Blue Moon (6 page)

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They’re not going to do anything worse this time.”

“You don’t know that,” said T.J.

“Look,” Cooper told her boyfriend. “I’m really sorry that something bad happened to Dylan. That

shouldn’t happen to anybody. But I’m not afraid of what people think.”

“But what about what
I
think?” T.J. asked, looking into her eyes. “What if
I’m
worried about what will

happen to you? Doesn’t that matter?”

“Of course it matters!” said Cooper. “And I’m really happy that you care what might happen.”

“Then don’t do the witch stuff,” T.J. said before Cooper could continue.

Cooper sighed. “T.J., no one is going to do anything,” she repeated.

“I know you think you’re this big tough girl,” he replied. “But one of these days you’re going to run into

someone tougher than you are.”

Cooper drew her hand back. “I don’t need someone to protect me,” she said, starting to get angry.

“Maybe you do,” countered T.J. “Because if you keep talking about this stuff someone somewhere is

going to hear it and start making trouble.”

“And you’re going to be the one to save me?” asked Cooper.

“You just really don’t get it, do you?” he said, standing up.

“I understand that for some stupid reason you’re worried about people knowing what I do,” she said.

“Well, it’s none of their business what I do. And if you really supported me you wouldn’t care either.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this right now,” T.J. said. “Maybe you should think about it for a

while.”

“I don’t need to think about it,” said Cooper. “I’ve already made up my mind. I’m doing the material I

want to do.”

T.J. looked at her for a moment, not saying anything. Then he shook his head. “I’m going to go,” he

said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He walked out of her room, and she heard his feet on the stairs. Then the front door opened and closed.

T.J. really had walked out on her.

Cooper wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened. Everything had been going so well, and then T.J.

had started to get unreasonable. Why couldn’t he understand that she wasn’t afraid of what people might

think about her? She felt bad for Dylan and what had happened to him, and she understood that because

of his experiences T.J. might be more wary than usual, but why couldn’t he believe her when she said that

she wasn’t concerned?

This is why I never wanted a boyfriend,
she thought to herself as she stared at the notebook sitting

closed on her bed.

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Well, it would be okay. She would give T.J. time to cool off and to see that she was right. Maybe she

would call him later that night and try to talk to him again. But she still wished she had someone she could

talk to about the whole thing.

Then she realized that she
did
have someone to talk to. She had Kate and Annie. She knew Annie was

at work, but Kate was probably home. She picked up the phone and dialed her number, pleased that

now that she had rejoined the group she could do such a thing.

Kate picked up on the second ring. Cooper immediately began relating her conversation with T.J. When

she was done she finished up with, “Can you believe him?”

“Actually,” said Kate, “I can.”

“What do you mean?” Cooper asked.

“Maybe he’s right,” Kate said. “Maybe you would be asking for trouble. I’d really think about this

before you do anything.”

Cooper started to protest, but Kate said, “My mom needs me in the kitchen. I’ve got to go. But I’ll see

you Saturday at Annie’s, right?”

“Sure,” said Cooper.

“Call me if you want to talk,” Kate said before hanging up.

Cooper put down the phone and stretched out on her bed, thinking. Was she crazy? Was she the only

one who didn’t see a problem with writing about Wicca in her performance pieces? Why was everyone

so afraid of what other people might think? It annoyed her, especially coming from her boyfriend and one

of her best friends.

Well, she couldn’t let it get to her. She had work to do. Surely T.J. would come around, and so would

Kate. They just had to get used to the idea.
It will be fine,
she told herself as she picked up her

notebook, opened it, and started reading.

CHAPTER 6

Kate’s mother put down the peach. “Order me two crates of those,” she said to the man following along

behind her. “Oh, and make sure there will be three crates of the strawberries. And
no
mushy ones. I’m

going to hear it if they’re not perfect.”

“Will do, Mrs. Morgan,” the man said as he made a note on the clipboard he was carrying. “I’ll make

sure everything is delivered by the afternoon of the eleventh.”

“I can’t believe those two are getting married on the thirteenth,” Kate’s mother said to her. “At least it’s

a Saturday and not a Friday. But still . . .”

“Look at you being all superstitious,” Kate said, laughing.

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“You can’t be too careful,” replied her mother, picking up a box of blueberries and eyeing them

critically.

“Is there going to be anything else?” the man with them asked.

“I guess that’s it for now,” said Kate’s mother. “Thanks, Paul.”

The man nodded and left. Kate’s mother turned to her. “That is, unless the mayor and the mother of the

bride change their minds yet again.”

Just then a muffled buzzing sound emanated from Mrs. Morgan’s handbag. She reached in and pulled

out a cell phone. Kate rolled her eyes as her mother answered it. She’d been teasing her mother

endlessly since she’d come home with the phone, telling her that she was now just a Land Rover away

from becoming one of those annoying yuppies they frequently made jokes about.

“Hello, Mayor Pershing,” Mrs. Morgan said, and Kate suppressed a giggle. She wondered what the

mayor wanted now. She called at least six times a day, and each call was about something more

ridiculous than the last one.

