Homecoming Queen

by Melody Carlson

  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.”

  Rhiannon hopped out and got DJ’s crutches for her, helping her to put on her backpack, which contained DJ’s towel and swimsuit.

  “What time should I pick you up?”

  DJ considered this. “Like an hour, do you think?”

  “Sounds good to me. How about 4:30 then?”

  “Great.”

  “Call me if you need me sooner.” Rhiannon frowned. “Or I can stick around if you want. Although Eliza did coerce me into helping them with their little sign-making project.”

&n
bsp; “No, I’m fine.” DJ smiled. “You go help our dear Eliza.”

  “Even if it makes Taylor mad?”

  DJ shrugged. “Do what you think is right.”

  “Be careful,” called Rhiannon as DJ made her way up the cement steps that led to the pool’s entrance. DJ just nodded, focusing her attention on each step. The whole crutches thing would probably have been a lot easier without her ribs to contend with. As it was, DJ felt seriously challenged. But finally she was in the dressing room. Fortunately, it appeared that the swim team girls had already been there and, judging by the noise, were just getting ready for their practice.

  DJ went into one of the few dressing rooms, something she wouldn’t have done before the accident. But she knew that getting dressed and undressed wasn’t exactly easy anymore. And she didn’t want anyone to see her struggling. It took about ten minutes, but finally she had her old one-piece suit pulled on. Now she felt seriously tired and wondered if she even wanted to swim. But she’d gotten this far, and she wasn’t ready to give up.

  She got her crutches into place and realized that she needed to be extremely careful on the wet surfaces. Not only would a fall be embarrassing, it would seriously hurt. So, feeling like she was about 100 years old, she very slowly and cautiously made it out to the edge of the pool — near what appeared to be an unused lane. The swim team swimmers looked like predatory sharks as they chopped and splashed through the other lanes. She hoped they were too busy to notice “the handicapped girl” — since DJ felt she was moving at the speed of an unmotivated slug as she made her way across the deck.

  “Need any help there?” asked a lifeguard seated on the lookout chair.

  “I’m okay.” She glanced up nervously, curious as to whether she knew this guy or not. He was good-looking, but not familiar. “But can I leave my crutches here by the side of the pool?”

  “I better stick them out of the way.” He hopped down and waited as she worked her way closer to the edge. “Just yell when you need ’em.”

  “This is the first time I’ve done this,” she said as she handed him the crutches and reached for the top of the pool ladder to balance herself.

  “Hey, you’re the girl who saved Coach Jones’s son, aren’t you?”

  She smiled at him and nodded.

  “Well, nice to meet you. How’s your leg doing?”

  She grimaced. “At the moment it’s hurting.” She touched her ribcage, now free from the usually constrictive, but supportive brace. “And so are my ribs. Man, I hope I can do this without drowning.”

  “I’ll keep my eye on you,” he promised.

  DJ slowly lowered herself to a seated position. Everything ached.

  “Just take it easy,” he said, bending down in a reassuring way. He had short brown hair, slightly bleached by sun and chlorine, and clear blue eyes. In a way he reminded her of Conner, except he was probably even better looking. Not that she’d admit that to anyone. Or perhaps it was simply that he was being so kind to her.

  “Looking good,” he said as she held onto the ladder and slowly eased herself down into the water.

  She took in a sharp breath, partly from the cold water and partly from the pain.

  “You okay?” he asked, his face down low and close to hers.

  She nodded. “Just kind of aching.”

  “Kind of like you got run over by a truck?” His blue eyes twinkled.

  “Kind of like that.”

  He gently patted her on the head. “Just go easy, DJ.”

  She nodded, trying to acclimate to the water temperature. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

  “Caleb Bennett.” He grinned. “At your service.”

  “Thanks.” She pushed off and carefully began treading water. The motion on her left leg was pretty painful, so she mostly used her right one. “Hopefully I won’t need rescuing.”

  “Well, if you do, I’m your man.” He winked and stood, and DJ slowly took off in a somewhat lame sidestroke. Now if she could only make it to the other side of the pool without assistance.

  13

  “WAY TO GO, HALEY!” yelled the swim team coach from the other side of the pool. He’d been yelling a lot, but this time he got DJ’s attention. It was her third lap, really one and a half laps since you had to go back and forth to equal one full lap. But when you’re in pain you count things differently. Still, she thought he had said “Haley,” and DJ wondered if that could possibly be Conner’s Haley. Okay, she wasn’t Conner’s Haley anymore.

  At least DJ hoped not.

