I start running the track to get rid of the jitters I've had ever since Coach Reeves's nasty announcement this morning.
Kat, Paige and Isabel are out running already. They seem to be having some sort of serious conversation as they jog. No doubt it's about what happened, and I don't feel like talking about it with them.
Zenia runs on her own, lost in thought. Every once in a while, her eyes meet mine and she smiles weakly. I wish she would tell me what really happened on Saturday.
Shauna is running on the track too. It's as if she's trying to catch up with me instead of avoid me. I watch from the corner of my eye as she picks up speed, and I slow down a bit. But I refuse to say hi after she made me look like an idiot when I tried to wave at her the other day.
She's almost caught up to me, and her mouth is half open. Our eyes meet, lock for an instant. A shrill whistle sounds, and we all stop dead. Shauna blinks, turns around and runs with everyone else over to where Coach Reeves is standing next to the track.
“
Why so serious?
” Coach asks while we wait for our usual pep talk. He gives us an evil Joker grin. And that makes us all laugh nervously. We've seen the
Batman
movie he's quoting from. “Lots of stuff has to happen this week,” he says. “Like making the relay team picks for the junior and senior grades. I'll let you know on Friday who'll be on each of the teams, including subs. Any questions?”
Silence.
“So you need to pump it up this week, sprinters. I need you to be totally focused. To give me your best times ever,” Coach says. “And I want you to remember that even though this is a competition, you're competing to be part of a team. So I want to see smiles on your faces while you're totally busting your butts, okay?”
“Wow,
wicked
,” a guy says. There's some snorts of laughter from some of the other guys.
Coach frowns. “Have you got a problem with that, Mr. Halstead?” he says. “And what about the rest of you guys that think Justin is so hilarious?”
I glance over at Shauna. She's frowning. Her eyes are burning into her brother's head like a sunbeam through a magnifying glass.
“I meant it in a good way, Coach Reeves,” Justin murmurs, not glancing at anyone.
“Really?” Coach offers him a sly grin. “Still, fifty push-ups wouldn't hurt to convince me. Let's see them right now, Halstead. Feel free to join him, Carter, Braden, Noah. And anyone else who thinks this is funny.”
Without another word, Justin is on the ground along with the two other guys who laughed. Carter is still grinning in his usual smug way.
“You too,” Coach says, pointing at him.
Carter shrugs, drops into a handstand and walks a few steps.
Everyone laughs nervously except for Coach. “Make it one hundred, Carter,” he says.
Everyone works extra hard at practice. Coach Reeves is on our cases. His face is stiff the entire time, and he keeps checking on Justin and Carter. He's not impressed.
Every time I stop to watch Matt, he's hurling a shot put. He's out to kill it, and I smile when I see Coach Chapman giving him a high five. I've never seen the sprinters run as fast as we are today. We know what's at stake this week. We all want to be part of the relay team. And the fastest one of us will get to run the 100-meter sprint.
Coach Reeves calls us to the starting line when it's our turn to race. We're last, of course, since ours is the bantam team. He always works his way down from the seniors. I feel young and green after watching the older kids compete.
As we line up, my blood races through my veins. Beside me, Kat is totally focused and stares straight ahead. Zenia seems more nervous than usual. She keeps glancing around. Coach glares at her. Shauna has a serious look on her face. She's tossed her hat onto the field. She means business.
When Coach yells, “Set,” Zenia takes a step forward. Coach yells, “False start,” and tells us to get back into position. False starts are a no-no. One too many, and you're in danger of disqualification. Zenia has never had a false start before.
And then she does it a second time. Then a third. Coach suggests maybe she should sit this one out because she doesn't seem focused. She shuffles over to her backpack, picks it up and heads toward the school doors. Poor Zenia! She's completely distracted. I can't imagine how humiliated she must feel right now.
Kat crosses the finish line only one step ahead of me. But it isn't even an issue this time. I'm worried about Zenia, and I think Kat is too. When a fellow teammate is having a hard time, it throws everyone off.
