"For what? I mean about your coming over to my house."
"Who said I would do that? What, are you having delusions or something?" He looked at his friends, who looked at me and smiled.
Phoebe was starting toward us. I shook my head in disbelief and walked away quickly. If he wanted to be an idiot and a coward, let him. I thought. He got my message. I would have nothing to do with him.
Later, when I sat with Randy in the cafeteria. Phoebe. Ashley, and some of her other friends descended upon us, moving through the cafeteria like a flock of buzzards.
"I heard what you tried to pull," Phoebe accused even before she reached us. Everyone sitting at the tables nearby stopped his or her conversation and turned.
"I didn't try to pull anything," I said.
"What did you think, that by pretending Roger liked you, yo
u would get him to like you? Is this some sort of sneaky technique you used when you lived on Navy bases. Sailor Girl?" she wailed, wagging her head and flitting her gaze from one side to the other to be sure her audience appreciated everything she was doing and saying.
"I didn't use any sneaky technique on anyone."
"No, of course not. He told me what you did. First you beg him to take you home, crying about some sort of an emergency, and then you try this. Did you have to get home that quickly? Well? What was the emergency? Care to explain?" she dared me, standing back with her arms folded under her breasts.
Despite myself, tears came into my eyes. "It's none of your business." I said.
"Oh, it's none of my business." she repeated, raising her voice to be sure the students at the farthest tables could hear our exchange. "You go after my boyfriend and it's none of my business?"
"I didn't go after your boyfriend. He came to speak to me," I cried.
I shouldn't be doing this, I kept telling myself. I shouldn't let her bait me like this. She's getting me to fight her fight on her turf. It was bad tactics for me. but I couldn't help it.
"Oh. Roger shows a little bit of compassion for a pathetic, whiny, spoiled Sailor Girl, and you make it out to be a love affair. Well, everyone here be warned, especially boys," she said, raising her voice. "You talk to Sailor Girl, and you're in her boat whether you like it or not. Right, Randy?" She turned to him.
"Sh... sh.., shut up, Pheee... Phoebe."
"Ri... right. Ra... Randy. That's why she likes you. She can do all the talking, and you just li... li... listen."
The small crowd convulsed with laughter.
"That's cruel!" I screamed at her, and stood up. "You're a mean, egotistical person. If anyone is spoiled, it's you."
"Right, Sailor Girl," she retorted, and saluted with her shoulders back. "Aye. aye. Now back to swabbing the deck, and when you're done with that, clean the urinals." She pivoted and marched away, the frail of clones giggling and following like obedient rats.
When I gazed around. I saw dozens of students watching me in anticipation. My own face felt as if it was on fire. I had this great urge to leap over the table and tackle her. Randy, as if he could feel or hear my thoughts, reached up and touched my arm.
"Fo... forget her." he said, timing me to sit.
I gazed her way once more. Roger and Wally were at her table now, and they were all laughing.
"I can't let them get away with this," I said. I pulled free of Randy's slight grasp.
"Grace!" he cried, but I continued to march across the cafeteria.
By now everyone had been given a blow-byblow summary of my confrontation with Phoebe, and a few hundred eyes were on Inv every step.
Phoebe. Ashley, Roger, and Wally looked up, their faces full of surprise at my daring to approach them.
"I-low could you do this?" I asked Roger. "How could you pretend you didn't ask if you could come to my house tonight? Was this why you snuck out of the parking lot yesterday and drove like a maniac? Are you so afraid of her that you would slink about like a rodent and then lie?"
Roger couldn't hold my gaze. He smiled. shook his head, and looked down.
"I guess you're not as good at reading someone else's cards as you think you are, Sailor Girl." Phoebe said, her face overflowing with satisfaction.