Viva Vermont! by Melody Carlson Page A

here,” said Bethany. “Cheating ex-boyfriend and backstabbing Turtle Girl.”
    â€œThat’s not very nice,” said Conner.
    â€œWhat makes you an expert on nice?” demanded Amy.
    Haley just stood there staring at the two of them. “So it really is true then?”
    â€œWhat?” Conner’s brows lifted.
    â€œYou guys are already a couple?”
    â€œNo,” said DJ. “We’re just having—”
    â€œI know what you’re having,” hissed Haley. “The whole school knows.” She frowned at DJ. “And I actually thought you were a friend.”
    â€œI am a—”
    â€œA backstabber,” said Bethany.
    â€œYou guys deserve each other,” said Amy.
    DJ was about to remind them that Haley had been the original boyfriend stealer, but it looked like Haley was on the verge of tears, and the other two girls ushered her away. Then, instead of getting a table, they left.
    â€œThat’s a relief,” said Conner.
    â€œA relief?” DJ peered at him. “We just got told off, and you think it’s a relief?”
    â€œOh, I think girls get carried away sometimes and—”
    â€œGirls get carried away?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s a little chauvinistic, don’t you think?”
    He nodded sheepishly. “What I meant is that some girls blow things way out of proportion. When Haley doesn’t get her way, she can be a real drama queen, if you know what I mean.”
    DJ considered this. “I wouldn’t have thought that.”
    â€œWell, you don’t know her as well as I do. I mean, she can come across as real nice and sweet … as long as things are going her way. But you rock her boat, and watch out.”
    â€œMeaning I need to watch out?”
    â€œWell, not you personally.” He grinned. “Okay, enough about Haley. How about you? Tell me how practice went today.”
    So she told him about the girls’ boycott, but how it was actually sort of nice.
    He laughed. “No wonder they all looked so grumpy. They’ve been up since the wee hours of the morning. That’s quite a sacrifice.”
    â€œWell, no one is making them do it.”
    â€œProbably won’t last long—once they figure out that they’re only hurting themselves.”
    DJ frowned. “I just hope they don’t get together and decide to drown me in the diving pool. I was actually imagining them tying weights to my ankles and dumping me in there when no one was looking.”
    â€œUgh, that’s gruesome, DJ.”
    â€œYou’re telling me.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” he assured her. “It’ll all blow over by the end of the week.”

10
    BUT BY THE END OF THE WEEK, it had not blown over. Haley and friends were still doing morning swim team practice and taking jabs at DJ whenever they got the opportunity. Bethany had bumped into DJ by the lockers, knocking her so hard that DJ had a bruise on her upper arm. This whole thing was starting to scare her.
    â€œMaybe I should just quit swim team,” she had said to Casey and Taylor on Thursday night. It hurt to say this, especially considering that she’d just received her team suit that afternoon, but she wondered if it might not be for the best.
    â€œYeah, well, duh.” Taylor took a long drag from her cigarette. The three of them were sitting out on the front porch, drinking diet sodas and smoking. Well, Casey and Taylor were smoking. And, in Casey’s defense, DJ was pretty sure that Casey was just faux-smoking since she’d pretty much given up the nasty habit for volleyball season.
    â€œYou mean you’d let them bully you into quitting something you actually like doing?” demanded Casey. “That’s just wrong.”
    â€œYeah,” agreed Taylor. “That is wrong. Even though I think swim team is lame, I think you should have the right to do it if you