After practice, everybody scatters in different directions. I can't wait to get home, scarf down some of Abuelo's great cooking and call Zenia. When I reach for my backpack, I spot something crumpled stuck in the handle. It's a note.
“What's that?” Kat says. I spin around, and she's staring at the note in my hand.
I shrug. “Just a piece of trash, I guess.” I shove it into the pocket of my shorts.
“God, what was up with Zenia today,” Kat says. “Nothing was working for her.”
“No clue. Can you wait a few minutes, Kat? I've got to grab some math homework from my locker.”
“You actually like math, don't you, Maddy,” Kat says with an easy smile. “That pretty much makes you a freak of nature, you know that, right?”
“Yep, and I'll be sure to remind you that you called me a
freak of nature
next time you need my help before a test,” I say.
Kat laughs out loud, then hoists her backpack over her shoulder.
“Hope you don't mind if I take off,” Kat says. “English essay due tomorrow. I haven't even started it yet.”
“Okay, see ya later,” I say as she jogs off. I'm dying to read the note that's practically sizzling in my pocket. As soon as she's out of sight, I quickly uncrumple it.
The note says,
Meet me after practice
out back by the Dumpster
. I slip out the school's back doors and onto the field. The track is deserted, everyone is long gone. I'm uneasy as I head toward the Dumpster. When I turn the corner, Shauna is waiting for me.
Maybe she really was trying to talk to me earlier. But right now she looks too serious for this to be a white-flag-waving sort of conversation. I'm almost afraid to hear what she has to say.
“Maddy, I need to talk to you about something.” The words race out of Shauna's mouth, and my heart skips a little when she says them.
“So what's up?” I ask, trying not to let on that she makes me nervous.
“It's about my brother,” she says. “And yours, and what happened at practice Saturday.”
My brother?
Gulp
.
“Okay,” I say, trying to act cool.
“Well, Justin was fooling around with Carter and his crew⦔ She pauses and swallows hard. “What if Justin was in on it? What if
he
stole something too?” Her eyes narrow. “I hate that Justin and Carter are friends. Justin's totally going to blow his chances if he keeps messing up on the track.”
“Wow, that sucks, Shauna.” What a relief. At least she didn't tell me
my
brother was the thief.
“His lame attitude is throwing the whole boys' team off!” she says.
“Yeah, I've noticed,” I say. “I mean, it's so obvious. And that whole push-up thing today. Coach Reeves was totally pissed.”
“Coach threatened to kick Justin off the team if he doesn't get it together soon. If our parents find out he's screwing up, they'll lose it! Why does he need to show off so much?”
“Who knows? Maybe it's a guy thing, to prove how tough they are. Maybe it's to impress girls. Why are you telling me this, though, Shauna?” I ask her. “What can
I
do about it?”
“Well,” she says, then pauses to stare down at her running shoes. “It's your brother, Matt. You know what
he's
like.”
Uh-oh. Now she won't even look at me. “What about Matt?”
“Well, to start with, Justin thinks he's awesome. He has so much respect for him. Because of all the cool stuff he's into.”
Wait, what? Did I hear wrong? Cool stuff he's into? What is she talking about? “Maybe you'd better fill me in, Shauna,” I say. “Because at home right now, Matt is mostly a jerk.”
Shauna's bright eyes open wide. “A jerk? How can a guy like him be a jerk? He's come over to my place to help me with science a couple of times. Last Saturday night, he dropped by for a while. He's on the track team
and
he's got a job. He's always so focused. Andâ¦you knowâ¦I kind of think he's good-looking too.”
“Wait,
what
?” I'm not sure I heard her right again.
So she's crushing hard on my brother, a guy who helps her with schoolwork and also has a job? Most of what she's said doesn't make much sense to me. “What are you talking about? Maybe you have my brother mixed up with someone else.”
Shauna laughs. “Don't think so,” she says. “Trust me, Maddy. I know
exactly
who Matt Benez is.”
I squint. “Okay, so then where exactly does he work?”
