Smart Boys & Fast Girls (A Girlfriend's Guide to Boys)

by Stephanie Rowe

He shrugged. "If you run your best, it helps all of us."

  Nice vague answer that told me nothing about his true motivations.

  He stopped outside the boys' locker room. "So? Are we on for tomorrow morning? Six-thirty on the field?"

  I hesitated. I didn't know what I wanted.

  "You want to beat Val?"

  Yeah, I did. I really did.

  He grinned at the look on my face. "Then I'll see you in the morning. You need a ride?"

  "Um... I guess." I mean my mom could probably drive me, but...

  "Great. I'll pick you up at six-fifteen. Come dressed to run because we have to be going by six-thirty."

  Because a normal girl would take too long to change out of street clothes. Hadn't we already established I wasn't a normal girl?

  He disappeared into the locker room before I had a chance to accept his offer, not that I needed to. He'd taken the answer he wanted and left. I'd have to track him down if I wanted to back out.

  I wasn't in the mood to track down any guys, so I guessed I was going to be waiting for him at six-fifteen tomorrow morning.

  Taking a deep breath, I shoved my hip against the girls' locker room door and headed inside to the lair of the deadly Queen Val. With any luck, the whole lot of them would have drowned in the shower.

  CHAPTER TEN

  By the time Saturday morning arrived, I was exhausted. It was all I could do to drag myself to the mall for lattes at Starbucks with my friends for our girls' day. Matt and I had studied until almost midnight every night, and I'd been out the door early to run with Zach every day. Running with Zach had simply been runs. No kisses, no magic moments, just sweat and dirt. Afternoon practices hadn't changed, and I hated going. I'd finally bailed on practice on Friday. The test had been brutally hard, and I was sure I'd blown it. I mean, I knew I'd gotten a few answers right, but it had been so hard. I was just done, and I couldn't cope with another day of team practice.

  I'd worked so hard all week, and I'd failed. My grade would come in, I'd get kicked off the team, and it was all for nothing. I didn't have anything left. I really didn't. I was just done.

  I'd barely even managed to drag myself out of bed this morning for girls' day, but I knew they'd be so mad if I blew it off, since the entire point of it was to turn me into a girl. What was the point now? Zach saw me as a point-scorer, Matt was clearly in the friend zone, and I was out of the loop socially. Why bother to look like a girl? It was a lost cause.

  Allie laid a sheet of paper on the table. "So, this is my plan for the day. First, haircut and color. Your appointment is at eleven-thirty. Then off to Nordstrom's for a makeover. Then we'll do some serious clothes shopping." She frowned. "Or maybe the makeover should be last so you don't get makeup all over the clothes." She scribbled on the sheet. "We'll change the order. I'll stop in at Nordstrom's to reschedule your appointment. So clothes are second. You need sexy lingerie and some hot outfits for school as well as some date outfits and ..."

  I held up my hand wearily. "Let's skip it."

  Allie's head snapped up and she stared at me. "Skip what?"

  "All this." I waved vaguely at the air. "How about we go rent a bunch of movies and eat popcorn or something?" I looked at Blue and Frances. "You guys game?"

  I shifted under three hostile stares.

  "Let me get this straight," Frances said. "Because your desperate need to get some advice on how to be a girl, I skipped Theo's game, only to discover that you don't actually want to do this anymore? Is that what you're saying? I blew off Theo for no reason?"

  I glared at her. "If you think hanging out with me and the rest of your friends is 'no reason,' then yeah, I guess so." I widened my circle so my glare encompassed all of them. "Is that what all of you think? That I'm a waste of time because you all have boyfriends you'd rather be with? Because that's the sense I'm getting. Let me know now, and I'll save all of you the effort of having to avoid me."

  Allie looked shocked, but Blue and Frances wouldn't meet my gaze.

  I hated them. Right then, I knew that I hated them.

  Allie touched my hand. "No way, Nat. You're wrong. I'm happy to hang out with you."

  "Is that why you all have been having your triple dates and I didn't get invited until I had someone to bring?"

  "Ah..." Allie shifted and looked at Blue and Frances, who both seemed suddenly interested in inspecting their lattes. "That had nothing to do with you. It just... well... it would have been awkward to have you there. I mean, because we were all couples and stuff."