“You’ve decided that you want the chicken in orange sauce instead of wine sauce,” Kate’s mother said.

“Yes, I can do that. Uh-huh. No problem. Is there anything else? Okay then. Bye.”

She clicked off the phone and gave Kate a menacing look. “They want orange sauce,” she said.

“Imagine that—another change.”

“Just be glad they didn’t ask to switch from chicken to veal,” said Kate. “Mr. Reeves at the butcher’s

shop would be really irritated at having to send back a hundred and fifty chickens.”

“Paul!” her mother called out, motioning for the produce manager to come back. “Change that crate of

mushrooms to two crates of oranges. Fresh ones!”

After the new order had been noted, Mrs. Morgan turned back to Kate. “I think we deserve a little treat

after all of this,” she said. “What do you say to lunch out? My treat.”

“Are you sure we have time?” asked Kate seriously. “Mrs. Winter might call and ask you to change the

wedding to a bar mitzvah.”

“Come on,” said her mother, laughing as they left the store. “I turned the phone off so they can’t find me.

I don’t think even they can cause too much trouble in an hour.”

They walked down the street to a little restaurant that had tables outside. From the table the waitress

took them to, Kate could see everyone who walked by, which she liked. It was relaxing to sit in the

sunshine and watch people as she studied the menu and decided what to have. She was trying to choose

between the turkey club and the Caesar salad with shrimp when her mother tapped her on the arm.

“I
think
that’s Annie coming this way,” she said.

“You think it is?” Kate repeated as she turned to look. “How could you not know.”

But when she saw who her mother was looking at she understood how she might have been confused. It

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was definitely Annie, but it was Annie as Kate had never seen her before. She stared as her friend

walked toward them, unable to believe her eyes.

Annie had been transformed. Her hair had been freed from the braid she always wore it in, and it had

been curled into long wavy tendrils that framed her face. And her face—Kate had never seen her looking

so good. She’d once given Annie a makeover, but it had been nothing compared to this. Annie’s lips

were done in deep pink, and her brown eyes had been shadowed in tones of gold and smoke. Even her

glasses were gone. Kate couldn’t remember ever seeing Annie without them before. The change was, to

say the least, astonishing.

Annie was even dressed differently. Her usual shapeless clothes had been replaced by a formfitting knit

dress in a pretty pink color, and she was swinging a little pink purse by her side as if she’d carried one

every day of her life, even though Kate had never seen her with anything other than her battered

backpack. In her other hand were bags from several trendy stores Kate didn’t think Annie even knew

the names of, let alone shopped in.

“That
is
her, isn’t it?” Mrs. Morgan asked.

“Um, yeah,” said Kate. She waved at her friend. For a moment Annie looked at her blankly. Then she

smiled and waved back. A moment later she was standing next to their table.

“Hi,” Kate said. “What happened to you? You look great.”

“I decided to give myself a little makeover,” Annie said playfully. Even her way of speaking seemed

different to Kate, less subdued and more outgoing.

“Would you like to join us for some lunch?” Mrs. Morgan asked. “We haven’t ordered yet.”

“I’d
love
to,” Annie replied, pulling out a chair next to Kate and sitting down.

Kate couldn’t stop stealing glances at her friend. The change that had come over Annie was remarkable,

and Kate couldn’t help wondering what had prompted it.

“Kate tells me you’re working over at Shady Hills,” Mrs. Morgan said as Annie looked at the menu.

“Yes,” Annie said. “I thought it would be nice to volunteer there for the summer. I find the senior citizens

very inspiring.”

“Did you take today off?” Kate asked, noticing for the first time that Annie’s nails had been done.

“Mmm hmmm,” responded Annie. “I needed a little break. Besides, they had an opening at the hair

salon so I took it. They’re really hard to get.”

“So I hear,” said Kate, dumbfounded. Annie had never shown the slightest interest in hair or clothes or

makeup. For a brief period after Kate’s makeover she had maintained the look, but she had pretty

quickly gone back to her usual mismatched style.

Annie put down the menu as the waitress arrived to take their orders. “I’ll have the Waldorf salad,” she

said. “And a mineral water.”

“I’d like a cheeseburger, medium well, with cheddar,” Mrs. Morgan said. “And a side of fries, please.”

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“Ugh,” Annie said, nudging Kate. “All of that fat. If I ate that it would go right to my butt.”

She laughed. Kate didn’t know what to do. Her mother was looking at Annie with a puzzled expression.

Hoping to distract her, Kate ordered. “The turkey club,” she said. “No mayo.”

The waitress collected their menus and left. As soon as she was gone, Annie leaned over and said,

“Kate, you should check out the sale at Banana Republic. They have the cutest blue dresses on sale

there. I bet Tyler would love you in one of them.”

Kate blushed. She saw her mother give Annie another look of surprise. Annie noticed it, too, and said,

“Whoops. Sorry, Mrs. M. I didn’t mean to say anything I shouldn’t.”

