“Gag me.” Susie coughed into her hand but then winked at Lisa. Probably to let her know she was only teasing. Lisa knew.
“It’s true,” Sam defended. “She is the love of my life.”
Lisa felt heat run up her cheeks again.
The forty-five minute trip to East Valley flew by, and it wasn’t long before they were at Sam’s estate. Apparently, Sam’s mother also wanted to have some pictures taken of the girls on their big night. The gate to the fenced-in grounds finally opened after what seemed like an hour, and Cassie pulled the limo up and around the circular driveway stopping right in front of the marble steps.
Sam’s mother whisked them into the music room, which she called the conservatory, where a professional photographer was set up. Lisa froze. Who was this guy? He could plaster her picture all over the Internet and then everyone would know her secret. Oh, God, she shouldn’t have done this. She shouldn’t have let her stupid jealousy over Alivia get in the way of her rational brain. What was it her father always said? “You can’t fix stupid.” Yeah, she had been stupid, and now she was paying the price.
“Why, Mother,” Sam said carefully, “you’ve hired a photographer.” The muted surprise in Sam’s voice was unmistakable. Clearly Sam hadn’t known.
“We have to do this right, Samantha Rose. This is your first school dance.”
When Sam’s mother rushed away to direct the photographer, Sam turned toward her friends and mouthed, “Sorry.”
“Aay, it’s okay,” Susie said. “So we won’t get to the dance until midnight. No problema.”
Sam tried to smile, but didn’t seem to be able to muster up the strength.
Trying not to look scared out of her mind, Lisa smiled for the pictures. She was happy to be sharing something with Sam and with her friends, but she was experiencing the whole thing outside of herself.
They wrapped up the photo shoot, because it couldn’t be called anything else, and headed for their coats.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked, shrugging on her black woolen overcoat. “You seem a little, I don’t know, deer in the headlights?”
“I’m okay.” It took all of Lisa’s strength to keep the panic from showing in her face. “I just, I uh...where’s the bathroom again?” Of course, at the mansion, they probably called it something fancier like the chamber de toilette or something. It didn’t matter; she needed a moment by herself.
Sam led her to the bathroom down the hall. Once the door clicked shut, Lisa leaned back against it and started crying. She caught herself after a few moments, mainly so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup, and took a few deep breaths. She had to get herself together so she could go out and make the biggest mistake of her life.
Chapter Five
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13
AS THE LIMOUSINE pulled into the East Valley High School parking lot, Lisa’s eyes grew wide. There were a million cars and that meant a lot of people.
“It’s okay.” Sam’s whisper was barely audible against the heartbeat pounding in Lisa’s ears. Lisa could only nod. Words were stuck in her throat. Sam’s eyes and the smile that took over her face sent Lisa the message that Sam knew how nervous she was.
The limo pulled up to the curb and everyone got out, except for Lisa.
“You coming, baby?” Sam held her hand out for Lisa to take.
“One second.” Lisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She usually only did this at night, right before bed, but desperate times called for it. She mumbled, “God, please give me the strength to get through this. I don’t usually ask for help, but help me and everybody else not lose their ever-lovin’ minds over our queer invasion. In your name I pray. Amen.” She opened her eyes and grabbed Sam’s still outstretched hand. Lisa pulled her coat tight against the cold. And her nerves.
Sam leaned close and whispered, “Whenever you want to leave, say the word, and we’re gone. Okay, baby?”
“I’m okay,” Lisa said.
The four friends turned to head into the school building. Sam stopped short and groaned.
“What’s the matter?” Lisa said.
Sam pointed to several uniformed police officers milling about inside the gym lobby. One in particular was pointing right at Sam and talking into some kind of two-way radio, the kind you see on TV cop shows.
“Looks like Daddy’s protecting what’s his.” Sam groaned. “Whatever. C’mon, you guys. Ronnie and everybody are already inside. They saved seats for us at their table.”
Once they checked their coats and had their pictures taken by the official photographer, they entered the gym looking for Ronnie, Jordan, Alivia, and Karl.
