“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.”