“Matt? Is that you?” Shauna's voice softens. She is
so
into my brother. “Yeah, I tried, but he totally dissed me. Told me to quit my stupid worrying and that I'm not his mother, but I can't help it. Okay, I gotta go. He's coming now. We need to think of something fast!”
The line goes dead. Matt and I stare at my phone.
“Come on,
think
, Matt! Justin can't mess up his chances on the team
or
at school!”
Matt shrugs. “I have to work on Friday night,” he says. “I can't even be at the dance to try and keep Justin from hanging out with those dudes. Maybe someone else could help us?”
A lightbulb goes on in my head. I
know
who could.
“Zenia. She likes him. And he likes her,” I say.
My brother's face brightens. “Perfect. Do you think she'd help us out?”
I gulp. It isn't going to be easy. I don't even know if she'll talk to me right now. But I can't tell Matt that.
“Um⦔ I hesitate. “Okay, I'll see what I can do.”
Matt offers me a high five. I take it and hope I won't let a whole bunch of people down.
By Thursday, I can't focus on the track or in the classroom. How can I ask Zenia for her help? I don't even know how to approach her.
Coach still doesn't race us on Thursday. He has us try to improve our times individually. He won't tell us our times either. He's holding off on making his decision for as long as he can. He explains to me that he wants to wait until Monday now. He asks if the situation is any closer to getting straightened out. I nod quickly, even though it isn't true.
Kat has been acting different ever since our blowup yesterday. I know I might have made a mistake saying what I did, but it just came out. Now it's as if our friendship is dissolving right before my eyes! She hangs out with Zenia while I run laps beside Shauna. It's as if she's making a point of letting me know that if I've found another BFF, so has she. It's like me and Shauna against Kat and Zenia.
What kind of relay team will that make? It's crazy! And what's so bad about having new friends anyway? Something is going to have to change if we ever hope to pull our relay team together. We have to find a way to trust each other again. At least I have Shauna to walk home with today. We're still trying to find a way to keep Justin out of trouble Friday night.
After dinner, I go to my room to study for a social studies test. Matt raps on my door and peers in.
“So what did Zenia say, Maddy? Will she help us with Justin?”
“Well⦔ I sigh. “I actually haven't asked her yet, Matt.”
Finally I tell him what happened to Zenia last Saturday, and how I blew it as a friend. He sinks down on my bed and puts his head in his hands. He has trouble looking at me. I can't blame him. I can hardly look at myself in the mirror these days.
“I'm not surprised about Carter.
At all
,” says Matt. “But don't⦔ He pauses. “Don't you think you're still being a chicken by not trying to do something about it now? By not trying to talk to Zenia, at least?”
I swallow loudly. He's right.
“Someone's got to make the first move,” he says.
“Okay.” I slap my hands on my knees. “I'll do it. Right now.”
“I
knew
you'd do the right thing, Maddy,” he says and smiles.
Which gives me the last little nudge I need to pick up my phone. I go out and sit on the front steps. I punch in Zenia's cell number, and she answers right away.
“Zenia. We need your help with something,” I say. I explain how we need her help with Justin and that he might be headed for trouble with Carter and the other guys on Friday night.
But she cuts me off. “Hold on. What does any of this have to do with me?”
“Well, you know, you stopped him from getting suspended. Weâ¦we kind of thought maybe you cared about him, maybe more than just as a friend. If you could try to sidetrack him at the dance on Friday night⦠so he stays away from Carter and the other jerks. So he stays out of trouble⦔ My voice dwindles away.
There. I got it out. It's done. I tried. There's a long pause. I'm starting to think she's going to hang up.
“Zenia,” I say, “I still feel awful about what happened on Saturday at the track⦔
“Maddy, it's nobody's business what's going on between me and Justin,” Zenia murmurs. “And how can you call me after what you did? Anyway, I'm not even going to the dance. Bye.”
And she hangs up. I have absolutely no idea what to do next.
Matt is in the doorway. “What did she say?” he asks hopefully.
I sigh. I can't turn around to look at him. “She said she'd think about it.”