Marlee and Susie held hands, and Lisa wondered if Susie was nervous, too. This was her school, after all, and she was coming out officially in front of her classmates for the first time. Rumors had gotten around about Susie going to the Clarksonville dance with a girl, so holding hands with Marlee was going to instantly turn those rumors into fact. For some weird reason, knowing that Susie might also be nervous made Lisa relax a little.
“Oh, man,” Marlee said pointing out the decorations. “Obviously, you guys have a much bigger budget than Clarksonville.”
The over-sized gym had been decorated with sparkling stars, spinning disco balls, and lifelike snowballs of different sizes. The DJ was already pumping music, and a whole bunch of kids were crowded around his booth.
“There they are,” Sam said and led the way to a table near the refreshment igloo.
Lisa had to laugh. It really did look like an igloo, okay, it was made out of cardboard, but still, it was fitting for a winter dance.
“Hello, women.” Ronnie stood when they approached. Jordan and Karl also stood and everyone exchanged hugs. Except for Alivia; she stayed seated and didn’t hug anybody. Good. That meant she wouldn’t be hugging Sam.
It felt good to be surrounded by people she could call friends. Even Abby and Rachel came by to say hello. Their table was on the other side of the gym, but at least they were allies. And so far no one else in the gym seemed to be paying them any attention. Maybe no one would notice her after all. Yeah, right, she thought. She was almost six feet tall, and she was Samantha Rose Payton’s girlfriend. She was going to get noticed all right.
Lisa smiled, she couldn’t help it. That’s right, bee-otches, she was Sam’s girlfriend, so get over it, already.
“What’s so funny?” Sam said as she sat between Lisa and Ronnie.
“Nothing, really,” Lisa said. “Just that everybody’s going to check out who Samantha Rose Payton’s girlfriend is.”
Marlee plopped down on the other side of Lisa. “And they’ll be so jealous, they won’t be able to see straight.”
“Straight!” Susie said with a laugh. “Good one, Marlee.”
Marlee made a buck-tooth face which made everyone laugh. “Hey, you know what else is funny?”
“What?” Susie asked.
“I was just thinking how East Valley is, like, our arch-rivals.” She tapped Lisa on the arm. “But we came here willingly. What’s up with that?”
“Yeah, we’re crazy all right.” Lisa cringed. “We’re sitting right in the lion’s den.”
Before Sam or Susie could respond, Jordan tapped the table in front of him and said, “I have a question.” His naturally auburn hair was more on the redhead side of the spectrum, where Susie’s auburn was more on the darker brownish side. Of course, Jordan wore his hair spiked while Susie wore hers in a simple pony tail pulled low on her neck. He gestured to Lisa and Marlee, but spoke to Sam and Susie. “Are these guys any good at softball?”
Sam and Susie burst out laughing.
“First of all, amigo,” Susie said, “try sliding into home with Lisa blocking the plate. Uh, uh. Not gonna happen.”
“And don’t even think about stealing second base,” Sam added. “Lisa can throw you out and still have time to do her nails. Make a muscle, baby.”
Lisa, in her full-lengt
h designer gown flexed a bicep muscle. She smiled when Alivia laughed, too.
“And Marlee?” Sam said. “I travel the interstate when I bat against her.”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Alivia said. “What is ‘the interstate’?”
Lisa answered first. “Like interstate eighty-one through Syracuse. It’s I-81 which looks like 181. Sam bats about one eighty-one against Marlee.” Lisa barely held back her laugh at everyone’s confused faces. “It means she gets a hit, like, eighteen point one percent of the time.”
“Oh,” Jordan said, dragging out the word. “So you’re saying that Marlee gets her out about eight-two percent of the time.”
Sam shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”
The entire table, including Alivia, burst out laughing.
“Sam, how many golden sombreros have you gotten from Marlee?” Susie asked.
“Hey.” Sam pouted, and Lisa looked at her, one eyebrow raised. One thing she knew well was Marlee’s pitching, and not many people could hit it. Sam included. “Okay, okay, fine,” Sam acquiesced. “And before you ask, a golden sombrero is when you strike out four times in one game. I guess I do have a few golden sombreros to my name.” She turned toward Marlee. “Just wait till we play you this season.” Sam’s attempt at a fierce face, made everyone laugh.
