Sidetracked (6 page)

Everyone nods. Our coaches are depending on us to perform at our best no matter what. But it's going to be hard. Especially for Shauna, whose face is sagging. It's Justin who's missing today. Matt glances at me and shakes his head. We've let Shauna down. I only hope it isn't too late for Justin Halstead. I wonder who turned him in.

And then I hear someone say something and turn around.

“Major bummer. It sure sucks to be Justin right now, doesn't it?” Carter says. He has a strange smirk on his face. One of relief, maybe even triumph, like he just won a race or something. But I can tell Zenia is completely shocked. She stares at Carter with disgust. Then she shakes her head and stalks toward the school doors.

I run after her. I can't help it. I just have to know. “What's going on?” I say. “Where are you going?”

“To see the principal,” she says, shaking her mane of hair in fury. “Something is wrong. It wasn't only Justin hanging around those bags on Saturday. Carter was there too, and some other guys. There's no proof who actually
did
do it, and Justin is getting blamed. Carter knows I saw something going on though. He saw me watching him, and when I tried to confront him about it, he started shoving me around.”

“So you saw those guys messing with the backpacks and tried to ask them about it? God, Zenia, you've got guts!”

“Not only that,” she adds. “I didn't know it at the time, but it was
my
smartphone that got ripped off! There were lots of kids hanging around the backpacks that day. So it's hard to say exactly
who
did it. But Justin isn't the one.”

She has a funny smile on her face. Is she crushing on Justin?

“Oh god, Zenia. So
that's
what happened on Saturday. That's why Carter and his friends were giving you a hard time after everyone left.”
Crap.
I cover my mouth.

Zenia stops dead. “What did you just say?” she asks in a low voice. “You mean you were
there
? You saw what happened?”

I nod slowly. “I was way over by the school though. I couldn't even see who it was. And I was scared, Zenia. I was a total chicken, and I'm so sorry.”

“You think I wasn't scared too? You didn't even try to do something to
help
me. I can't believe it.” She spins around and marches into the school.

What a complete and total jerk I am. How will I ever make it up to Zenia? How will I even be able to face her again? What kind of a team will we be if we keep getting sidetracked with all these problems?

I shuffle back to join the rest of the team. I feel as if I'm wearing lead runners. Everyone is watching me. I'm sure they're wondering what Zenia and I were talking about. Coach Reeves has an eye on me too. He raises his eyebrows, and I just shrug. When he launches into his usual pep talk, I can barely hear what he's saying, I'm so rattled.

The coach winds up and sends us off to do our warm-ups. As I'm about to head for the track, fingers grip my arm and dig in hard.

“Hey!” I yank myself loose and spin around.

Carter is standing there grinning and frowning at the same time. “How's it going, Maddy?” he says.

“It's going fine, Carter.” I try to edge away from him. Just having him this close to me is making me sweat.

“What was Zenia whining about? What's her problem? Is something wrong?”

I'm close to tears. What's become of this guy I thought I knew last year? I even went to an eighth-grade grad barbecue at his place with the whole track team. Was that only a year ago? What is he trying to prove?

“Of course something's wrong, Carter. Everything's wrong. Don't you get it? Coach Reeves is freaking out. The team is sucking. And there's only one person who can fix things.”

Carter narrows his eyes and pushes his face close to mine. “Stay out of it, Maddy. It's none of your business.”

He lopes over to the track and starts running. I watch the back of him, wondering how we'll ever get this team to pull together with so much tension in the air.

We carry on as best we can with Justin and Zenia missing from practice. Everyone's wondering what's going on in the principal's office. And Coach Reeves seems uneasy. He dismisses us before they come back. Kat is icy for the entire practice, and then she takes off without even saying goodbye. Matt and I wait around with Shauna for a while, but when Justin and Zenia don't come out, we give up and walk home.

chapter sixteen

I find out what really happened from Shauna when she phones me later that evening. Zenia's report to the principal changed everything. They had to let Justin go because they don't know
who
is telling the truth. Justin is keeping his mouth shut. He won't tell Shauna anything. It's as if he's covering for Carter or afraid to speak up.

