All in all, not as bad as Danny feared or worked himself up planning against.
They'd greeted him, a basic voiced welcome him to the team. Several of the girls tried to cluster about him to drag him into their conversation. Until Jesse Klien and Cole Franzen rolled their eyes, strode through, waving them all away.
Warm ups and stretches that Danny followed along with. There was some talk, but no one seemed to expect him to join or specifically ask him questions. Seemed fine with him being a little off to the side as they chatted. Danny noticed a few more quiet and focused, content to listen or nod, only speaking up a little. Spotting this, he brightened.
And then Mr. Gruman sent them off running around the outskirts of the school grounds. Everyone at their own pace. There were a couple groups of three and a pair of girls keeping together, but other than that pretty much everyone at their own speed.
Unless one counted a girl named Meredith attempting a break neck sprint of a speed to keep up with Jesse. Who shot a couple grins and taunts back before loping off and ignoring her.
A little belatedly, Danny followed the worn path and the rest. It ran the fenceline past the large playground space and where it went by one of the backroad highways the school sat on the corner of. He passed a group of girls. Then the path went about a large open area Danny didn't know what it was used for. He noticed the girls took a different path here, skipping by that whole area. Danny went with the larger loop, where he could see a few guys ahead of him running.
Around the ongoing practice of smaller football players. Then around the track and field area with the high school football team in the midst of their practice. Huffing, he passed a couple guys through that area.
Must not be doing too bad, even if most the team was ahead of him.
Then the path cut through two baseball fields, past a thick line of trees, and back to where the loop started.
All in all. Not bad.
Which, he needed to stop thinking that and jinxing himself.
It still wasn't that bad.
More...discussion as they ended practice, lamenting on how if Danny had been there sooner he could have been in the team picture and get his shirt.
"We can always make him one," suggested a girl.
"Sweet! And a nickname!" Cole Franzen grinned broadly. Danny eyed the tall, awkward, gangly guy warily. How the kid was that and also athletic with a loud comedic swagger, Danny had no clue. It didn't seem like it should work, but it did.
And that he was best friends with Elizabeth took Danny off foot.
"Let others have a chance to give him a name, Franz."
Danny did a double take.
"Wait, what? Give me a name?"
"For your shirt. We all got a shirt name."
And then they were off, shouting out and calling out ideas and names and thoughts.
"Do I get a say?"
"No." The girl who answered Danny sighed. She'd been the one to suggest 'Fenton' which everyone else blasted and vetoed, continuing on like she didn't say anything. "Team does your name, not you. I got stuck with Camel."
Danny didn't ask.
"Dan the Man."
"On Lock."
"Agent."
"Picks."
"Pickle!"
"P.I."
"Black Shadow."
"F-ing Ninja!"
Apparently, it seemed as though this was one of the cross country team's few team things to do.
"All right. Franz. What do you got for us?"
The guy brightened, straightening taller and tossing back his shaggy hair. "Double Oh Naruto."
The team stared. Danny stared. And then Jesse broke the silence in repeating it, drawing it out.
"Oh. That's fun to say. I like it."
"Says the one who lucked out on his shirt name."
"You guys didn't let me have it! It should have been 'The Boss'."
The team rolled their eyes, a chorus. "No."
"Okay. Fine. It sounds good off the tongue. But come on! You know none of us are into the anime stuff, you nerd!"
"Elle is," Cole immediately corrected. And waggled his eyebrows at Danny. "He's a ninja."
"True." Said a girl Danny assumed was Elle. "Believe it."
Cole was the only one who laughed, his whole head thrown back laughing.
"Double Oh could work."
And off the team went again.
"Hey."
Danny turned his wide eyed gaze away to see Jesse beside him.
"You just started running, right? How long ago?"
Not sure where this was going and not wanting to be dragged into further conversation, Danny slowly nodded. And answered vaguely. "Recently."
Jesse appraised him with raised brows. Then.
"Nice."
He declared with a nod before stepping back into the group and calling out another suggestion.
It still wasn't that bad. Some team shirt nickname thing. But if that was it for group stuff, and one that required no input from him, Danny could handle being on the cross country team. No more looks of concern from Edi and...
Fine.
Elizabeth had been right after all.
Not like he was gunna tell her that.
She wasn't right about all of it.