“Why does no one take me seriously?” Sam joked. “Okay, who’s up for punch?”
Sam, Susie, Ronnie, and Karl stood and headed to the refreshment igloo to get punch and cookies for the table.
Alivia put her elbows on the table and leaned forward giving Lisa a birds-eye view of her muffin-top cleavage. “Lisa, your dress is stunning. That silk wrap is perfect, and I love, absolutely love, your hair. You are quite beautiful.”
Lisa felt her neck and face get warm. “Thank you. It’s always nice to have an occasion to get dressed up. I love your dress, too.” Alivia wore a cornflower blue A-line chiffon dress. “I love the lace bodice.” She wanted to make a comment about the plunging neckline, but didn’t quite know how to phrase it.
“Thanks. I’d like to say that Karl helped pick it out, but he knows nothing about fashion.” Alivia flipped her banana curls behind her shoulder. “Samantha Rose bought that dress for you, didn’t she?”
The question was innocent enough, but Lisa clearly heard a tinge of something behind it. Jealousy maybe?
Before Lisa could answer, Marlee said, “Like Karl, I don’t know anything about fashion, but you guys look fantastic in your dresses. On me, a dress just wouldn’t look right.”
Alivia seemed a little miffed at having her question derailed, and Lisa wondered if Marlee had changed the subject on purpose. Marlee was pretty smart. It felt good to know that Marlee had her back.
Alivia recovered quickly. “I love that gray suit on you, Marlee. Especially with the black highlights in your hair.”
“Yeah?”
“It makes you look, I don’t know, cool. Like you’re a badass.” Alivia smiled and then raised an admiring eyebrow.
Lisa remained polite, but she wanted to roll her eyes in the worst way. Alivia was flirting with Marlee. Alivia was a flirt, plain and simple.
While Marlee and Alivia continued their discussion about fashion, Lisa powered up her digital camera and checked the light setting and the automatic focus. Jordan sat up tall and gave her a cheesy smile, so she took his picture. After showing it to him, she took a few more of the gym and of her friends coming back with the goodies.
She zoomed in on Sam walking back holding two plastic cups of punch. Geez, why did they serve red punch at a formal? Spilling even the smallest amount would ruin her dress. Lisa zoomed her camera in further, focusing on Sam’s easy smile as she talked with Ronnie.
“Here you go, baby.” Sam put the drinks down on the table carefully.
“Cookies for all.” Susie placed a plastic plate of assorted cookies on the table. Lisa laughed when Marlee’s eyes grew wide. Everyone knew that chocolate chip cookies were her weakness.
Marlee reached for the plate and grabbed two. Before she was finished with the first, she shoved the second one in her mouth. She looked so happy, like a seven-year-old kid.
“Hey, dyke,” some jerk said to Marlee. “Got room for this in there?” He grabbed his crotch. His friends smacked him on the arm and laughed.
“Shut up, Ryan. You’re being an asshole,” Susie shouted back at him.
He laughed even louder, but Lisa was grateful when he and his friends kept walking.
“Sorry about that, you guys,” Sam said to Marlee and Lisa. “This is a usual occurrence at lunch.”
Ronnie nodded and Jordan took his hand. “Welcome to our world, girls,” Ronnie put an arm around Sam’s shoulder. “That’s what we’ve had to put up with here at wonderfully progressive East Valley High School, home of the homophobes.”
Sam laughed. “Ronnie’s sending around a petition to change the mascot from the Panthers to the Homophobes.”
Lisa sneaked a peek at Marlee. Her face was drained of color and the half-eaten cookies, what was left of them, were wadded up in a napkin. She seemed a little lost. Of all of them, Marlee was still kind of innocent and sensitive. And it hurt Lisa’s heart deeply that some random kid could dampen her spirit that quickly. Susie, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically quiet. Her face was bright red with fury, and her arm was tight around Marlee’s shoulders as if to shield her from any more hurt.
Lisa patted her friend on the back. “It’s okay. He’s a jerk, and you’ve got us.”
