New York Debut

by Melody Carlson

  “Here you go,” said DJ as she thrust a bottle at her. “This is really good stuff. Taylor made me start using it when I was swimming.”

  Soon they were all in the showers, laughing and joking as they showered and shampooed.

  “You’re not washing your hair, DJ?” asked Casey as she borrowed DJ’s conditioner from Daisy.

  “No. I’m going out with Conner as soon as I’m done here.

  By the way, that means you can drive my car home . . . if you don’t mind.”

  Casey grinned as she rubbed conditioner into her short hair. “No problem as far as — ” Suddenly she stopped and pointed across the shower room. “What the — ?”

  “Huh?” DJ turned to see Daisy bent over and rinsing her hair now — her blue hair! “Daisy Kempton, what is wrong with your hair?” she shouted.

  Daisy stood up straight with a confused expression.

  “What?” But not only was her hair blue, her face and hands were blue too.

  “Look at your hands!” shrieked another girl.

  “What?” Daisy stared at her blue hands, then her eyes grew really huge. “Look at Casey!” she shrieked.

  DJ turned around to see that Casey’s hair, like Daisy’s, was turning blue. Not the exact same shade, more of a purplish blue, but definitely blue. “Rinse your hair!” yelled DJ. “Hurry!”

  Casey looked down at her own hands now and immediately began to rinse off. “What is going on?” she sputtered as she rubbed and rinsed her hair.

  While other girls laughed and teased Casey and Daisy, DJ went over and took her bottle of conditioner off the shower shelf and examined it.

  “It’s not coming off,” screamed Casey as she looked at her blue hands.

  “What did you do to that conditioner?” cried Daisy from across the room where she was standing in front of the steamed-up mirror and staring at her blue image in horror.

  “Hey, maybe you two can join the Blue Man Group,” suggested Tawnee. “Take it to Vegas.”

  Of course, everyone laughed. Everyone except Daisy and Casey. And despite her efforts at self-control, DJ snickered.

  “Did you sabotage us?” demanded Casey as the three of them stood in front of the foggy mirror.

  DJ was still holding the bottle of conditioner. “Of course not!”

  “Well, it’s pretty convenient that you didn’t wash your hair, DJ.” Casey turned and gave DJ a very accusatory look.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that you go and loan both of us your conditioner and we look like this!”

  “You’re the one who asked to use it,” DJ reminded her.

  Now Daisy was actually crying. “I knew something would happen to make my dream end,” she sobbed. “I knew that it couldn’t last.”

  Casey turned to face DJ, holding her blue hair in her blue hands and looking angry. “You better explain what’s going on here!”

  “Hey, you used to like blue hair,” DJ said lightly.

  “Desiree Jeannette Lane!” Casey shook her fist in the air now. “Tell us what is going on!”

  Suddenly DJ remembered something. “Hey, when we came in from the game . . . my lock was open on my locker . . . it was in place, but it was unlocked. I thought I must’ve left it open.”

  “You think someone got into your locker?” asked Casey.

  DJ ran over to her locker and picked up the lock to see if it looked like it had been broken, but it seemed fine. So she closed it shut and it locked just fine too. But when she tried her combination, slowly turning 12 – 22 – 34, it didn’t work.

  She tried it again. “Hey, you guys, this isn’t even my lock!”

  Now Daisy and Casey were over by the lockers, looking at the lock too.

  “You know . . . I saw Tina and Madison out in the hallway by the locker room after school,” said Daisy. “Do you think — ”

  “These locks aren’t hard to break,” said Casey. “I’m sure a crowbar could easily pop one open.”

  DJ held up the conditioner. “And then someone could slip something into my conditioner . . . and put another lock on my locker to keep me from being suspicious.”

  “Maybe so . . .” Casey frowned. “And Madison used to have PE the same period as we did. She might’ve remembered where your locker was.”

  “Still, it’s hard to imagine Madison running around with a crowbar in her purse.”

  “It seems a little farfetched,” agreed Daisy.

