Homecoming Queen (13 page)

“Who’s Haley?” called Casey from the backseat.

“Oh, so you’re still alive after all?” teased DJ.

“Just barely.”

“Haley’s a girl who used to live in town,” began Rhiannon.

“And
she used to be Conner’s girlfriend,” added DJ.

“Oh?” Casey sounded slightly more interested.

“Her family moved back here, and she started back at school yesterday,” said Rhiannon.

“So what does that mean?” asked Casey. “I mean, just because she used to be Conner’s girlfriend doesn’t necessarily mean he’s still into her, right?”

“Absolutely.” Rhiannon nodded her head firmly.

“Has Conner mentioned her to you, DJ?” asked Casey.

“No.” DJ tried to remember their phone conversation last night. It had been kind of subdued, but she thought it was probably her fault since she’d just taken a pain pill before he’d called.

“Oh, yeah,” said Casey. “Before I forget, I mentioned to Coach Jones that you were thinking about swimming, DJ. So she called over to the pool and set it up for you. Now you can swim laps with the swim team.”

“With the swim team?” DJ frowned.

“Not as a member of the team, of course, but she’s going to fix it so that you can have access to the pool when they are there. She said that’ll be a great way for you to get into shape for soccer.”

“Soccer.” DJ sighed. Would she ever really be able to run, jump, or kick again? Right now, especially with her leg and ribs aching with each bump in the road, it seemed like the impossible dream.

12

“HOW’S HALEY?”
DJ was propped up in her bed with her cell phone to her ear. She and Conner had been talking for about half an hour, when DJ sensed their conversation was about to end. But she wasn’t ready to say good-bye. Although she hadn’t meant for her question to sound like an accusation. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she wanted to reel them back.

“How did you hear about Haley?” asked Conner.

“Rhiannon told me about her,” said DJ in what she hoped was a cheerful and natural-sounding tone. “She sounds nice, Conner. I’ll bet you’re glad she’s moved back to town.”

There was a long pause. “Well, yeah. We were pretty good friends.”

DJ made a little laugh. At least that’s what she wanted it to sound like. “Hey, I heard you were more than just friends.”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You can be honest with me, Conner. You must’ve really liked her, right? It’s not like you need to hide anything.”

“Yeah, I liked her. But it was probably a kind of a puppy love thing. You know? I mean, she was the first girl I’d ever had a crush on.”

“Did you kiss her?” Okay, as soon as this was out, DJ wanted to grab it back. Why was she being so nosey? Talk about insecure!

There was another long pause before he finally he said, “Uh-huh.”

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “It’s not like it’s any of my business.”

“That’s okay,” he told her. “It just seems like a really long time ago. And, honestly, DJ, I hardly ever think about her anymore.”

Meaning he used to think about her all the time?

“So, don’t worry about it, okay?” he continued. “And I hope you can meet her. I think you’ll like her. She’s into sports too. And she’s smart and just a lot of fun.”

“Great,” said DJ with absolutely no real enthusiasm. “I can’t wait.”

“So, when are you coming back to school?”

DJ considered this. “Well, I have a two-hour physical therapy appointment tomorrow, so I think I’ll probably be kind of worn out. Maybe I’ll come on Thursday.”

“We have a soccer match on Thursday afternoon, on the home field. Come, if you feel up to it. I hear the weather is supposed to be good.”

“Sounds fun,” she said with genuine enthusiasm. “I’d love to come.”

“Great. But I’d better get to homework now.”

They said good night and hung up. But as she closed her cell phone, DJ had an uncomfortable feeling deep inside. And she felt pretty sure that it was related to Haley Callahan. She knew that it was wrong to hate someone — especially someone you hadn’t even met — but what she felt toward this unknown girl wasn’t exactly Christian love.

“Trouble in paradise?” asked Taylor.

DJ jumped and turned to see Taylor emerging from the bathroom. She hadn’t even known that Taylor was upstairs. The bathroom door had been open, and Taylor usually firmly closed it when she was in there. Had she been listening to the whole conversation?

“What do you mean?” asked DJ.

“I mean
his girlfriend’s back and she’s gonna make you sorry — hey
,
la
,
hey
,
la — his girlfriend’s back.
” It just figured that Taylor knew some stupid old song to go with a time like this. And, naturally, she sang it beautifully too.

DJ threw a pillow at her and scowled.

“Sorry,” said Taylor as she plopped onto her bed. “I should probably have more compassion for the invalid girl.”

“Why are you so mean?” demanded DJ.

Taylor shrugged. “I guess I just can’t help myself.”

DJ leaned back into the pillows and opened her history book, pretending to be reading.

“Have you seen her yet?”

DJ pretended to be so obsessed with the Reconstruction period that she hadn’t heard Taylor.

“She’s in art with me and Rhiannon,” continued Taylor. “It seems like she and Rhiannon are old buddies.”

DJ glanced over the top of the book. Seeing that Taylor was watching her, she turned the page.

“I know you’re not really reading,” said Taylor. “And I also know that you’re dying to know more about this girl.”

DJ slammed the heavy book closed and glared at Taylor. “And it seems that you’re determined to tell me about her.” She folded her arms across her chest and waited.

Taylor just smiled, in her catty sort of way, as she slowly opened a bottle of nail polish and bent over to touch up her toenails.

DJ knew this was a game. She knew Taylor wanted DJ to beg. But DJ just didn’t want to play. So she opened her book again, and this time she actually did begin to focus on what it took to rebuild the United States after the Civil War.

“Fine,” said Taylor as she set the nail polish jar on the bedside table with a clink. “I’ll tell you anyway.”

DJ glanced up with a blank look. “Huh?”