Shauna can't figure out why a guy like Carter, who is younger than her brother, has such an effect on him. I tell her people get a kick out of Carter because they think he's cool. And this year he has a bigger audience. He looks and acts way older than he actually is. Girls want him, and guys want to be him, so now his head is too big for the rest of his body. I reassure Shauna that at least Justin has another chance now. At least he didn't get suspended.

By the time I hang up, my thoughts are spinning. Who ratted out Justin in the first place? I hope it isn't who I think it is. How will I ever gain back Zenia's trust and friendship? Why is Kat acting so weird now? Who is Coach going to choose to run the 100 meter? If it's Kat, will I be able to handle it? And if it's me, will she?

I manage to get to sleep in spite of all my racing thoughts. The early-morning sun lights up my room when I open my eyes on Wednesday. Something feels different.

For probably the first time, I'm not looking forward to practice this morning. I have to face Zenia, Kat, Shauna and all our problems. I dread being on the track with them.

Luckily we don't have to compete against one another this morning. All we do is our plyometrics and warm-up sprints. None of us has much to say, either, but I can almost hear what they're thinking. Everyone notices our silence. Coach Reeves has an eye on us. He can see his potential relay team has some issues.

When he calls me over, my legs go weak. I hope he isn't going to ask about Justin and Carter. Did Zenia tell him what I saw and that I never helped her?

“I'm not asking you girls to race today. I'm holding off. Is there something you need to tell me, Maddy?” Our coach is obviously worried about us. There's a softness in his voice that I've never heard before.

Should I confide in Coach Reeves? No, I can't tell him anything yet. I need more time to sort things out myself.

“Not really, Coach,” I say. “I think everyone is a bit uptight over what's been going on this week. We're all worried about our teammates.”

“Maybe so,” he says. “But remember, I'm here if you need me.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” I offer him a weak smile, hoping it doesn't reveal how much I'm holding inside.

If this keeps up, some of the other sprinters may move up into our positions. And the rest of us will be left behind, wondering what just happened to our relay team.

Coach Reeves doesn't race us at afternoon practice on Wednesday either. He knows something nasty is going on. It's as if he doesn't want to make us compete when there is so much upset right now. Instead, he makes us run endlessly around the track and hop madly up and down. It's a great distraction and burns off a lot of excess energy and worries. Matt has his eye on me. He knows something is going on with me and my friends. It's obvious from our silence. Every time our eyes meet, he raises his eyebrows.

Justin seems to be behaving today. Shauna shoots him invisible arrows, warning him about something. Carter is his usual arrogant self, running his butt off. When Coach isn't watching, he fools around with some of the other guys. If only something or someone could bring Carter down a few notches. If
only
!

After practice I walk home with Kat, Paige and Isabel. Zenia is long gone, and so is Shauna. As soon as Coach let us go, they didn't stick around. They took off in opposite directions as if they had somewhere important to be. Shauna was right behind Justin when he left. She seems to be sticking to him like stink on a skunk to watch his every move and keep him in line.

Zenia totally ignored me today. I'm getting bad vibes from her. But I don't blame her. Problem is, I'm getting some bad vibes from my other friends now too. I'm sure it's about what happened in the caf when Shauna sat with us. Everyone thinks my BFF loyalties are changing. Kat will always be my first and best friend. But now that I've gotten to know Shauna and understand her a bit better, I want to be friends with her too.

I'm quiet as we walk home. Kat, Paige and Isabel babble away about the dance coming up on Friday night. They talk about what they're going to wear and who they want to dance with. Every time I look up, one of them is staring at me.

Finally Paige asks, “What is
going on
with you? And what's with Shauna. I can't believe she sat at our table in the caf yesterday. At least she didn't try it again today.”

“I thought you didn't even like Shauna because she's always giving everyone the evil eye on the track,” Isabel adds. “That's what Kat said anyway.”

