Summary: Another day in the life of a teenager. Joan tries to juggle a "suggestion" from God, her friends, and attempts at accepting Iris in Adam's life.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Joan of Arcadia or any songs that appear in this fic. I wouldn't mind having Christopher Marquette, though. .

Ratings: PG – just in case of swearing


Long Week

Monday dawned bright and clear, too beautiful a day to spend locked up in a prison known as school. Joan sat up in bed, and reached over to shut off her alarm. For once, she wouldn't be late. She had to get to school early to meet up with Adam to talk about how they were going to apologize for Friday; for the way they hurt Angela the way they did. Just thinking about it made Joan feel miserable. She slid from her bed, shoving her hair out of her face as she made her way over to the closet to scrounge around for some clothes. She settled on a red turtleneck sweater and brown corduroy pants with a wide belt. After her shower and getting dressed, she rushed downstairs to grab her things.

Her mother was in the kitchen as usual, trying to foist her food off on Luke and Will. Helen blinked in surprise to see her daughter actually up and dressed in time to get to school before the first bell.

"Are you feeling okay, Joan?" Helen asked as she handed over a blueberry muffin and some orange juice. She knew how hard it was to get Joan to eat anything close to a meal in the morning, but she still tried.

Joan rolled her eyes as she gulped her orange juice. With a quick goodbye and a look at her brother Luke, she slipped on her jacket and trade-mark scarf, and hurried out to her car. Luke had barely enough time to get his stuff together and get in the passenger seat before she pulled out of the driveway and headed in the direction of the school.

"What're you in a rush for?" Luke gripped the handle beside him, giving his sister a weird look. She glanced over him briefly before looking back at the road.

"I'm meeting Adam this morning."

Before he could ask further, they pulled up into the school parking lot. Joan turned the vehicle off and got out, stepping to the back of the car to get her bag out from the backseat. She didn't even spare another glance in her brother's direction as she walked inside the school towards her locker.

She turned the dial on her locker door to the right combination then opened it up. She looked down and gave a small smile to the cheerleading thing that Adam had made so long ago that sat in the corner.

"You still have it…"

Joan jumped, placing a hand over her chest as her heartbeat sped up. She turned to find Adam standing close behind her looking at his miniature sculpture. He was a bit surprised, even though she had told him constantly how much she loved his work. Seeing that she still kept the one he specifically made for her finally made him realize that she meant it.

"Of course… I loved it, Adam."

Just then Grace appeared at her locker next to Joan's. She looked like she just crawled out of bed and put the first thing she could find on, whether it was clean or not. From the state of the wrinkles, Joan was betting that it wasn't. Adam and Joan didn't expect much in the way of a greeting, since Grace was not a morning person. Then again, she wasn't very sociable anytime of day.

"Hey Grace." Joan smiled over at her, still aware of the fact of how close Adam was standing near her. She could smell the soap he used and feel his breath on her cheek. She couldn't hide the blush that rose to her face as her mind went back to their very first kiss. It always went back to that, only to be followed by the image of Adam and Iris.

As if conjuring her up, Iris walked up the hall towards them, just as Adam took a subtle step back away from Joan. Joan's smile slipped off her face, feeling a sense of loss steal over her. She had to come to terms with this… He had chosen Iris, despite what he told her Friday night… There was nothing she could do about it.

"It is WAY too early for Merry Sunshine." Grace grumbled before Iris had a chance to say hello. The two girls stared at each other, the tension rising between them. Joan was getting a little worried that Grace might turn homicidal that she took an unconscious step forward to place herself between them when her brother chose that time to hurry over.

"Hey guys… Are you prepared for the exam today in Lischak's class? I hope I don't mix up the chemicals and –"

"Chill, geek. You're the teacher's pet. As if you could fail…" Grace slouched against the locker, her arms crossed in front of her as a defense mechanism, against what could be anyone's guess. From Luke? From friends in general? From not smacking Miss Priss? All of the above?

While the two bickered, and Iris tried to get Adam's undivided attention (while smearing it in Joan's face), Joan happened to look up and recognize someone she –didn't- want to see. Without a word to her friends, she pushed through them to walk briskly towards the cute guy at the end of the hall, her whole demeanor annoyed. When she reached him, he thrust a paper into her hands. "I want you to sign up."

Joan gave a quick glance to the sheet, then gave it another once over. She looked up at him, clenching the paper in her left hand.

"You want me to what?" Joan's disbelieving voice carried across the busy hallway, making several students – including her friends – turn to stare at her and the cute teenage boy beside her. Aware of their looks, Joan grabbed a hold of God's jacket sleeve and pulled him into an empty classroom. Once the door closed behind them, she dropped her hand and took a step back, the disconcerted look still upon her face. God just smiled at her, waiting for it all to sink in.

"You want me to join a beauty pageant? Are you crazy? Me in a beauty pageant?"

"Why do you say that?" God leaned back against a desk and crossed his arms across his chest, amusement dancing in his eyes. He waited as Joan opened and closed her mouth, knowing she was working herself up for an outburst.

"This is me we're talking about. I mean look at me? Do you see guys standing in line to date me? You just love to publicly humiliate me… Admit it. What did I do to deserve this? Wait… Don't answer that. Not that you ever give me answers anyways."

"Adam Rove thinks you're beautiful…" God pointed out, giving her an enigmatic smile.

"Is this about Adam? Will he dump Cousin It and date me if I win this pageant? Is that the reason?" Joan grasped his arm, her eyes searching his face for some kind of clue, but all she got was more frustration.

"Sign up at the office before you leave school today." He gave her another smile and walked towards the door, breaking the hold she had on his arm.

"I can't believe you're making me do this…" Joan grumbled, letting her hand fall to her side as she watched him leave.

"I'm not making you do anything, Joan. It's all about –"

"Free will… I know."

He walked out of the room and disappeared down the hall just as the first bell rang. She looked down at the pink flyer in her hand, reading the information briefly, before groaning. 'What was he thinking?' With a shake of her head, she left the room and headed towards the office to pick up a late slip. 'It was going to be a long week…'