“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.

Taylor went out with Bradford on Saturday night. But DJ was probably the only one aware of this. That was something. At least Taylor didn’t announce to everyone that they were going out. DJ also knew that Taylor was late for curfew, but apparently no one else noticed. She didn’t know what time it was when Taylor finally got in, but at least she was in her bed the next morning.

On Sunday, DJ drove Rhiannon to church and sat through the service with her. But she wasn’t sure what she thought of it. Some of the things the pastor said didn’t quite make sense. But then there was a lot about being a Christian that didn’t make sense. Like Rhiannon kept reassuring her, faith was a process. She’d have to figure it out as she went. The good thing was that DJ was still praying. And she’d been trying to read her Bible too. But it vexed her to know that Taylor knew the Bible better than she did. It made absolutely no sense. Still, DJ promised herself that the time would come when she would know it better—more than that—she would learn how to live it. She doubted that Taylor would ever figure that out.

DJ was just finishing up her assigned reading for English lit when her cell phone rang. It was Conner.

“Hey, thanks for coming to the game,” he said. “Did you guys get warmed up?”

“Pretty much.”

“Harry and I were totally beat afterward. We discussed asking you girls to a movie, but we were too wiped.”

“Who won?”

“They did.”

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t a very fun day.”

“Hey, you haven’t even seen my new car yet,” she said suddenly.

“That’s right. Why don’t you come by and take me for a ride?”

“Okay.” She was already standing up.

“Maybe we can get a bite somewhere,” Conner suggested.

“Hammerhead’s?”

“Sounds good.” So she picked him up and took him for a little spin, and he gave her two thumbs-up on her choice of vehicles.

“It’s kind of weird, but Taylor actually helped to pick it out.”

He suddenly grabbed the dashboard and looked around the car as if he thought it was going to fall apart. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with it?” he teased. “No time bomb planted in the glove box?” He opened it, looked under the paperwork, and then closed it again.

“Yeah, yeah.” She just shook her head. “Casey was the same way. I guess I should just keep it quiet that Taylor was involved.”

“No, someone should know…in case we need to press charges against her if you are suddenly injured in a freak car wreck.”

“Whatever.”

“Sorry.” Conner got more serious. “It’s not like you’re starting to like her, are you?”

“Of course, not. I can’t stand her. But I don’t think everyone has to be so hard on her. She’s not the only one to blame. Like she’s pointed out, Bradford is a big boy. He makes his own choices. No one forced him to go with her.”