I stop walking and stare at them, three of my oldest friends. “I never said I didn't
like
her. I just wondered why she didn't like us. And now I know what her problem is, so it's not a big deal anymore. Shauna and I got it all straightened out.”

“But Kat is still your best friend, right?” Paige asks. “And not Shauna. So why are you being nice to her when she's acting like such a loser?”

“What are you talking about?” I glare at them in disbelief. “Shauna is on our
team
! Don't you think being friends with her is a
good
thing? We've hardly gotten to know any of the other kids at school this year. We're always stuck together like some dumb snotty clique.”

“
What
?” Paige and Isabel say and gasp.

“Just let it go, you guys,” Kat says. “If that's what you really think of us, Maddy, then
whatever
.”

“Whatever is
right
.” I shake my head. I can't believe they're not even interested enough to ask what Shauna and I straightened out. I'm so furious, I make a run for it without looking back.

chapter seventeen

By the time I get home, I'm almost in tears. I already regret blurting out such awful things instead of trying to explain to my friends that Matt and I are trying to figure out how to help Shauna. I flop down on my bed and bury my face in a novel for English class until I get called for dinner.

Abuelo has cooked up a
paella
tonight. I know Matt won't complain. It's one of his favorites. He would even choose it over mac and cheese.

At dinner, Matt and I keep glancing at each other. We still haven't had a chance to talk about what went on at practice today. Mom doesn't seem overly concerned, even though I'm sure she notices. Abuelo always takes his cue from Mom. The two of them chat away together, completely ignoring our signals.

Mom trusts us. I know that now. She doesn't feel the need to snoop, to try to pry stuff out of us. I've heard other kids call their parents “crowbars” because of all the prying into their lives that they do. Some even creep their kids' Facebook pages to spy.

Awhile later, when Mom and Abuelo are relaxing in the living room and we're cleaning up the kitchen, we finally have a chance to talk.

“Did you see Shauna today?” Matt asks in a low voice. “She was all over Justin. Watching him all the time. Glaring whenever he goofed off.”

“I saw that. We've gotta come up with a way to help,” I say. “We promised Shauna we would. The coaches are just waiting for a chance to make an example of someone so they can whip the team into shape.”

“Zenia was watching Justin too,” Matt says, grinning. “But for totally different reasons. I've heard about those two. Everyone notices the way they stare at each other.”

“Yeah, I know. It's hard to miss,” I say.

“What's up with you, Zenia and Kat? Usually the three of you run laps together and never stop talking. You guys ignored each other today. Don't deny it. And what was Coach talking with you about? Why didn't he race you the way he always does?”

I blink, not sure what to say. Was it so obvious that even Matt noticed?

“Oh, it's no big deal, Matt,” I say. “Coach still isn't sure who'll be running the hundred meter. So he's holding off on racing us. He'll be making the big decision soon though.”

I feel a sharp little stab of guilt for not coming clean with my brother about what I saw, especially after he finally came clean with me. And I'm trying my best not to fixate on what happened with Zenia or between Kat, Paige, Isabel and me. But it's very hard.

When my cell phone rings, I grab it and look at the name on the display, hoping it's Kat. But no. “It's Shauna,” I say to Matt. “Hello?”

Shauna starts talking right away. “Maddy. This is getting worse. I just listened in on a phone call to my brother. I was outside his room when I heard his cell phone ring.”

“Hang on!” I repeat all this to Matt and he leans in to hear. “Okay, go on, Shauna.”

She tells us she heard her brother talking about the dance Friday night. They plan on partying before and after. She's sure she heard Justin say Carter's name.

“I'm scared they have something dumb planned for Friday,” Shauna says. “I'm worried they'll do something stupid and get suspended or maybe even expelled. I don't want Justin to be a part of this anymore. He has too much to lose, maybe even a college track scholarship!”

Matt shakes his head and frowns. “Did you try talking to him?” he asks.