Moonstone (7 page)

Kelsey shook her head. “You don’t have to tell me. But I want one ticket for anything else.”

“Oh, I get it.” The woman smiled. “In that case, action adventure or comedy?”

Kelsey sighed. “I don’t care. I want a bucket of popcorn and no one to talk to me for the next two hours.”

This time the woman chuckled. She typed something into her keyboard and handed a ticket to Kelsey. “You’ll have to pay for the popcorn, but the ticket’s on me. Enjoy your show.”

“Thank you.” And other days, Kelsey thought, only Raceda was home. She took the ticket without even a glance at the name of the movie and headed inside for popcorn.

* * *

Tamara pointed across the hall. “She walks around like she’s some genius. Too smart to waste her time at Raceda High, you know?”

Kelsey looked up to see who Tamara was pointing at. Joy Henderson. She was setting a book in her locker. “Maybe she is,” Kelsey countered. She pulled out her math book and searched for her calculator.

“Then why’s she still here?”

“Probably because she’s stuck in Raceda like the rest of us.”

Joy’s binder fell out of her locker and clanged on the tile floor. She reached to pick it up and Tamara rolled her eyes. “I heard she’s going to be our valedictorian. You know what that means, right? We’ll have to listen to her give some dumb speech at graduation. I bet she does nothing but go home and study every day.”

“She’s been on swim team with us for the past three years. Haven’t you noticed her?”

“Well, yeah, but she never talks. It’s like she’s not even there.” Tamara said. “Who wants to hear the most boring person in school give a speech?”

“If you don’t want to hear her, don’t go to graduation.”

Tamara scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue. She reached past Kelsey and pulled a pack of gum out of the locker. “Can I have a piece?”

Kelsey nodded. The calculator had been hiding under the gum. She tossed it in her backpack.

“All I’m saying is it’s stupid having a valedictorian give the speech.” Tamara chomped on the gum. “We should be able to vote for who gives the speech.”

“She probably doesn’t want to give the speech. She probably hates this place.” Kelsey stole a glance at Joy. “Maybe she has to get good grades. Maybe she needs a scholarship for college.”

Tamara slammed her locker shut. She was still watching Joy. “Maybe she needs a girlfriend so she stops looking at me.”

“You’re the one staring.”

“No, I’m not,” Tamara argued. Tamara smacked her lips when Joy looked in their direction.

Kelsey grabbed Tamara’s arm. “What the hell are you doing?”

“What? She was checking me out.” Tamara blew a bubble and then grinned when it popped. “And I’m not into that.” Her voice had gotten louder and a few of the other kids in the hallway had stopped to look.

“She wasn’t checking anyone out,” Kelsey said. “Remind me again why I hang out with you?”

“Screw you,” Tamara said. She blew another bubble. “Everyone knows she’s a dyke. Why are you acting so weird?”

“How do you know she is?” Kelsey felt her cheeks growing hot and hoped Tamara wouldn’t notice. She hated how easy she blushed.

“Because she never denies it.” Tamara raised her eyebrows. “If you weren’t a dyke but everyone called you that, do you think you’d just accept it like she does? No way. And look at her shoes. I thought black girls were supposed to be stylish. Everyone in Nadia’s group is.”

“So, you’re saying she should be exactly like the three other black girls in this school?” Kelsey closed her locker. “Can you stop talking?”

“I’m only saying that it’s obvious that she doesn’t care if any guys check her out. And why do you think that is?” Tamara waited a moment for dramatic effect. “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she’s a lesbo.”

Kelsey felt her stomach tighten into a hard ball. She wanted to walk across the hallway and tell Joy that Tamara Whitmore was an idiot. And that she was sorry Joy had to deal with people like her. She watched Joy zip her backpack but didn’t make any move toward her. “Or maybe she doesn’t care what anyone in this school thinks about her. She probably hates everyone here and can’t wait to get out this place.” In a lower voice she said, “For the record, she wasn’t looking at you until you slammed your locker.”

“She was checking me out,” Tamara argued.

“No, she wasn’t.”

Joy had shouldered her backpack and headed for the door. Kelsey couldn’t help but watch her leave. She felt her face burn again. She wanted to apologize—she wanted to yell that Tamara was a dumbass and that Joy should ignore her. But she didn’t say anything and Joy was halfway to the door while Kelsey did nothing to stop her. She waited for Joy to look back but knew she wouldn’t. Why would Joy bother wasting another glance at her? Kelsey sighed and collapsed against her locker. “I don’t blame her for hating everyone here.”