  She looked over to where the swim coach was showing a petite dark-haired girl a chart and holding out a stopwatch for her to see. The pretty girl simply nodded and smiled. She then took her position on a starter box, dove perfectly back into the pool, and effortlessly cut through the water. Even though DJ was halfway across the pool, this girl easily caught her, passed her, turned, and passed her again. Almost in the same place. Of course, this girl didn’t even glance in DJ’s direction. Why should she? And yet DJ felt she couldn’t take her eyes off the girl. That had to be Haley Callahan.

  After a while, Haley made her way to the diving pool where diving practice was just beginning. DJ was at the far edge of her lap lane by now, clinging to the side and watching as Haley scaled the high-dive ladder then, barely pausing to compose herself, performed a stunning backward-flip-with-a-twist kind of dive, slicing through the water with barely a splash. When she surfaced, her teammates were all clapping and cheering.

  “This is so unfair,” yelled a gangly redheaded girl. “Haley Callahan’s first day at practice and she makes the rest of us look like total losers.”

  “Hey, just be glad she got here before the season ended,” said a guy. “We might actually have a chance at the finals now.”

  DJ turned and swam very slowly back to the other side of the pool. She’d seen enough. And she’d swam enough. She felt tired and sore.

  She was slowly working her way up the ladder when she noticed that Caleb was standing above her with her crutches in hand. Then he actually stretched out his forearm toward her. “Want to grab on?”

  She gratefully grasped his arm with both hands, and he easily lifted her as she hopped on her good leg, up the ladder and out of the water.

  “Thanks,” she gasped as he helped her with her crutches. “I’m not even sure I could’ve done that without you.”

  “Well, you’re doing great for your first time, DJ. Just be careful on the wet deck.” Then he actually walked her to the dressing room door.

  “Thanks, Caleb.”

  “You take it easy, okay?”

  “Okay.” She paused to catch her breath.

  “And maybe I’ll be seeing you around this place. I work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday — from three until closing.”

  She wondered if this was some kind of a hint. “Do you go to our school? I mean CCHS?”

  He chuckled. “Well, I used to. I graduated a couple years ago. I’m in college now. I’m trying to save up enough money to transfer to Yale by next spring.”

  “Yale?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “It’s impressive to me.”

  “It’ll be more impressive once I’m actually there.” Then he grinned. “But it was fun being accepted.”

  She nodded. “Well, thanks again for the help.” Then she slowly made her way to the showers. The warm water felt good, and she took her time soaping up; finally, since no one else was around and she could balance herself on the shower handles, she managed to peel off her wet suit and rinse it out. Then she tied it around one of her crutches, and feeling rather proud of this achievement, she shampooed her hair and was just getting her crutches in place when the sounds of girls’ voices began coming into the locker room. Okay, she told herself, this is no big deal. She’d been involved in sports for ages, and girls seeing girls naked was no big deal. Except that her body was still black and blue with bruises and her incision was kind of purplish
and she could barely move.

  Still, she knew she couldn’t hurry. But as the girls came into the shower area, their voices grew instantly quiet. Although her back was to them as she was hobbling toward the dressing area, she knew they were staring at her. Perhaps even pointing, nodding, and trying not to laugh.

  “That’s DJ Lane,” said one of them, “the girl who rescued Coach Jones’s little boy.”

  “Hey everyone,” DJ said, still moving slowly. “I just came for some physical therapy.” Just then her swimsuit slipped off her crutch, but before she could pick it up, someone else did.

  “Here you go,” said the petite dark-haired girl, tying it around the crutch again. “I’m Haley Callahan.”

  DJ nodded, feeling totally embarrassed now. Good grief — could it be she was standing here totally naked, bruised up and on crutches, meeting Conner’s old girlfriend? Could it possibly get worse? “Thanks. I’m DJ.”

  “Everyone knows who you are,” called out another girl.

  “And we think what you did was very cool,” said someone else.

  “Thanks.” DJ sighed and slowly began moving back toward the dressing room. Okay, it wasn’t that bad. But not something she particularly cared to endure again.

  “Yell if you need any help,” said Haley.

  “Thanks.” But even as she said this, DJ knew that she wouldn’t. She made her way back to the dressing room where her things were still on the bench. She hadn’t even thought of using a locker. Oh, well, fortunately they were still there.

  Of course, it took her even longer this time. First she had to dry off. Then she had to get on her rib brace, and it kept sticking to her damp skin. Finally she had herself mostly back together, except for her backpack. Not only was it too tight in the tiny cubicle, but her coordination was being challenged by pain and exhaustion.

  Using a crutch to slide open the curtain, she hobbled out, pushing the backpack in front of her. Maybe she’d just leave it and see if Rhiannon could get it for her.

  “Looks like you need some help,” said Haley. She was completely dressed now, her hair was dry and in place, and she even had on a little bit of makeup. In fact, she looked just about perfect.