Nobody Likes Megan McGowen

18. Why Would You Run?

"You know, things have been going surprisingly good so far." Jen said as she met up with Megan on the way to the cafeteria.

"Really?" Megan asked.

Jen must have missed her brother blackmailing her Friday. Not to mention the fact that her classes were still a little weird. At least Megan was pretty sure she could get used to the classes part. And if nothing else, this whole thing was really doing wonders for her grades; this could actually be the first semester since she started high school that her parents wouldn't be disappointed with her report card. It wasn't much, but at least it was something good.

"...Right? Megan?" Jen looked at her questioningly, and Megan realized she must have zoned out.

"Sorry, what?" Megan asked.

"I said, I thought when you let him actually show up to school that it was all over. But he actually hasn't been nearly as obnoxious as I thought he'd be. It's a good thing you're keeping such a close eye on him in class – that probably helps a lot."

Megan tried to remain noncommittal, but she couldn't suppress a derisive snort.

"Ok, so maybe things aren't quite as great as they could be." Jen conceded, correctly interpreting Megan's look. "But it's nowhere near as bad as it could have been, right?"

"Yeah." Megan had to admit, Jen did have a point. "I can't believe I was actually thinking about running away before."

"You were? Really?" Jen raised her eyebrows. Megan forgot she'd never mentioned that to Jen. Well, too late now. "Where were you going to run to?"

"I don't know." Megan confessed, shrugging. "I hadn't really got that far."

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't." Jen told her, grinning as she took her seat at their usual table.

"You want to run?" Stacey asked, setting her tray down next to Megan. Tara was right behind her. Megan jumped. She didn't even realize they were there! She'd have to be a lot more careful about this – she just hoped neither of them had heard much.

"So what? Were you thinking of joining the track team or something?" Stacey asked.

"Maybe." Megan shrugged.

It had never really occurred to her as an option, but it was a lot easier than explaining what she'd really meant. Of course, when Danielle heard it, she couldn't understand what Megan was thinking.

"Why would you want to do track?" she asked, sounding like she was sure she'd misunderstood. She was built like a twig, which was good since she didn't believe in exercise. Megan was pretty sure she was the only girl in school who was getting ready to fail P.E. because she refused to dress for it most days.

"I don't know...it seems like it could be fun." Megan said, trying to convince herself.

She had technically been on the track team last year, but she didn't really count that. That was when she was a sophomore – an underclassman. So she'd tried out for the JV team. Well, she wouldn't exactly have called those tryouts. All underclassmen who showed up automatically made the team; there hadn't been a ton of them there and no one really took JV track seriously anyway. The only reason Megan had even bothered to do it in the first place was to give herself something to do after school.

But this year would be different for more than one reason. First of all, she was a junior now, meaning she'd have no choice but to try out for varsity. And varsity was actually kind of a big deal around here; there was a guy on the team who was actually pretty good. And one of the girls had really stepped it up last year.

The other problem was Megan's new status. Last year, she'd had nothing to lose. Even if there had been tryouts, it wouldn't have mattered; no one would ever remember if she failed. But this time would be different. If she failed, everyone would remember it. And she wasn't sure that being really popular would be enough to land her a spot on the team.

"I think you should do it." Tara told her. "I mean, I still think you should have joined the drama club with me, but you should have something to do that you like."

Megan grinned; it was nice to have one of her new best friends actually supporting her. She had been a little worried that they would think she was weird, especially with the way Danielle had reacted.

Megan looked across the table and saw that Jen was grinning too. Only, there was a trace of mischief there that Megan didn't like. She didn't know if it was because Tara and Stacey has misinterpreted what they'd been talking about, or if it was because Megan had specifically said that she would never run again. She'd told Jen it was more work than she'd thought, and she'd wondered if maybe she should try something else instead.

"I didn't think you liked running." Jen said. She tried to sound like it was a genuine question, but Megan saw the look in her eye.

"Well, it's not that bad..." Megan said. She wasn't about to be shown up on this.

"Since when?" Jen grinned.

Megan shot Jen a warning look, hoping to keep Jen from saying whatever it was she was getting at. If she spilled the fact that they were talking about Megan's recent desire to run away, she'd have to come up with some kind of plausible reason; she was pretty sure the most loved person in school would need something pretty big to happen if she was ready to run away from it all.

"When are tryouts anyway?" Tara cut in. Megan looked at her blankly.

"Umm, I'm not sure." she said. She didn't want to admit that the idea of running hadn't actually occurred to her until about three minutes ago.

"I think they're starting the week after next." Karen said slowly.

"Really?" Megan asked. How did Karen know that?

"Yeah. Actually, I was kind of thinking about trying out too." Karen admitted. "We can go together, if you want."

"Ok." Megan said.

If nothing else, going with Karen would keep her from wimping out. And even though she would never admit it to Jen, one of the things she hated most about track last year was the fact that she didn't know anyone on the team. And it got kind of embarrassing to constantly be standing around alone.

But if Karen was going, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. And what was the worst that could happen? She was the most popular girl in school – how could it possibly go wrong?