“Ha! Good one.” He bit into his food, and by the time his friends made it to our table, I was almost finished with my first burger.
“Hey, Grace.” Oliver looked at me.
I nodded and pointed at him. “Oliver.”
He slid in beside me, a grin filling his face. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Grace just nailed the baton pass, so we’re celebrating.”
“And you took her to McDonalds?” Oliver shook his head and then took a sip of his soda. “No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend.”
I burst out laughing but then slapped a hand over my mouth.
Preach held out his hands. “Are you saying this isn’t a worthy feast?”
I shrugged. “I’m with Preach on this one. I’ve got simple tastes, and McDonald’s gets it done right every single time!”
Before Oliver could respond, a girl about my height, with sleek black hair and smooth brown skin waved. “Hey, Grace! I’m Becca. We met in the gym the other day.”
“Oh yeah, good to see you again. I heard you’re wicked fast,” I said.
“Uh, same,” Becca said with a grin. “I think we might be teammates soon!”
Aanya sat down next. Her tawny skin glowed, really making her deep brown eyes pop. She was so pretty.
“Almost have the whole 4x100 team here! Just need Harper,” Becca said, looking at me. “I hear you’re going to be our new anchor.”
“Well…I’m…going to try out. I—”
“Oh please, girl.” Aanya nudged me. “I Googled you after I heard you were running a sub-twelve second open 100…you’re on the team.”
Becca nodded, then bit into one of her chicken nuggets. “We’re totally going to win sectionals this year.”
“State, girl!” Aanya high fived Becca and laughed. “We aretotallygoing to win State.”
I drank in their excitement. I’d been part of track teams for what felt like forever, but these people, they were the shit. Nice, friendly, and they didn’t seem catty.
Some of the schools I’d been at, my teammates would act happy that I ran fast, but behind my back, they talked shit about me. And one time, when I’d sprained my ankle, I’d heard one of my teammates say that she hoped I’d be out for the rest of the season.
But these girls, they seemed genuinely happy about my times. Hopeful they’d help, like maybe they were more about the team instead of individual goals. I wasn’t sure I trusted it, though.
Hell, I was having trouble trusting lots of things right now. A wave of adrenaline shot through me, electrifying my blood. Twice in the last ten months, things had changed on a dime. Emmett. My wrist.
I gulped through the nerves tightening around my throat, then reached for my soda.
“Grace?” Oliver asked.
“Oh, sorry.” I shook off the swirl of emotions cinching my throat. “What’d I miss?”
“What are you doing with this chump?” He pointed at Preach. “He’s not even going out for track. I’ll help you. What do you need?”
I laughed. “He is a chump, isn’t he?”
“Wait?” Becca’s brown eyes went wide, and she sat up. “What’s going on?”
“OMG.” Aanya batted at my hand. “Are you guys on a date? Did we—”
“No!” I said, shaking my head. “No. No. Not a date.”