knew from her schedule that she had Mrs. Pandretti for PE this year, and this was a great improvement from Ms. Jones from last spring. Some of the big-mouths, like Tina and Madison, had insinuated that Ms. Jones was a lesbian. Maybe it was true or maybe it was just mean, but it had made DJ feel uncomfortable when Ms. Jones gave her extra attention or compliments for her skills on both the soccer and softball field. It had also resulted in more teasing and being called “Jonesie’s girlfriend.” It would be a relief not to be subjected to that again.