“Haley is kind of a shrimp. Barely over five feet tall, although she wears heels — and actually has pretty good taste in shoes. She’s really petite. I’m guessing she barely weighs 100 pounds soaking wet. She’s got short dark hair and these big brown eyes and a pixie-like nose. Kind of Audrey Hepburn looking.”

Okay, DJ knew that was a high compliment since Taylor really admired Audrey Hepburn. But DJ just shrugged, like no big deal.

“And she’s nice.”

DJ felt her eyebrows lift. “So, what exactly does that mean, Taylor? I mean, coming from you — how do
you
define nice?”

“She’s friendly. And not full of herself or stuck-up or ridiculous.”

DJ nodded. “Okay.”

“Kind of like you.” Taylor gave DJ a smirky smile.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Take it or leave it.” Taylor hopped off her bed and went back into the bathroom. This time she closed the door.

So now, as DJ attempted to refocus her attention on the Reconstruction period, she was stuck with this image of a cute little brunette girl who was Conner’s first crush. And she was “nice.” Just great!

“Hey, you’re doing better,” said Selena as DJ finished a fairly graceful set of stairs during her physical therapy session.

“Thanks.” The truth was DJ was determined to get better. And fast. It was only Wednesday, but with Conner’s ex-girlfriend on the prowl, DJ needed to be able to walk to keep up. In fact, she might even need to run. “Hey, I’ve got a question for you, Selena,” said DJ as she slowly pushed the bench press forward again. It was set at “sissy” weight and yet DJ was sweating and in pain.

“What is it?” asked Selena.

“My volleyball coach has worked it out for me to swim laps with the swim team,” said DJ as she breathlessly let the press come down. “Not competitively, of course. Should I go for it?”

“Of course.” Selena smiled. “That’s great. There’s hardly a better strengthening exercise than swimming.”

“Yeah, but it means I have to put on a swimsuit.”

Selena laughed. “Well, I can tell you probably look pretty great in a swimsuit, DJ. No worries there.”

“So, do you think I should get started on it this week?” asked DJ.

“Sure. Just be careful getting in and out of the pool.” Selena glanced over to one of the exercise stations. “In fact, we should work on how you do that, okay?”

So they worked on it, and DJ realized that it was going to be awkward, not just with her leg, but the ribs made it tricky too. After a while, she sort of got the hang of getting up and down the short ladder without too much pain.

“The main thing is to not reinjure yourself,” said Selena as they finished with some stretches. “And I know you’re eager to get back to normal, but it just takes time.”

DJ nodded, trying to look positive. But mostly she felt discouraged. It was so strange having a body that no longer responded to her brain. She had always been so active — sports and movement had been a huge part of her life. And now she was like an old person. Or, like Taylor enjoyed saying, “the invalid girl.”

“Are you okay?” asked Selena.

DJ blinked. “Oh, yeah. I was probably just feeling sorry for myself.”

“That’s not uncommon.” Selena seemed to be considering something. “But if you want to be cheered up, I know someone who could — ”

“No, no,” said DJ quickly. “I’m fine, really.” It was one thing to undergo physical therapy, but DJ would draw the line at seeing a shrink.

“Okay. But if you change your mind. I have a friend who — ”

“No, thanks. Really, I’m fine.” DJ glanced at the big clock then reached for her crutches. “And I’ll bet my grandmother is here. I should probably get moving.”

Grandmother wasn’t waiting though, and DJ had to sit around for half an hour before she finally showed up. Grandmother offered an apology of sorts, and DJ just nodded and climbed into the car. Mostly she just wanted to get home.

But once she was home, DJ didn’t know what to do with herself. She felt slightly lost in the large, quiet house. As usual, Grandmother took her lunch in her room, and DJ sat by herself at the big dining table. Then she hobbled around the house and finally went upstairs to finish up her schoolwork, which didn’t take that long. She took a short nap, and when she woke up, it wasn’t even three o’clock.

If she were in school, she’d be in PE right now. DJ thought about how she and Taylor usually had a friendly competition in whatever it was they were doing because, despite Taylor’s claims of not liking to get sweaty, she was good at most sports. In fact, it was the Varsity girls’ volleyball team’s loss that Taylor refused to go out for it.

DJ thought about going to the pool this afternoon, but knew that she wasn’t ready to drive yet. Selena had said that she would probably be okay by next week. It helped that DJ’s right leg was fine and that her car was an automatic.

She had to get out of this house. She called Eliza’s number and, to her surprise, Eliza answered.

“Oh? I didn’t think you’d have your phone on,” DJ said quickly. “I was just going to leave a message.”

“That’s okay,” said Eliza quietly. “I was just taking something to the office for Mr. Dewitt. What’s up?”

“I feel like I’m going crazy, stuck in this house.”

“Well, I can’t give you a ride,” said Eliza. “Kriti and I are working on some things for my campaign.”

DJ sighed. “Oh, the big campaign . . .”

“Hey, it may seem like nothing to you, DJ, but I really want this.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“But how about if I ask Rhiannon? Maybe she could run home and give you a ride to the pool. I could even let her use my car. How’s that?”

“Thanks.” DJ brightened. “I really do appreciate it.”

“I’ll tell Rhiannon to call you to confirm it, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And maybe you’ll consider supporting my campaign now?”

DJ laughed. “I’ll think about it.”

“Great. Because you are still quite a celebrity around here.”

DJ sighed as she looked down at her big fat blue walking boot. “Yeah, I feel so totally famous.”

Rhiannon was pleased to borrow Eliza’s little Porsche and pick up DJ. “This car is so hot,” said Rhiannon as she drove, perhaps a little too fast, back across town toward the community pool that the high school used for the swim team.

“You better be careful,” warned DJ. “You don’t want a ticket — or worse yet, a wreck. I mean, look what happened to me.”

“Right, but you leaped in front of an SUV.”

“I’m just saying.”