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Her father wasn’t all that keen on having Bailey at the overnight event. The Reverend Proffitt hadn’t even been going to allow Carmen to go at all until he learned that several members of the school staff would be there, along with the class do-gooders, Rhonda Clanton and Trent Collingsworth. Grudgingly, the reverend had okayed his daughter to attend for the day only.
Zora said, “I’m supposed to be bunking with Amanda and Delta, but I don’t know now.”
“They’ll kill each other if they’re together,” said Bailey.
“We’re definitely going to need at least two tents,” added Carmen.
“No way Amanda sleeps in a tent,” Zora pointed out.
“Not even if Tanner sneaks in?” Bailey suggested.
“No one’s sneaking in.” Carmen shut that down immediately.
“How are you planning to spend the night?” Zora asked Carmen. “Thought your dad nixed that.”
“I’ll find a way,” she said determinedly.
Zora shrugged. Carmen’s interest in Tanner was starting to get in the way of her every thought.
“Let’s go ask Amanda about it,” Bailey said. “I gotta admit, I’m kind of pissed off that she kissed Tanner, or whatever happened.”
“Delta doesn’t own Tanner,” Carmen said, staring forward through the windshield.
“She’s his girlfriend, and he cheated on her with her friend, one of the Five Firsts. That’s not okay,” Bailey came right back.
In the rearview, Zora could see how lost Bailey was after Carmen’s comment. It was doubtful Bailey could see the pinkening of Carmen’s cheeks, but Zora could. Bailey was over Carmen’s obsession with Tanner, as they all were, but she mostly kept her thoughts to herself. This was the most dissension between the two friends that Zora had heard in a long while.
“I just meant that she acts so . . . proprietary,” Carmen mumbled.
Bailey had no comment for that. Or maybe she knew better than to push too hard because who knew how Carmen would react. Like Carmen, Bailey wasn’t clear on what her plans were post-graduation. Zora figured that whatever Carmen decided to do, Bailey would likely do the same.
Into the awkward silence, Zora said, “We just told Delta how we were on her side about Tanner and Amanda. Now, what do you want to say to Amanda?”
“I don’t know.” Carmen leaned down in the seat. She was on the tall side and had been playing volleyball competitively all her life, as far as Zora could tell. If she didn’t get a scholarship, that would be it. Her parents couldn’t afford college. She would probably go to the local community college. Her older sister was on academic scholarship.
Zora, on the other hand, had the means to go wherever she wanted. She just didn’t have the grades. She could maybe get into U of O or Oregon State, if she was really, really lucky, but she really wanted to go to the University of Arizona in Tucson. Hot, dry desert . . . oh, to be out of this rain. But . . . she’d blown her SATs, and she just couldn’t bear facing them again. And her grades this year had been in the toilet. She’d been to a few raves with her cousin and used ecstasy, though mostly she’d just been a boozehound. But being out all night . . . it was a kick . . . And it had played hell with her GPA.
She might end up in community college as well, she thought glumly.
And there were those troubling fights between her parents . . .
Zora gnawed on the side of her thumb. She’d heard her dad mention something about “the eastside deal,” a real estate venture that was supposed to be a serious moneymaker, but maybe not . . . ? Black clouds on the horizon? She wouldn’t think about it. Everything was fine, just fine.
“What did you think of Ellie talking to Tanner?” Zora asked them, pushing her troubling thoughts aside.
“She’s just helping him study,” Carmen dismissed with a shake of her head.
“Ellie? Isn’t Delta helping him?” asked Bailey, frowning a bit at her friend, who was suddenly so knowledgeable, apparently.
“Ellie’s like a math wizard,” said Carmen.
“Is she?” Zora asked, sliding Carmen a sideways look.
“If it wasn’t for Ellie, I woulda flunked Algebra II. That stuff was hard.”
Zora let that nugget of information settle into her brain. She could’ve used some help in math herself. If she’d known Ellie was tutoring, maybe she could have asked her? But then maybe not, because Ellie didn’t seem to like Zora very much. Maybe—probably—because Zora had taken Ellie’s spot with the Five Firsts, which was totally unfair because it hadn’t been Zora’s idea. Amanda had come to her and said she and Delta had talked it over and wouldn’t Zora be a better fit than Ellie O’Brien? Zora had been flattered and agreed. It wasn’t her fault that Ellie had been discarded.
She put herself in Ellie’s shoes for a moment, thinking about how hurtful that must have been. A total betrayal of friendship.