  "Is that right? How come it was okay when Colin and Theo hung with the four of us when you and I didn't have boyfriends? And suddenly, when there's only one left, it becomes awkward?" My hands started shaking so I shoved them under the table.

  Frances finally looked up. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, does it? Because you have a boyfriend."

  "Yeah," Blue chimed in. "We're going out next Friday night. Are you and Matt in?"

  I stared at them in disbelief. "That's it? It's all okay because you think I have a boyfriend?"

  "We think you have a boyfriend?" Allie frowned. "Don't you?"

  "I made it up!" I was so angry I couldn't even think. "I made it up because it was the only way I could hang with my own friends who have been my best friends since I was two years old!"

  They all looked shocked. "You made it up?" Blue asked. "He's not your boyfriend?"

  "No, he's not!" I wasn't going to tell them the truth, though. "And if you tell my parents that, I will never, ever forgive you!"

  Allie looked confused. "You want your parents to think he's your boyfriend? Why?"

  "Yeah, usually it's the other way." Frances laughed. "Remember? I told my parents I was tutoring Theo? That really pissed him off. He was so offended that anyone would believe he was dumb enough to need a tutor."

  Tutoring Theo? I tensed. Too close to the truth.

  "Are you okay? You look like you're going to pass out." Blue peered at me.

  "No, I'm not okay. I hate all of you." I folded my arms across my chest.

  Blue narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "Tutor."

  I jerked.

  "Tutor," she said again.

  I winched. "Shut up."

  Blue sighed. "Why didn't you want us to know he's your tutor?"

  "Shut up!" I threw my napkin at her, but she batted it away. "He's not my tutor! I'm not stupid!"

  Frances was looking at me with sympathy, and Allie was still sporting a confused look. "Of course you're not stupid," Frances said. "Having a tutor doesn't mean that."

  "Said by the girl who gets straight A's in everything."

  "I'm telling the truth." She frowned. "Why didn't you tell us?"

  "Because none of you are my friends anymore! The only way to get your attention was to have a boyfriend." I wiped my sleeve across my face, clearing off the couple of tears that had escaped. "I hate all of you." But I couldn't muster up the same amount of venom as before. I was exhausted. Drained. "I really hate you."

  While I tried to catch my breath, the rest of the table sat in silence. Good. I hoped they were all miserable.

  "I'm sorry," Blue said. "I had no idea."

  "Because you're too infatuated with your college boyfriend," I spat out.

  "I know."

  The soft tone of her voice caught my attention, and I looked at her. "Really?"

  She nodded. "I'm sorry."

  "Me too," Frances said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

  "Why should I have to? You're my friends. I shouldn't have to beg for attention." I shook my head. "Do you guys even care how miserable my life is right now?"

  "Yes!" It was a three-way outburst that almost made me feel a little bit better.

  "Tell us." Allie retrieved four muffins from the counter and set them on the table. "My treat. Fill us in."

  I picked up the chocolate one. "I don't want to waste your time." Yeah, I sounded whiny and pouty. So what? I deserved to be a little high-maintenance for once.
/>   Blue kicked me under the table. "Shut up. You're not wasting our time. Spill. None of us are going anywhere." She looked at Frances and Allie. "Are we?"

  "Heck no," Frances said. "Talk."

  "Yeah." Allie propped her chin up on her hands. "What's going on?"

  I looked around the table at the faces of my three friends, and for the first time in ages, I felt connected. Truly connected. "You really want to know?"

  The expressions on their faces gave me the answer I wanted.

  They cared. Sure, they'd been blowing me off lately because of their boyfriends, but they were my best friends, no matter what. They wouldn't disown me if I ran slow or got a bad grade. I could tell them anything. And I was going to, because I needed them. "It started with Ms. Olsen trying to get me kicked off the team."

  That statement got an appropriate round of horrified gasps, and I managed a small smile. It was so good to have them back.

  * * *

  Forty-five minutes later, I had finally caught them all up. "So, I've spent this week training with Zach in the mornings, and studying with Matt at night, and neither of them has so much as hinted at any interest in me. Zach's all about running, and Matt's just into the geometry." I leaned back and took a bite of my third muffin.

  "How did the test go?" Frances asked.