Everything is falling apart, and it's my fault. Most of my friends aren't talking to me. I have to try and fix things, at least with Kat. I have to explain why I said what I did. After Matt disappears into the house, I take a deep breath and dial Kat's number. She answers on the first ring.
“What's up?” she says. Not even hello. Not a good start.
“Kat, I know you're still mad at me,” I say. “Can you at least let me try to explain what I meant yesterday?”
“I'm pretty sure I know what you meant. But go ahead, Maddy,” she says. There's an awkward pause. I don't know where to begin.
“Look, we have to find a way to pull this team together for everyone's sake. For yours, for Zenia's, and even for Shauna's. We have to find a way to trust each other and work together, or it won't be good.”
“That doesn't change what you said to me, and to Isabel and Paige too. That was a lousy thing to say. I can't believe you really feel that way.”
Kat's words bite because they're true.
“All I was trying to say is that we need to get to know other kids too. I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did. Don't you make mistakes sometimes?”
“Yeah, I do,” Kat says. “And my biggest one is letting you beat me on the trackâjust for the sake of ourâ¦friendship.”
I gasp. I can't help it. I can't believe what I'm hearing. She's actually been letting me win races!
“Kat. Why? Why would you do that?” I ask.
“I was faster than you last year, right? I think it bugged you, even though you said it didn't. Am I right?” Dead silence. She's waiting for my answer, but I can't speak. “Well? Am I right, Maddy?”
She is. Kat's totally right. I never admitted it. I just sucked up the losses, the way I thought a good friend should. Good friends leave their competitiveness on the track. That's what our coach told us last year. I murmur “Uh-huh” into my phone.
“Okay, so don't get mad when I tell you this.” Her voice sounds thick with emotion. “This year I wanted you to believe you were as good as me for the sake of our friendship. I wanted Coach Reeves to make the decision about who was faster. But the truth is, you s
till
can't beat me, Maddy. So that's it. Now I'm in it to win it.”
I am stunned. “
Seriously
? You've been letting me win all along?”
“That's right,” Kat says. “But not anymore.”
I hang up because there's nothing more to say. I don't understand why she's been doing this. Maybe I never will.
Friday is a blur. I can barely focus. I still can't get over what Kat admitted last night. I'm sure I blow my social studies test. The coaches cancel practice and tell us to do some work on our own. They know that most of the team is pumped for the dance and not focused enough. I'm sure they're fed up with all the drama. And then there's the dance to deal with tonight. Coach Reeves is chaperoning. He'll be there, watching us all.
I can hardly face anyone. Not Shauna, or Zenia and Kat, who are both still giving me the cold shoulder. I don't even want to go near the dance tonight, but I know I have to. I promised Shauna I'd help her with Justin.
Butterflies race around in my gut all day. I can barely eat Abuelo's dinner, let alone look at him. He knows something is up, and so does Mom, but they won't ask. Nobody says a word when Matt takes off after he inhales his dinner. He starts work at six on Friday nights.
After dinner, I pick out something cool to wear to the dumb dance even though I couldn't care less about it. I'd much rather be going for a run instead. I choose a denim skirt, a lime-green Old Navy T-shirt, and sandals because it's a warm night. I slap on a bit of makeup, not even caring how it looks, and head for the door.
I've never been crazy about dances. I hate standing there hoping someone will ask me to dance. Or worseâdancing in a circle with a bunch of other girls who nervously show off because nobody has asked them to dance. The competition at a school dance is more intense than at a race!
Before the dance, kids hang around outside the school. They gather in groups to check each other out. Some of them have a buzz on, as usual. Some others like me don't even want to be here. But no one wants to feel like a loser and stay home to hang out in cyberspace while their friends are here.
All my so-called friends are here. Kat's standing with Paige and Isabel. When our eyes meet, I look the other way. I still can't believe that she's been letting me win races. It makes me cringe just to think about it. A bunch of our other track friends are in the gym too. Carter isn't with them. He's hanging with his new crew instead. Justin and a bunch of other guys are already acting like jerks.
