Free Sidetracked by Deb Loughead Page B

are running side by side. Maybe last night turned out better than they expected. Shauna’s doing laps and gives me a thumbsup as she passes. Kat flashes me a peace sign from across the track. But there’s still some tension hanging between us.
    We’ve just started warming up when Coach Reeves appears. Coach never shows up for Saturday morning practices. As soon as he blows his whistle, we all hurry over.
    He’s more somber than usual. “I’m sure many of you have already heard about what happened after the dance last night. Am I right?” His hands are on his hips, and one foot slowly taps the ground.
    We all nod.
    â€œCarter will be out of commission for the rest of the season. He and a couple of his friends were picked up by the police last night after getting kicked out of the dance. There’s something else you should be aware of—Justin Halstead had nothing to do with the theft last Saturday. His name has been cleared thanks to someone brave enough to come forward and tell us what really happened.”
    When I glance over at Zenia, she gives me a subtle smile. I think she’s finally forgiven me for not helping her when Carter and his friends pushed her around.
    Coach’s voice becomes more serious, and his eyes lock on Justin. “Would you like to add anything, Justin?”
    Justin clears his throat. Zenia gives him a little nudge, and he nods. “I just want to say sorry to all of you for acting like such a jerk lately on the track and in school. That’s over. It’s all about the team now. I promise.”
    Zenia smiles at me again, and I give her a thumbs-up. Shauna is standing next to Matt and beaming. Everything has turned out better than I expected.
    Practice goes really well. It’s as if now that our minds are free of the problems that have been hanging over us, we’re in top form. Before leaving, Coach told us he’ll be making his decisions after Monday’s practice.
    Kat and I don’t even try to race each other that morning. I still can’t believe she’s been letting me win all along just for the sake of our friendship. Halfway through practice, she walks over to me wearing a forced smile. I know it’s time to get this settled once and for all. If I can’t beat her on the track, I decide I’m going to beat her to the punch.
    â€œSo why did you do it?” I ask as we walk over to sit under a tree away from the rest of the team. “It doesn’t make any sense. I dealt with your wins last year. I would have been able to again this year, you know.”
    Kat heaves a huge sigh and shakes her head. “With so many other kids on the team this year, I was afraid of losing you as my closest friend. So I let you win half my races. Just so we’d keep laughing about it instead of competing seriously with each other. I wanted us to stay close. And in the end, I really did want Coach to make the decision so it wouldn’t be me beating you. So you wouldn’t resent me.”
    â€œWow,” I say. “Kat, we’re best friends. But it’s okay to have other friends too.”
    â€œYeah,” she says. “I finally figured that out. But it took Zenia to convince me. She told me how you helped Shauna and Justin. You’re a way better friend than I am.”
    â€œThat’s not true,” I say. “And here’s how you can prove it.”
    And that’s when I tell Kat what she can do on Monday to save our friendship.
    By Monday morning, my head is swimming with all the crazy things that happened on the weekend. Nothing was more hilarious than Abuelo telling the whole restaurant that his grandson is a top chef and cooked the burger himself. Which cracked up everyone who heard him! Mom and Abuelo were incredibly proud of my brother. And Matt was relieved they finally knew about his job. He even thanked me.
    After school on Monday, Kat, Zenia, Shauna and I, and some of the other