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him out as they walk by.
     
    He clears his throat. “So, are you going to the party tomorrow night?”
     
    School started on a Thursday this year, so the weekend has already arrived. “No, I don’t really party.” He must not have gotten the memo about me.
     
    “Really?” He looks genuinely surprised.  “Oh.” He pauses for a beat while I close up my locker. “Do you not like them? I was kind of hoping you’d go with me.”
     
    I smile at him. “I don’t know if I like them. I’ve never been.”
     
    He follows along while I walk to my first class. “You should at least go to one. See what it’s all about. You know, part of the high school experience.”
     
    I chuckle. “I’m surprised that the cross country national champ is peer-pressuring me like this. How can you stay focused if you party?”  I shake my head at him.  “I don’t go to the parties myself, but I hear enough about them to know that they’re not exactly in line with my training plan.”
     
    “Yeah, I’m sure they aren’t too different from San Diego parties. But don’t you need to have a little fun in high school? I’d go crazy if all I did was think about running.”
     
    “I’ve heard the speech about balance before, but I see what you’re saying. I do have fun.” An idea occurs to me. “Why don’t you hang out with some of us this weekend? I usually spend time with people on the cross team that you’ve already met.”
     
    We’re standing at the door to my Spanish classroom.  I glance at him, curious if he’ll find an excuse to bail. After all, my group of friends didn’t even register on the popularity totem pole, and he was already being scoped out by Lisa, who was at the top of the high school food chain.
     
    “That would be great.” Ryan smiles and his blue eyes crinkle. Boy, he is really cute.
     
    I’m momentarily distracted when I feel my stomach flutter. I blink quickly and look away to avoid his gaze, then rush to fill the silence.  “Anyway, I wanted to take you up on that offer for a ride after practice.”
     
     
    “That’s great !” He seems genuinely enthusiastic about it, and opens his mouth to say something else, but the bell rings for first period and he changes tack. “See you at lunch? Which period do you have lunch today?”
     
    “Uh, B I think?”
     
    “Oh, I’m A. . .. so I guess practice then. See you later!” We wave at each other as I head into my classroom.
     
    I find myself thinking about Ryan throughout the day. I’m excited to see him at practice.  We have a five mile recovery run from yesterday’s workout and I’m disappointed that the boys and girls run in separate groups on our easy days. I keep sneaking peeks at Ryan while we stretch out after the run. His shirt is off, and I can see his abs contracting as he does sit-ups and push-ups.  I’m having trouble concentrating on my own exercises.
     
    “He’s really hot, huh?” Dorothy Sandoval asks. She’s doing lunges next to me, and her eyes are on Ryan.
     
    “Yeah,” I say evasively, forcing myself to look away from him. I’m wary around Dorothy. She’s the only other senior aside from Claire on varsity this year, but she doesn’t hang out with our group. Dorothy is friends with a group that Zoe refers to as the “wannabes.” These girls go to all the parties, and do whatever it is they think they’re supposed to do to be cool, but they‘re still a step below the most popular group of seniors in the social hierarchy.
     
    Dorothy’s never been rude to me, but her agenda is fairly transparent and not something I want to be a part of. Her attitude wouldn’t bother me if it didn’t impact the cross team. She’s got a lot of talent, but is really inconsistent in her workouts and at races. I think her main goal with running is to keep her body looking good. She doesn’t seem to care if her social agenda with boyfriends and parties interferes.
     
    “I hear he’s been hanging out with Jace’s