Some of the girls nearby are impressed by them. I'm not. Neither is Shauna, judging from her pissed-off face. She's standing by the doors, waiting for me as planned. We're going to keep an eye on things, try to sidetrack Justin if we can. Try to stop any trouble from finding him tonight. I don't want to pay the ten bucks and get my hand stamped. But I do, and I walk into the gym.
It's filled with blasting speakers, loud kids, hot stinky air and teachers who wish they were anywhere else but here. What a waste of half of my weekly allowance.
Shauna and I are on the alert. Even when we're dancing, we're keeping one eye on Justin. I dance with Nathaniel and Zack, and a couple of guys I've met this year.
As the evening progresses, Justin and his friends start acting like goofs. It's almost as if they want to get told to leave. The teachers don't seem too thrilled with their fooling around, stupid dance moves, loud yelps and knocking into people. They seem to be trying to turn the gym into a mosh pit. Coach Reeves's face is like a stone. A teacher taps Carter on the shoulder and says something to him. Carter nods solemnly and turns back to his friends, grinning and laughing. Every time I glance at Shauna, she's watching Justin and cringing.
At around 9:30, my cell phone vibrates. I whip the phone out of my pocket. It's a text from Zenia. It says,
Changed my
mindâ¦on my way now
. I almost want to do wind sprints around the gym!
“She's coming,” I say to Shauna. But Shauna has no idea what I'm talking about. She frowns and looks at me, perplexed. “Just hang in there,” I say.
A few minutes later, Zenia walks through the gym doors. She looks amazing! She has on a funky pink dress that practically lights up the room. Justin's head turns in her direction. His eyes lock on hers. This plan might actually work! Shauna sees what's going on, too, and smiles.
Zenia works her way through the maze of dancers and walks up to me. “Thanks for trying to help Justin,” she says. “And for asking me to help. You're a good friend, Maddy. Even if you are a bit of a chicken sometimes.”
“
Huh!
” I gasp, and Zenia starts laughing.
“Honestly, you rock, Maddy.” She gives my arm a quick squeeze. Then she pushes her way through the crowd, walks over to Justin and asks him to dance.
Shauna and I watch as Justin and Zenia move closer and closer together even though it's not a slow dance. Clearly their romance has been waiting to break wide open. There's a quick kiss from Justin, and Shauna elbows me in the ribs. We're both grinning madly. The other jackass guys are dancing together, making a scene and being way too noisy. The teachers are gathered together, whispering among themselves and making plans. I can't watch anymore. So I hook my arm through Shauna's and drag her out into the hallway.
“It's awesome,” I say. “He's totally distracted by her!”
Shauna nods. “You planned this whole thing, didn't you? You're brilliant, Maddy!”
“It was Matt's idea too,” I say. “He couldn't be here. But we asked Zenia for help. And she came through!”
Someone stalks out the gym doors. It's Coach Reeves. He has a scary look on his face, like a thunderstorm about strike. Right behind him is Carter, and some of the other guys. They're surrounded by the teacher chaperones, who herd them out of the gym, down the hall and toward the school exit.
“Please tell me my brother
isn't
with them.” Shauna's voice is hoarse.
“Hang on,” I say, grabbing her arm. “Let's take a closer look.”
He's not there. Justin
isn't
one of the guys being escorted out of the school tonight. Our plan actually worked! Shauna's mouth splits into a wide smile.
The teachers wander back into the gym after kicking out the troublemakers. Everyone seems relieved. Especially Coach Reeves. He walks over and looks us right in the eye.
“Carter was the one who told me he saw Justin hanging around the backpacks last Saturday.” Coach sighs and shakes his head. “But I was never sold on his story. It's a good thing Zenia had the courage to tell us she saw Carter around the backpacks too. Otherwise, Justin wouldn't even be on the team anymore.”
Coach puts a hand on each of our shoulders. “Your brother was just about to be asked to leave tonight, you know, Shauna,” he says. “I don't really believe he had anything to do with the theft. I still have faith in him.”