  Typical Frances. Nothing was more important than school and grades. "I think I failed."

  Frances smiled. "There's no way that you failed after spending a week studying so hard. How do you really think you did?"

  I sighed. Now that my friends were talking to me again, I didn't feel so hopeless anymore. Everything felt a little better. "I knew some of them," I admitted. "But the rest was brutal."

  "You know more than you think," Frances said. "I bet you did fine."

  "Really?" I felt a ripple of hope. If anyone knew about doing well on tests, it was Frances.

  She squeezed my hand. "I'm sure of it. When do you find out?"

  "I won't know until next week." I crossed my fingers under the table for good luck. "I hope it takes Ms. Olsen a while to correct them." Maybe I could guilt my friends into storming her office and burning all the test papers before she had a chance to grade them.

  Allie waved her hand. "Let's get to the more important stuff. Matt. I think he totally digs you."

  I rolled my eyes. "Didn't you hear me tell you what he said about his girlfriend? He's going to go visit her."

  "It's a front. He's confused. Kiss him again and he'll realize what he wants."

  My stomach flipped at the thought of kissing him again, and Allie whooped. "Look at her face. She totally likes him!"

  "No, I don't." I took a swig of my lukewarm latte. "I like Zach."

  Allie's face darkened. "Zach's a jerk."

  "Is he the one who stopped by the table on Saturday night?" Frances asked. At my nod, she added, "He's totally cute."

  "He's a jerk," Allie repeated. "Don't let him fool you."

  "Why is he a jerk?" Blue asked. "I thought he was cute too, and he's been helping Natalie train all week for the meet this weekend. That doesn't sound jerky."

  "He was flirting with her in front of Matt. He totally dissed Matt. No respect at all." Allie glared at me. "Given how much you like Matt, you should be totally offended on his behalf."

  "I don't like Matt! Not in that way. But yes, I was offended for him." Heaven help me if I like Matt. He was taken, remember? "Zach was flirting with me because he likes me." I frowned. "Or I thought he did. Doesn't really seem like it anymore." I frayed the edge of my napkin. "Did I tell you about Val?"

  Allie snorted. "I can't stand Val."

  Blue and Frances looked confused. "Who is Val?"

  I filled them in on the Val/Elaine/Zach mess, and by the time I finished, all of my friends were frowning.

  "I don't like this Val being all chummy with you," Blue said. "Don't trust her."

  "Yeah, pretending she's your friend? I don't believe it." Frances appeared annoyed.

  "She has the hots for Zach and she's using you," Allie added. "And don't trust Elaine either."

  "Yeah," Frances echoed, and Blue nodded her agreement.

  And I started to laugh. "You guys are jealous. Because I might have other girlfriends than you." Oh my gosh. How cool was that? It was awesome.

  Rapid denial followed, but they were totally lying.

  How good did it feel to be wanted by them? Maybe now they wouldn't take me for granted. "I don't know. Val seems awfully genuine." Except when she'd turn her back on me whenever I walked into the locker room, but no need to tell them that. "And I think Elaine might really be legit. She really isn't a good runner, so she might have issues with Val."

  My friends erupted into a frenzied dissertation on why Elaine and Val were alien creatures with evil designs on me and my social life. I was laughing by the time they finished. Until I started to think about what they were saying and realized they might be right. "So what do I do then? I don't know who's telling the truth."

  "Date Matt," Allie said. "You know he's legit."

  "I can't date Matt! He has a girlfriend." For the millionth time.

  "Who lives in London," Allie said. "Come on, do you really think she can compete with you?"

  "He's ashamed of me. He doesn't even want me to meet his friends," I pointed out. That still hurt.

  Allie shrugged. "So he still has some jock/brain hangups. Big deal. He got over them pretty fast when he kissed you." A devious look spread over her face. "That's it! He kissed you because he was jealous of the attention Zach was giving you. It made him realize he wanted you too." She was beaming now. "Definitely get Zach to like you. It'll make Matt come running."

  I slammed my fist into the table. "I don't like Matt!"

  "She definitely likes him," Blue said.

  Frances nodded. "Totally."

  "Told you." Allie shot me a smug look.