“What the hell’s wrong with you today? You’re totally overreacting.” Tamara stared at Kelsey for a long minute and then said, “How was I supposed to know she was your little buddy?”

The sarcastic tone of Tamara’s voice made Kelsey’s fists ball up. “Little buddy? Are you serious?” Kelsey picked up her backpack. “I don’t even know why I’m still standing here talking to you.”

“Whatever,” Tamara returned. “Lighten up.”

Kelsey slung her backpack over one shoulder. She had nothing in common with Tamara other than locker numbers and swim team. She probably had more in common with Joy Henderson than she had with any of her so-called friends, though she wasn’t ready to admit it out loud.

Tamara was right about one thing. Everyone
said
Joy was a lesbian. And Joy never defended herself—never said she wasn’t. The rumor had started sophomore year. Someone had called one of the guys on the swim team a fag for dancing around in a towel after practice. Joy had told the kid to shut up. That was it. But she hardly ever said anything so everyone turned and looked at her like she was straight from the moon. Or gay.

Kelsey could feel Tamara’s eyes on her. “I’m done with this place. I can’t wait to get out of this town.” She kicked the locker next to hers. “I’m walking to the pool.”

“Wait for me,” Tamara said. She picked up her backpack and jogged a few steps to catch up with Kelsey. “Why are you so bent out of shape about this?”

“Because.” Kelsey kept walking. She didn’t have an answer. Not one that she wanted to say aloud. “I don’t get why everyone cares if she’s a lesbian or not. Who the hell cares?”

Tamara rolled her eyes. “I don’t even need to respond to that.”

Kelsey quickened her stride. Tamara jogged alongside her.

“Look, I’m sorry. Maybe it was a stupid thing to do,” Tamara said. “I think it’s stupid we’re still talking about it. You’re right. Who cares about Joy Henderson?”

Kelsey finally slowed down. “If you don’t care about her, how about from now on you leave her alone? No eye rolling, no lip smacking, just let her be.”

“Fine. Whatever. I’ll ignore your lesbo friend.” Tamara pointed to Andrew O’Reilly’s car. “I’d rather pay attention to him any day.”

Andrew pulled up to the curb and leaned out the window. “You two want a ride to the pool?”

Tamara turned to Kelsey and held up her thumb. To Andrew, she said, “Wait, didn’t you get your license taken away?”

“Only for six months. I got it back yesterday.”

Tamara grabbed Kelsey’s hand and pulled her toward the car.

As much as Kelsey didn’t want to get in a car with either Andrew or Tamara, it was useless to argue. She slid into the backseat and buckled the belt. “You totaled your last two cars, right? What are the chances we make it five blocks without getting in an accident?”

“Ignore her. She’s been like that all day.” Tamara glared at Kelsey but slipped on her seat belt as well. She took a cigarette from Andrew and reached for the lighter. She tossed the gum out the window and then lit up. “And she suddenly wants to be best friends with Joy the lesbo.”

Andrew glanced back at Kelsey and then slapped the wheel. “No shit? That’s perfect. I could totally see you going with a girl, Kelsey. And Joy’s kind of hot now that she doesn’t have braces.”

“She’s still a total nerd,” Tamara said.

“Well, yeah, but…” Andrew angled the rearview mirror to see Kelsey’s face. “I could see it.”

Kelsey folded her arms over her face and slumped in the seat. “Can you both shut the hell up until I can get out of this car? Then we can agree to never talk again.”

The changing room wasn’t big enough to escape Tamara, Sadie or the rest of the group that crowded around the benches. Kelsey didn’t say a word when Tamara bragged to Sadie about the stunt she’d pulled. And she ignored Sadie’s laughter. But she rolled her eyes at the two juniors who had clung onto every word Tamara said and then made a big show of covering up with their towels when Joy walked into the changing room. Joy pretended not to notice and Kelsey fought back a wave of anger. Joy only needed to deny the rumors and then it would be over—but she said nothing.

Kelsey slipped out of the changing room. The lanes were empty and the water in the pool was as still as glass. She scanned the whiteboard for Coach Treble’s warm-up instructions and then dove in.