“It’s okay,” Mrs. Morgan said. “I’m sure you’re right, and Tyler would be nuts not to notice Kate.”

“Of course, he’s not so bad himself,” Annie said thoughtfully. “I mean, those
eyes
. Have you taken a

good look at them? Wow.”

Kate was really confused. What was Annie doing? She had never talked like this before, at least not to

Kate, and certainly not in front of Kate’s mother. If Kate didn’t know better, she would have sworn she

was talking to someone who just looked like Annie.

“It’s too bad we don’t have class tonight,” Annie said suddenly. “I’d love to see the reaction to my new

look.”

“Class?” Mrs. Morgan said, looking at Annie confusedly.

Annie nodded. “You know, our rit—”

She stopped as Kate kicked her under the table. What did Annie think she was doing? She knew Mrs.

Morgan didn’t know anything about the Tuesday night Wicca study group. Yet there she was, talking

about it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“My chemistry class,” Annie said as Kate breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m taking an advanced chem class

this summer. But we’re off tonight.”

“I think if you showed up at a chemistry class looking like that people would be
very
surprised indeed,”

said Kate’s mom.

“I bet you’re right,” Annie said. “Don’t you think so, Kate?”

“I know you sure surprised
me
,” Kate said, hoping Annie would get her meaning.

The waitress came back with their food, and soon they were all eating. As Annie nibbled on her salad

she kept up a steady stream of conversation.

“So, what did you think of Cooper’s performance the other night?” she asked Kate.

“Performance?” Mrs. Morgan asked. “Did her band play somewhere?”

“Oh, no,” Annie told her. “Cooper did a solo thing. She performed this really wicked spoken word

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piece. People loved it.”

“She’s doing another one next Tuesday,” Kate commented, hoping she could steer Annie away from

any potentially dangerous subjects.

“What kind of pieces does she do?” asked Kate’s mother.

“It’s hard to explain,” said Annie. “You’d have to hear it. Then again, I’m not sure older people would

really get it. It’s kind of a younger generation thing.”

“Really?” Mrs. Morgan said. “I’ll be sure to wear my hearing aid.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that you’re old or anything,” Annie replied. “I mean, you look great for someone

your age.”

“Thanks,” said Kate’s mom acidly. “So, you don’t think one cheeseburger will put me over the edge,

then?”

Annie shook her head. “No one expects women your age to have perfect figures,” she said confidently.

Kate wanted to bury her head in her hands. Annie had met her mother several times before, and she’d

always been her usual polite self. Now she was acting like an entirely different person. Kate knew her

mother must be wondering what was wrong with Annie, too. Unfortunately, even Kate didn’t know what

was going on.

Annie took a few more bites of her salad and pushed the plate away. “No more for me,” she said.

“Another bite and I won’t be able to fit into this dress.”

She looked at her watch and gasped. “I almost forgot,” she said. “I have to go. I have an appointment at

the tanning salon in fifteen minutes.”

She gathered up her bags and her purse. “Thanks so much for lunch,” she said to Mrs. Morgan. “It was

great seeing you.” Then she leaned over and gave Kate a little kiss on the cheek. “Bye, darling,” she said.

“I’ll give you a call later.”

She scurried away from the restaurant, waving good-bye again when she reached the corner. As soon

as she was gone Kate’s mother gave her daughter a look of utter shock.

“Was that the same girl I’ve met before?” she asked. “You don’t by any chance have
two
friends named

Annie and I’m just confusing them?”

“I’m wondering the same thing,” Kate responded. “I’ve never seen her look like that or heard her talk

like that. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

“Well,
something
sure has,” Mrs. Morgan said. “Maybe it’s this chemistry class she’s taking.”

By the way her mother said the words “chemistry class,” Kate knew that she hadn’t bought Annie’s

story. Did she have any idea what Annie was really up to? Kate didn’t think there was any way she

could. But maybe she’d heard enough to make a pretty good guess.

“The last time I saw Annie was at the hospital when her friends did that ceremony for Netty,” Kate’s

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mother said as if she were thinking carefully. “She sure didn’t look like that then.”

Kate understood what her mother was implying—that somehow Annie’s involvement with Sophia and

the others was the cause of her transformation. Kate knew that wasn’t true, but she couldn’t say so

without exposing the fact that she herself was also involved with them. She was backed into a corner,

and she wasn’t sure how to get out of it.

“I think she’s reacting to the death of the man she met at Shady Hills,” she said finally. “You know, she

took that really hard. Maybe this is just her way of trying to snap out of it.”

Mrs. Morgan raised one eyebrow. “So the next time I’m feeling down I should squeeze myself into a

slinky little number?” she asked.

“It wasn’t that bad,” countered Kate. “I thought she looked nice.”

“Don’t you mean you think maybe Tyler would like you in it?” asked her mother.

Kate groaned. “She didn’t mean anything by that,” she said.

Mrs. Morgan smiled at her daughter. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m not going to give you the third

degree or anything. But this hasn’t exactly made me feel better about Cooper and Annie as your new

friends.”