Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys (17 page)

 *  *  *

Megan had never considered herself to be a particularly paranoid person, but as she walked into school on Monday morning, she swore she could feel different groups of girls staring at the back of her head as she walked by. When she turned to look at them, their heads were bent close together and they were whispering.

As she approached her locker, Megan quickly checked her outfit to make sure she hadn't put her cargo pants on backward. Nope, everything was normal. Maybe living with the McGowan boys was giving her some kind of anxiety syndrome. Her chest lightened slightly when she saw Pearl and Ria at Pearl's locker a few doors down from her own.

“Hey, guys,” Megan said. “How was the rest of your weekend?”

Pearl's face filled up with color and she dropped to the floor to shove some books into her bag. “Fine,” she said. “It was . . . fine.”

“I think the real question is, how was yours?” Ria asked, holding the strap on her messenger bag with both hands.

There was something about the way she said it that made the hairs on the back of Megan's neck stand on end. Or maybe it was the pack of people that glared at her as they passed.

“Okay . . . what's going on?” Megan asked. “Did I do something?”

“You tell me,” Ria said, eyeing her expectantly.

“We gotta go,” Pearl said, tugging on the sleeve of Ria's sweater. “We have that homework we're gonna go over, right?”

“Yeah. See ya,” Ria said dismissively.

Her face burning for a reason she couldn't explain, Megan turned to her locker and started on the combination.

“Hey,” Aimee said, walking over. She looked tired as she leaned back against the wall next to Megan's locker. She let out a loud sigh and trained her eyes on the ground.

“Hey,” Megan replied, taking out her history text. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Aimee said.

“Is it just me or are people acting weird today?” Megan asked.

“Yeah, about that,” Aimee said. “I think it's kind of gotten around that you and Evan hooked up on Friday night and that it's your fault Evan and Hailey broke up.”

“What?!” Megan asked. “Who told them that?”

“I have no idea,” Aimee replied, “but that's what they're all saying.”

“Well, so what? It's not like it's anyone's business, right?” Megan asked.

“Look, Evan and Hailey were like the star couple around here,” Aimee whispered. “Everyone looks up to them. If they think he cheated on her with you . . .”

“But he didn't,” Megan said, her heart pounding. “
She's
the one who cheated on him. Evan and I are not the bad guys here.”

Aimee shrugged. “Yeah, well—”

“We did not hook up, Aimee,” Megan said, feeling a little bit desperate.

“Hey, I believed you on Friday and I believe you now,” Aimee said as they stood up again. “It's the rest of the school you have to worry about.”

“I don't care about the rest of them,” Megan said, zipping up her backpack. “As long as you know the truth, I'm fine.”

Aimee smiled. She gave Megan a look that was at once sympathetic and pleased. “Well, I do.”

“Good,” Megan said, slamming her locker door.

“It's just . . . Hailey is really not a person you want as an enemy,” Aimee said as they headed off down the hall. “Trust me.”

 *  *  *

“Hi, Miller,” Megan said, pushing herself away from the wall. Dozens of students streamed by her on their way into the cafeteria. They all had to dodge Miller, who stopped suddenly in the center of the doorway. “The Yankees aren't playing today, right?”

“No. It's a travel day,” Miller said.

“So, I was thinking, maybe we could sit inside for lunch,” Megan said, moving into the cafeteria. “It looks like it might rain, anyway.”

Megan was certain that he was going to say no. He wasn't nearly ready for this yet. But then he set his jaw and nodded. “It looks like it might rain, anyway,” he repeated.

Then he just started walking, chin lifted, expression almost defiant. He got to the very first table, pulled out a chair, and sat, hugging his bag in his lap. Megan followed, barely able to believe what she was seeing.

Wow, we're really making progress here,
she thought, feeling proud.

She put her backpack down on the chair across from his.

“Do you want me to get your lunch?” she asked. He looked like he was barely holding it together as it was.

“Yes, please,” he said, glancing up at her. “Hamburger, Coke with no ice, chocolate chip cookie.”

Megan grinned. “Sounds good to me. I'll be right back. Do not move.”

Miller shifted his eyes from left to right as if he were checking to make sure that no one was sitting next to him. Megan was pretty sure he wouldn't be moving unless someone picked up his chair and carried him off. She rushed through the lunch line, checking over her shoulder every so often just to make sure Miller was okay. A couple of freshman girls who normally sat at the table Miller had claimed took one look at him and then moved on to find other seats.

Back at the table, Megan placed the tray in front of Miller and let him take his food. He arranged everything the way he liked it, then looked at his meal and sighed.

“It's nice inside, right?” Megan asked.

“It's loud.”

“Not as loud as you crank up your radio.”

Miller smiled. Slowly he removed his backpack from his lap and placed it on the chair to his right, just as Megan had done on her side of the table. He picked up his burger and took a small bite. Soon his smile had widened into a grin.

Megan was munching on a fry, feeling giddy, when the door opened and Evan strode in. Suddenly everything inside her dropped. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were narrowed into slits. He looked like a man on a mission.

Hailey's table was in the center row near the front of the room. Her friends grew hushed as Evan approached. Every soul
in the cafeteria was either watching Evan to see what would happen or pointedly staring at their food in an attempt to pretend like they weren't interested. He paused next to Hailey's chair. She didn't look at him.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked.

“Sure,” Hailey said, placing her bagel crust down on her plate, where all the innards had been scraped out. “Go ahead.”

“Outside,” Evan said.

Hailey cast a look at her friends, then pressed her hands onto the tabletop and slid from her chair. Evan stepped aside so she could lead the way out to the courtyard. As they passed her table, Megan's shoulders tensed up, but neither of them even looked at her.