“Who knew dykes shaved?” Andrew asked. Over the crashing water it was difficult to hear anyone’s voice, but Kelsey was standing directly in front of Andrew. And she’d been waiting for him to say something. When she glanced back, he grinned and pointed at Joy’s legs. Joy had stepped onto the block and was in position to dive into the water in the lane next to theirs.

“Everyone here shaves, dumbass,” Kelsey said. She felt her breath catch in her throat when Joy eyed her. “We’re on the swim team, remember?” She pointed at Andrew’s shaved forearms. “Who knew boys shaved?”

Andrew pinched his lips together and then turned to the kid behind him and said something. As soon as Joy dove in, Andrew coughed and said, “Dyke!” This time his voice was loud enough to get a look from Coach Treble. Andrew feigned another cough.

The boy standing behind Andrew cackled and Kelsey felt her stomach lurch. She was next in line and Coach Treble had his stopwatch out. He wasn’t timing the other swimmers. He was waiting for her. She stepped up on the block and took her position, watching for his signal.

With the whistle, she dove in. The water sped over her body, whipping away everything except the one word that pounded in her head. “Dyke.” She dug in hard, racing Coach Treble’s clock. At the wall, she flipped and pushed off with enough force to dislodge her goggles. Water swept in on one side. She closed her eyes and swam faster. “Dyke.” The “D” was big enough to swallow her whole. The “y” draped its tail over her shoulder and the “k” cackled louder than Andrew’s laughter. But the “e” crouched behind her. As if. As if no one would notice it hiding there. Dyke. She said it aloud for the first time, knowing the water would absorb the word.

Kelsey didn’t slow down as she approached the wall again. She rolled into another turn and pushed even harder. Her breath came in short gasps that she only allowed for every fourth stroke. Andrew had dove into her lane and she passed him easily, then another swimmer and another. She heard a whistle as she started into her fifth length but didn’t slow down. The whistle only made her kick faster, her legs turning into thick boards. Her shoulders and forearms burned but she pulled harder. One more stroke, then another. She tore through the water as if that was all that held her back. At four hundred meters, she slapped her hand against the wall. She ripped off the goggles and looked around. The pool was empty. All the other swimmers had completed their fifty meters and hopped out. Now they all stared at her. She climbed out and then moved to the side of the block, trying to catch her breath. When she bent over, she tasted bile. No one said anything. She braced her hands on her thighs and hung her head, straining to slow her racing heart. It took her a minute to realize that Coach Treble was standing in front of her. She focused on his sandals but didn’t look up at his face.

“That was supposed to be a fifty-meter sprint,” he said. “Not a four hundred-meter sprint. Maybe you didn’t hear me.”

Kelsey didn’t say anything. She straightened up slowly, still working to catch her breath, her heart pounding in her ears.

Coach Treble met her gaze. His arms were folded across his chest. Finally he bent down and picked up the stopwatch that he’d set on the block. He stared at the watch for a moment and then flipped it around and showed her the count. “You beat the pool record for a four-hundred free. Happy?”

Kelsey didn’t answer.

“Want to tell me what the hell is going on? You have no business pushing that hard. Not in training. And not for four hundred meters. You’re a sprinter.” His chin jutted out like it did when he was about to yell at someone, but he only took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he looked down at his stopwatch and shook his head. “What were you trying to prove?” When she didn’t answer he continued, “I don’t have time to train someone who’s here to pull stunts. Is that what’s going on?”

Kelsey shook her head. Even that took effort.

He mumbled something under his breath and then started to walk away. Before he’d reached the bleachers, he stopped, turned back and pointed to the block. “I want that sprint. Fifty-meter free. Let’s go.”

Kelsey swallowed. She’d swam all out for eight laps. Sixteen lengths. And that was after over an hour of swim practice. What was another lap? Agony. Andrew stepped back from the block and Kelsey reluctantly put her goggles back on. She took her position, her arms shaking as she gripped the edge of the block.

“Go on the thirty,” Coach Treble said. He had his stopwatch in hand.

Kelsey stared at the big clock at the end of the lane. She watched the second hand race toward the thirty. With ten seconds to go, she risked a glance at the block next to hers. Joy met her gaze.

Joy opened the door to the office, hearing her mother’s voice in her head.
But it’s Sunday. Can’t you take the day off?
Her father had gone to the clinic every day. And now she understood why. There wasn’t enough time in the day to get to the paperwork that built up from the week.