“Yep,” came Marlee’s one-word response.
“Hey, let’s get up and dance,” Alivia suggested and reached for Karl’s hand.
“Great idea,” Ronnie echoed. “C’mon, Jordan, let’s show ’em how it’s done.” He stood and pulled out the chair for his boyfriend.
Before anyone else could get up, four couples walked purposefully toward them. Each boy had a protective arm around his female date’s shoulders. Lisa didn’t know what was about to happen, but she made sure her camera was on and turned the shutter to silent mode. As inconspicuously as possible, she pointed the lens toward the couples and took silent pictures of them. Two couples headed to the right of their table, the other two to the left.
It wasn’t until they got closer that she saw the crosses hanging around their necks. Here we go again, she thought. Reverend Rinaldi times eight.
“God made man and woman for each other,” the girl with the yellow taffeta dress said. The dress may have been pretty, but her expression was not.
“God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” another girl said.
“Hey,” Susie added, “what about Ana and Eve? I demand equal rights for gay girls.” Everyone at their table laughed, Lisa included.
Lisa continued to click the shutter button on her camera as they walked by. She couldn’t help it when she said, “How can love be wrong if it comes from God?”
“It isn’t love,” a tall boy with freckles spat out. His eyes locked onto Lisa’s. It was scary how angry he was. “This love of yours? These disgusting acts you call ‘love’ aren’t love at all. It’s lust, and you know as well as I do that it doesn’t come from God.” He smacked the table with his open palm. “It comes from the devil, from Satan himself.”
“C’mon, Freddie.” The girl in the yellow dress pulled on his arm. “We gotta go. Now.” She glanced toward one of the police officers who seemed to be interested in what was going on at their table.
“John 3:16,” Freddie hissed.
The others in Freddie’s group didn’t say anything as they walked by, but instead glared contemptuously at each and every one of them.
They even glared at Alivia and Karl, the straight couple at the table.
“Man, I’m glad we didn’t have to deal with anything like this at Clarksonville last weekend,” Marlee said quietly to Susie. “Is this what you go through every day?”
“Not every day,” Susie said. “It’s calmed down a lot.”
Alivia pounded her f
ist on the table. “But it shouldn’t be happening at all. What gives them the right to talk to you guys like that? Stupid jerks.” She buried her face into Karl’s shoulder.
“You’re right, honey,” Karl said as he stroke her hair. “You’re right.”
“Freddie?” Ronnie pointed toward the tall freckled kid. “He’s a little out there. He and his family spend the weekends picketing Planned Parenthood on Main Street. Apparently Planned Parenthood has pamphlets with the word abortion in them.”
“Jerk,” Sam said simply which garnered a table full of amens from her friends.
Lisa was stunned. Those kids and their hate was exactly the kind of thing she was trying desperately to avoid. That was why she hadn’t wanted to go to the dance in the first place. And here, in the first ten minutes, they had been verbally attacked. Sam reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Lisa was seconds away from asking Sam to take her home.
“I feel really stupid,” Marlee said, “but what’s John 3:16?”
Ronnie and Jordan sat down since it was obvious the group wouldn’t be dancing just yet. Ronnie said, “It’s a way for the Bible thumpers, the holy rollers, the holier-than-thou righteous assholes to let you know they’re better than you are, and that you’d better accept Jesus as your personal savior, or else.”
“Or else what?” Marlee’s face was priceless. She truly was innocent in most things.
“Or else you’ll burn in hell for all eternity,” Jordan said.
“Why?”
“They think that if you’re a homosexual,” Lisa put a distasteful slant on the word, “then you’re a sinner who obviously hasn’t accepted Jesus and are going straight to hell. The only way to go to heaven is to become straight, accept Jesus, and apparently walk around condemning others.” The last part was said a little too sarcastically, even to her own ears.
Lisa sat back in her chair and folded her arms. Her sermon was over.
Sam caressed her arm. “Baby, you know those kids are just jerks, right?”
Earlier Marlee had been reduced to one-word answers, but Lisa couldn’t even come up with that. She simply nodded.
Tools of the Devil Page 4