  DJ looked at Casey and Daisy and had to control herself from laughing at their wildly colored hair, which was bad enough, but their blue-tinted faces were even worse. “I’m really sorry about this mess, you guys,” she told them. “I mean, if I had any idea that someone had tampered with this . . .” She held up the bottle and shook her head. “I never — ”

  “I know,” said Casey. “This whole thing has Madison and Tina written all over it.”

  “Too bad their fingerprints aren’t on it too,” said DJ.

  “I’m telling Ms. Jones,” proclaimed Daisy as she wrapped her towel more tightly around herself. “Those girls need to be punished.”

  “What kind of dye do you think they used in here?” DJ set the despicable bottle down on the bench and began to get dressed.

  “I don’t know, but my guess is that it’s fairly permanent,” growled Casey. She was flinging on her clothes now. “I refuse to take this lying down. I intend to do something about it!”

  “Ms. Jones wants to talk to all of us,” Daisy informed them.

  So in various stages of dress, they all went to her office and told their versions of the weird story.

  ”It just had to be Madison and Tina,” declared Casey angrily. But when Ms. Jones questioned about how they knew this for certain, no one could really say anything to prove it.

  “Here’s a website with suggestions for how to get rid of dye,” Ms. Jones said as she pointed to her laptop screen. “It says that dye can last up to three days on skin. But there are a few things you can do like exfoliating and using special creams to remove it.” She wrote down the name of the website and handed it to Casey.

  “That’s helpful, but what about Madison and Tina?” demanded Casey. “Shouldn’t they get in trouble for this?”

  “There’s not much you can do unless you have evidence. Do you think anyone witnessed them tampering with DJ’s locker?”

  “I’ll ask around,” said DJ.

  “I’ve taken your statements. Naturally, if I find anything out, I’ll be happy to do something about it. But without evidence . . .” Ms. Jones held up her hands hopelessly. “In the meantime, I’ll hang onto that conditioner and the lock . . . in case we can use it as evidence.”

  DJ handed over the bottle and lock. “This is so wrong.”

  Now Ms. Jones studied DJ. “So, DJ, how did you get off without turning blue too?”

  “DJ has a big date tonight,” said Casey in a snippy tone.

  “She didn’t want to go out with wet hair.”

  “Which reminds me, I better get going.” DJ looked sympathetically at her two blue friends. “Really, you guys, I’m so sorry this happened.” Then DJ hurried to finish dressing and went out to find Conner waiting near the gym. She quickly relayed the incident to him, and he ended up laughing so hard that she wanted to punch him. “It’s not that funny,” she said for the umpteenth time.

  “I know . . . I know . . .” He helped her into the truck. “All that for a fashion show? Man, I just don’t get how girls can be so mean sometimes.”

  She leaned back into the seat and sighed. “When will the madness end?”

  12

  “I NEED TO ASK A FAVOR,” DJ told Conner after they had finished dinner and were leaving the restaurant.

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, I know this was supposed to be a date, but the truth is I had an ulterior motive when I agreed to go out tonight.”

  “Huh?”

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  He chuckled. “Hey, this is st
arting to sound intriguing.”

  So she told Conner that Taylor had called the night before and had told DJ about her surprise arrival. “I thought it would be less suspicious if I appeared to be out with you when we picked her up at the airport.”

  “Taylor’s at the airport?”

  DJ glanced at her watch. “Not yet. But in about half an hour.”

  “Let’s go,” he said as he took her hand and jogged over to his pickup.

  “Why doesn’t she want anyone to know she’s here?” he asked as he drove. “I thought Taylor enjoyed the limelight. You’d think she’d want a big splashy welcome home.”

  “She sort of does.” So DJ explained Taylor’s plan to surprise everyone at tomorrow’s session.

  “Man, it’d be fun to be a fly on the wall there. Girls with blue hair. Madison and Tina planning mean tricks. Taylor fresh out of rehab and ready to dethrone Queen Eliza.”

  DJ started to giggle. “Hey, maybe I tell you too much, Conner. You could probably do some blackmailing if you wanted to earn some cash.”