“Burger King. He's been there for a few months now. Haven't you ever been in to see him?”
Our family never eats at Burger King.
Ever
. Hmmm. Good place to work if you don't want your family to find out you have a job. But why wouldn't one of my friends tell me? And why wouldn't Matt?
“
Which
Burger King?” I say, growing more curious by the minute.
“It's across town,” Shauna says. “I just happened to go there for lunch one day when I was shopping with my mom. He was behind the counter, wearing one of those goofy hats. That was when he offered to help me with science. Do you know if he's going to the dance on Friday night?” She smiles coyly.
“No clue about the dance. Wow,” I say.
I start to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Late nights, out often, new stuff all the timeâapparently my brother has a job. He might even have a girlfriend, who he's helping with science. And my family's been in the dark about it all.
“Why are you telling me all this, Shauna?” I ask, still confused.
“Because I need your help, Maddy,” she says. “I need you and Matt to help me help my brother get his act together before it's too late.”
“Before it's too late? Really? You do realize Justin could outrun the Roadrunner!”
I try to laugh, hoping to coax another smile out of Shauna. But her face is still bleak.
“You must have noticed he sucks on the track these days, Maddy,” she says. “He isn't focused. And he acts like a goof all the time. My parents are so proud of him, especially since some American colleges started scouting him. It will kill them if he screws up and blows his chance at a scholarship.” She sighs. “I wish I could be
half
as good as he is!”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. My brother is a natural too.” I shrug and shake my head. “I sure wish I could figure out why Matt hasn't told Mom and Abuelo what he's up to. Why does it have to be such a big secret?”
“I'm sure he has his reasons,” Shauna says. “And I'm sure my brother does too. If only we could figure out what they are.”
Shauna frowns, then kicks a rock and watches it bounce off the Dumpster. I stand in silence. I realize I've misjudged Shauna. Now is the perfect time to ask her my burning question once and for all.
I take a deep breath, and when Shauna looks up, I lock my eyes on hers. “Shauna, I'm going to be totally honest with you. Sometimes it seems as if you can't stand me or anyone else on the team.”
Finally a half smile blooms on Shauna's face. “Well, the truth is, it really bugs me that you and Kat keep on beating me, you know. I guess I've been taking my frustration out on everyone.”
“Seriously?” I open my eyes wide, and she laughs.
“Seriously. But I'm trying to get past it. I'm really competitive. I hate losing. Plus, I'm stressed about my brother and kind of watching out for him.”
Now it's all starting to make sense. “But you'll
still
be on the relay team,” I say. “Even if you're not the hundred-meter runner.”
“That's not good enough, Maddy,” she says, folding her arms and staring off into the distance. “So do you think you and Matt can help my brother, or what?”
“Okay, I'll try and figure something out with Matt,” I say. “Listen. Why don't you come sit with me at lunch in the caf some time? It would be a great way for you to get to know some of the girls on our team better.”
“Hmmm, maybe,” Shauna says. “I'll think about it, Maddy.”
By the time Shauna and I say goodbye, I've promised to do what I can to help her out with her brother.
I feel sorry for Shauna. I know what it's like to want to win so bad and then not have it happen. No wonder she's always cross at track practice. Besides competing with Kat and me on the track, she's also competing with her brother's success. She's jealous of him, yet she wants him to succeed. Knowing all this makes me feel closer to her.
I like having a new friend who confides in me. I'm half tempted to call and talk to Kat about it, since she's my best friend. But how would that help? If she knows how much Shauna wants to win, it could make her work even harder. And I want to win too! Maybe it's better to keep my mouth shut.
I grab my math homework from my locker and hurry home. I can't wait to see Matt and ask him about his job and his maybe girlfriend. When I burst through the door, I can smell dinner cooking. I head straight for the stove, peck Abuelo on the cheek and peek at what's in the pot he's stirring.
“Is that cheese sauce?” I ask. “And is that macaroni cooking? Are you seriously making macaroni and cheese, Abuelo?”