  "Listen." I glared at all of them. "Matt has a girlfriend. They are in love. If I decide I like him, it will suck for me. End of story. If you are my friends, you won't encourage me to do something that's going to make me miserable. Got it?"

  Allie stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "I still think he's the one for you."

  "It doesn't matter! Don't you see?" How much more obvious did it get?

  Frances nodded slowly. "I think you might be jumping ship too soon, but I understand. If you like Zach, then I think you should go for it."

  "Zach's a total cutie, and he's helping you train." Blue shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me who you go for, as long as you don't start trusting Valerie and her friends."

  A disobedient grin crept across my face. So I enjoyed making my friends jealous. So what? They deserved it. Then I frowned. "But Zach doesn't see me as a girl." I dropped my forehead to the tabletop and closed my eyes with a moan of despair. "Why does every guy see me only as a buddy?"

  "Matt doesn't," Allie said.

  "Shut up! Just shut up about Matt!" When would she give up? As if it wasn't hard enough not to think about that kiss without Allie trying to shove him down my throat. "I'll say this once more, and then if you bring up his name again, I'll disown you. Matt has a girlfriend who he loves, and even if he didn't, he's ashamed of me. End of story."

  "I thought Tad didn't like me, but he did," Allie said. "You might be surprised."

  "Argh!" I jumped up from the table. "I'm leaving."

  Blue grabbed my wrist before I could get away and she hauled me back to my seat. "No, we support the Zach thing, and we'll help you." She gave Allie a long look. "Okay?"

  Allie shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "Fine."

  Blue picked up Allie's notepad. "Okay, so we missed her haircut and color appointment. I'll reschedule." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed while I pouted and glared at Allie, who squinted her eyes and scowled back at me.

  "They have an opening in ten minutes," Blue announced. "Allie, you stop at Nordstrom's and reschedule her makeover, and meet us at the haircut place."
>
  Allie eyed the rest of us with a sullen look on her face. "I'll help, but it's not to attract Zach. When Matt sees how she looks and notices Zach's interest, he won't be able to keep himself away." She held up her hand at my protest. "Natalie, I owe you for getting me together with Tad, and I will repay my debt. It won't be by hooking you up with Zach. You're too good of a friend." She left before any of us could respond.

  "I think Zach's cute," Frances said.

  "He is." And he was helping me with cross country. "Besides, if Val was right that he was trying to take advantage of me, then I'd hardly have to be battling to get him to notice me as a girl, right?"

  Blue's face darkened. "Val's a liar. I can feel it. She wants Zach for herself and she's trying to screw you to get him."

  "I agree," Frances said. "Never trust an ex-girlfriend."

  I felt my shoulders relax. That was what I wanted to hear. Actual, helpful advice, not reasons to like Matt. "You think there's any chance of getting Zach and not having Val hate me?"

  "Why do you care if Val hates you?" Blue asked.

  "Because running is my life and she can make it miserable for me if she gets the entire girls' team to hate me." I didn't want to be at practice and be humiliated and ignored by Val and her friends.

  "If you snare Zach and kick butt this weekend, all those girls will come to you and Val will be stuck alone," Blue said.

  I sighed. "You think?" And even if they did, I was beginning to think it didn't matter, not when all their friendship would disappear the moment I had a bad race.

  Frances nodded. "Definitely. You'll be the new Queen of Running at Mapleville High."

  If I was, my first action as queen would be to behead Val.

  Blue stood up. "Appointment in five minutes. Let's go start creating the new Natalie."

  New Natalie? I really hoped this turned out okay. What if they created a freak? On the other hand, how much worse could my social standing get?

  * * *

  Six hours later, Blue stuck her head into the bathroom at the same Italian restaurant where we'd had the quadruple date last weekend. But today was different. I was different. "Come on, Nat," she said. "Our table's ready."

  "Just a sec." No way could I drag myself away from the bathroom mirror. I couldn't believe it was me. Me! With golden highlights in my normally drab brown hair that now curved softly around my face instead of hanging wildly or yanked into pigtails. With makeup that made my eyes look huge and gave me cheekbones. Wearing a shirt that made me look like I had a figure instead of a toothpick body. Jeans that hugged in the right places and curved way below my belly button, taking advantage of my cropped shirt. Sandals that showed off my pedicure. Earrings that swung softly against the sides of my neck.