  “You can trust me.” He laughed. “Still, I gotta hand it to you girls. You seem to have a lot more excitement than us guys.”

  “Excitement at a high price.” Then she reminded him of Rhiannon’s stomachaches, Kriti’s eating disorder, and Taylor’s stint in rehab. “It’s not all fun and games.”

  Conner decided to drop DJ off to find Taylor while he circled the terminal. “Just call me when you’re ready to be picked up.”

  DJ thanked him and hurried inside to the baggage claim area. Taylor had already called to say that her plane had landed and that she was waiting for her bags. DJ felt a little nervous as she pressed through the crowds of people clamoring around the slow-moving conveyor belt. Would Taylor be different? Would she be as excited to see her as DJ was to see her? Just then she spotted Taylor reaching for a bag. Without even thinking, DJ broke into a run, straight for Taylor.

  “Welcome home!” DJ shouted as she threw her arms around her. Taylor hugged her too, but when she stepped back, DJ could tell something was different. Something had changed.

  “Thanks. It’s good to see you.”

  “Here, I’ll take that,” offered DJ. “You get your other bags.”

  “Thanks.”

  DJ studied Taylor as she went over to snag another bag. She was still as strikingly beautiful as ever — maybe even more so. But something had changed. Taylor turned and smiled as she held up her bag and pointed to another one slowly making its way around. DJ sensed there was a new softness in Taylor’s features or maybe it was her expression . . . almost like a vulnerability. And, although DJ was happy that Taylor had changed, it still made her uneasy. Because she knew there were reasons that someone like Taylor still needed to be tough — it was like a cloak of protection that she wore against girls like Eliza or Madison or Tina.

  DJ phoned Conner, and before long they were piling Taylor’s bags into the back of his pickup. “Welcome back,” he told Taylor as he opened the passenger door for the two girls.

  “Thanks,” said Taylor as DJ climbed in and slid to the middle. “It’s good to be back.”

  “Back on the outside,” teased DJ.

  “Yes, free at last . . . free at last.” She kind of laughed. “Actually it wasn’t that bad. I know I needed it.”

  “And you’re really ready to be out?” asked DJ.

  “As ready as I can be. And, hey, if I mess up, they told me that I’m welcome back anytime.”

  DJ frowned. “But you’re not planning on messing up, are you?”

  “No . . . of course not.”

  As Conner drove them away from the terminal, DJ told Taylor about the latest developments at Carter House, filling her in on Project Daisy, Madison and Tina hoping to be picked to go to New York, Eliza acting like the Carter House queen, and finally about the two blue girls.

  Taylor laughed loudly, and for a moment DJ thought it was the old Taylor again. “That’s too bad,” she said quietly. “I wonder how you get rid of something like that.”

  “Ms. Jones was giving them some tips from a website.”

  “I can’t wait to see everyone,” said Taylor. “It feels like it’s been so long.”

  “And tomorrow you make your big surprise entrance?” asked Conner.

  “I told Conner he had to keep this under his hat,” DJ said quickly. “Although I don’t know why you’re being so secretive, since everyone will know you’re back by tomorrow anyway.”

  “Oh, I just thought it would be fun to be dramatic.” Taylor sighed. “You know me, I like catching people off guard.”

  “That’s sure true,” said Conner.

  “I mean, I know I’ve changed,” admitted Taylor. “But not completely.”

  “I hope not,” said DJ. “I liked you before.”

  “Even when I was being rude or drunk or — ”

  “Okay, I didn’t like everything about you.”

  “Me either.” Taylor sighed again.

  “Are you tired?” asked DJ.

  “It’s been a long day.”

  “So how are you going to sneak into Carter House unseen?” asked Conner as they drove through town.

  “I’m not staying there tonight.”

  “Did you get a hotel?”

  “Even better,” Taylor told them. “I got a room at the bed-and-breakfast right down the street from Carter House. I’ll just walk on over.”