Suddenly hyper-conscious of all the curious eyes around her, Megan pretended to be totally engrossed in her meal, even though she was certain that anyone within a two-table radius could probably feel the heat coming off her face.

The second the door closed behind Evan and Hailey, the room erupted in supercharged chatter. The guys at the next table threw their money down between their trays, taking odds on whether Hailey would smack Evan first or vice versa. Miller just sat there, carefully eating his lunch.

Megan tried not to stare, but she couldn't help peeking from the corner of her eye. Evan was gesticulating wildly while Hailey stood there, her arms crossed over her chest. It took a lot of self-control for Megan to keep from smiling. She knew Evan was telling Hailey that he was aware of her lie. She knew that as soon as this conversation was over, he would be free to set the record straight with his friends
and the rest of the school. She knew that soon enough, Hailey and Evan would be completely and finally through.

The door was suddenly yanked open and Hailey rushed in, looking stricken and teary-eyed. She ran for the bathroom and a few of the girls at her table got up and followed. Her heart pounding, Megan looked up at Evan, expecting him to give her a nod or a smile—some sort of sign to let her know that her name had been cleared. But when she caught his eye, all the air was sucked out of the room.

Evan was looking at her like he didn't know her at all. Megan started to stand, but the second she did, Evan turned and took off across the courtyard.

 *  *  *

Megan walked into her room that night to find Caleb bouncing up and down on her bed on all fours, meowing. Lying open on the floor was a fairly new mascara wand that had apparently been used to draw the whiskers on Caleb's face. When he saw her, he just laughed and kept bouncing. Megan was in no mood. Hailey hadn't shown up for practice. No one but Aimee and Jenna had said a word to her and she hadn't had her best game on. Now she was going to have to concentrate on three hours of homework while wondering the entire time where Evan was and what was going through his head—why he had blown her off at lunch and avoided her the rest of the day.

“Caleb! Out!” she said, holding the door open.

“Meow?” he said, pausing even though the bed continued to bounce for a second beneath him.

“Out!” she shouted.

Caleb jumped off the bed, returned to his knees, and rubbed
his head against her shin before frowning, crawling into the hallway, and closing the door behind him with his “paw.” Megan cracked a smile. She grabbed her towel and robe and was just about to head for the shower when there was a knock at her door.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“It's me,” Evan said.

Megan quickly checked her reflection, smoothed her hair back, and dropped her things on the bed. Her hands shook as she reached for the doorknob.

“Hi,” Evan said, brushing past her into the room.

“Hi,” she replied. “What's going—?”

“I just want to know why you did it,” Evan said, squaring off in front of her. “Just tell me what in the hell would make you lie like that.”

“What?” Megan asked, dumbfounded.

“Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about,” Evan said with a scoff. “I know what you did, Megan.”

“Uh . . . okay. But I really don't,” Megan said.

“Don't give me the innocent act,” Evan said. “I'm not falling for it again.”

“Innocent act?”

“Megan, come on. I know you told Hailey that we hooked up.”

Megan felt like someone had just whacked her in the gut with a baseball bat. She lowered herself onto the edge of her bed before her knees could go out from under her.

“What?” she somehow managed to say.

“She told me. She told me how you came to her and told her you just thought she should know the truth,” Evan said. “Do you even know what the word means?”

Megan looked up at him, confused. He had to be speaking another language. Nothing he was saying was making any sense.

“Evan, I have no idea what you're talking about,” Megan said slowly.

“Nice try,” Evan spat back. “She told me everything. How after I left, you went and found her in the solarium and told her that I'd kissed you and acted like you were just trying to be honest and take the high road or something. God! I thought you were so cool! But you're like a psycho or something. Why would you—?”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Megan said shakily, interrupting his ramble. “Just stop for a second, okay? I never did any of that.”

“You never did any of that,” Evan said sarcastically.

“No.”

“So, what, you're telling me Hailey's just making stuff up now?” Evan asked, his eyes flashing.

Megan felt ill. He didn't believe her. “I guess so,” she said.

“Are you kidding me? You're really going to stand there and deny this to my face?” Evan shouted. “Why the hell else would Hailey go off and sleep with Doug?”

“I don't know!” Megan shouted back. “But I didn't do anything.”

Evan stared at her, his eyes full of hurt and confusion and denial. “I don't know what my parents were thinking, letting you stay here,” he said finally. “But from now on, I want you to stay away from me.”

Megan's heart tore right down the middle. “Evan, wait—”

Evan turned, walked out of the room, and slammed the door in her face.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Boy Guide

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

Entry Nine

Observation #1:
Boys suck.

Megan smoothed down the front of her navy blue T-shirt and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She had been up half the night, but she wasn't tired. Apparently her adrenaline was doing its thing. Every time she thought about the way Evan had looked at her the night before, she wanted to throw up.

Just tell him you need to talk,
Megan told herself.
What's the worst that could happen?

But she couldn't even think about that because actually there were about a million bad things that could happen. She clenched her eyes shut in dread.

Megan grabbed her backpack and walked out into the hallway, her head held high. When she got to the kitchen, Ian and Caleb were the only ones there.

“Where is everybody?” Megan asked as they dumped their cereal bowls into the sink.

“Gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?” Megan asked.

“Gone. To school,” Ian said flatly. “Come on, Caleb. We're gonna miss the bus.”

Caleb picked up his Spider-Man backpack and together the boys headed for the door. Megan followed them and poked her head out to check the driveway. It was empty. Megan suddenly felt hollow and exhausted.

“Okay, no big deal,” Megan said, closing the door. “I'll just be a little late.”

She headed out to the shed and disentangled her bike from all the others. When she placed it on the ground, it made an ugly metallic sound. Her tires were flat. The boys had declared war.

Megan sighed and trudged along the side of the garage, heading for the road. “I guess I'll just be a lot late.”