  “Very cool,” said DJ. “The session starts at nine o’clock sharp. We meet on the third floor where Grandmother has a full-size catwalk to practice on.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I can’t wait to see their faces when you show up,” said DJ. “Particularly Eliza’s. I think she’s certain that you’re history and that she’s running the show.” DJ almost mentioned how Eliza was feeling pretty comfortable, acting like she was special because she was the only girl with a “private room.” But then DJ realized she’d have to disclose that Taylor’s things were in there now. And she wasn’t sure if Taylor would be happy to hear that bit of news. It could wait until later.

  “I had time to do a little shopping in Beverly Hills yesterday,” said Taylor as they unloaded her bags in the dark drive in front of the B&B. “I’ve got a killer outfit that Eliza will be drooling over tomorrow.”

  “Good for you!”

  This time Taylor hugged DJ first. “It’s so great to see you again, DJ. Thanks . . . you know, for everything.”

  DJ nodded and smiled. “Thanks for coming back. You have no idea how much I missed you.”

  “I sort of know.” Now Taylor got her old impish grin. “But let’s not get carried away, sweetie. Conner might get jealous.”

  He laughed, and then they all said good-night.

  “Hey, thanks for letting me play a part in this little drama,” said Conner as he helped DJ back into the pickup.

  “Thank you.”

  “Taylor seems different, doesn’t she?” He drove the short distance down the street to Carter House, then parked in front.

  “You noticed it too?”

  “Sure.” Conner helped her out of the truck now.

  “I just hope she hasn’t changed completely.” DJ felt his hand grasp hers as he walked her up to the front porch. “I mean, some changes are good — like I really hope she never drinks again.”

  “I think you’ve been a good influence on Taylor.”

  DJ laughed quietly. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Well, I do.” Conner smiled and leaned down to kiss her, but then he simply kissed her forehead, which was rather nice. “And you’re a good influence on me too!”

  DJ wondered about that as she slipped into the quiet house. She’d like to think that she’d been a good influence on someone or something, but mostly she wasn’t too sure. It was hard enough trying to figure out her own life, without trying to figure out how to influence others. But at least she could pray. So she tiptoed to the library and sat down and prayed, one by one, for everyone in th
e house. And then she prayed for Taylor, asking God to help Taylor and give her what it would take to stick to her recovery program.

  13

  “WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO YOU?” demanded Grandmother when Casey showed up at the breakfast table looking slightly blue around the edges. Rhiannon had helped Casey with a special ointment and some exfoliating cream that they’d begged from Eliza, and although the blueness had faded considerably, it was still obvious that something was wrong.

  “Someone sabotaged me,” declared Casey in an angry tone.

  “That’s right,” said DJ quickly. “Someone put blue dye in my hair conditioner, and both Casey and Daisy used it.”

  Grandmother peered at DJ now. “But you didn’t?”

  DJ just shook her head.

  “We think we know who did it and we — ”

  “Never mind about that,” said Grandmother sharply. “How do you think you’ll look by next Thursday when we go to New York?”

  “I already made a hair appointment for both Casey and Daisy,” said Eliza. “Rena assured me that she can fix their hair color.”

  “And their skin?” Grandmother directed this to Eliza as if she was expected to have all the answers.

  “It’s supposed to be normal in about three days,” DJ told her.

  “It already looks much better than it did last night,” added Rhiannon.

  “And we can always use extra makeup,” pointed out Eliza.

  Grandmother sighed in exasperation. “Well, I had planned to make an important announcement regarding Fashion Week.

  Now I’m not so sure.”

  “Oh, Mrs. Carter,” Eliza gushed sweetly. “Now, don’t you go and let Casey’s little incident get you down. Everything is going to be just peachy. I’m sure both Casey and Daisy will look perfectly gorgeous by Thursday.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Grandmother seemed somewhat placated. Looking around the table, she actually smiled.

  “I wanted all of my Carter House girls to hear it first.”

  DJ couldn’t help but glance over to where Taylor used to sit — the place where she’d be sitting again before the day was over. It took all of DJ’s self-control not to grin with happiness over this secret. Instead, she turned her full attention to her grandmother. As had been the case the previous Saturdays, Grandmother was dressed elegantly this morning.