Marathon Woman
Disclaimer: JOAN OF ARCADIA is the creation of Barbara Hall and I have no legal rights to the story or characters.
Chapter 2: Particles in Motion
Heading into AP Physics later that day, Joan took her usual spot between Grace and Adam.
Adam reached over and gently squeezed her hand. "I missed you this morning."
Rolling her eyes, Grace turned away from her two best friends.
"Yeah, sorry, stupid joggers." She turned her hand over to clasp his.
"What? Joggers?"
"Yeah, I almost got run over by one today. Had to take a minute to see if she was alright. She looked like she was going to collapse. Of course, my loser brother just kept walking on." She glared at the back of Luke's head.
"I heard that."
"You were supposed to."
"You're alright though, right Jane?" Adam's look of concern melted her heart.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She started to lean towards him to kiss him, when Grace cleared her throat, loudly. Jumping back she looked up to see Ms. Lishack making her way towards their table.
"Alternate Girardi. Mr. Rove. Care to tell us what's so interesting?" Swinging her pointer like a baton, she aimed raised eyebrows towards them.
"Um, just talking about joggers. And running?"
"I assume you're talking about the annual 10 mile run sponsored by Arcadia State College's Science department that I've been talking about all week. Are you thinking of entering? Money raised goes towards sending their graduate students to the yearly "Particles In Motion Symposium" in Washington."
"Uhhh… run?" Desperately, Joan looked at Adam who shrugged and looked just as dubious.
"I'll get a form for you to fill out. Try to get as many pledges as you can. It's due in two weeks. The run's on the fourth." Swishing her pointer once again, the teacher made her way towards the front of the class.
"10 mile run? Particles in Motion? What did I just do?" Joan looked between her two friends, completely bewildered.
"Got to hand it to you Girardi. Your predilection for torture is really fascinating. They should do a study."
"It's O.K., Jane. It will be alright. You can train for it." Adam patted her arm reassuringly.
"Train for it?" Burying her face in her hands, she quietly started banging her head against the desk.
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Form in hand, Joan headed towards her locker at the end of the day, grumbling to Adam and Grace. "So not only do I have to run a zillion miles, I also have to beg people to give me money! How insane is that?"
"You can always just not do it." Grace pointed out.
"I can't not do it. Lishack already gave me the form. She'll know if I don't go."
"So what? What can she do? She has no power to force you to do anything you don't want. She's not some fascist ruling your world."
"You don't get it. She'll know and for the rest of the semester, I'll be paranoid that every time she looks at me she'll think I'm some loser who wouldn't help a bunch of other losers go to a seminar filled with yet more losers."
"Whatever. Your life. Enjoy sweating. Let's go, Luke." Grabbing her boyfriend by the arm, she dragged him away.
"Jane, it will be fine. We run all the time in gym class. Ten miles isn't really that much. There's no time limit and you don't even have to run the whole time. You can just walk. You can probably walk the whole thing."
"You think?"
"Well, maybe not walk the whole thing. But parts of it for sure."
"Well, O.K" Joan said, still doubtful. "Hey, why don't you do it, too? That way I won't be alone and it could be something we do together." She brightened at the thought and looked expectantly at him.
Looking uncomfortable at disappointing her, he said "You know I would. I just don't have the time right now. We're working on a major ad campaign at the Graphic Design studio where I'm interning and the deadline's the same week as the run. They've given me so many hours from now until then and I just don't think I can handle both and school." He hurriedly added, "But I'll help you any way I can. And I'll do my best to be at the finish line when you finish."
"You might not even be there at the end when I cross the finish line?" She couldn't help pouting.
Running his hand down her hair, he said, "I'll try. I'll beg, plead and barter my soul if I have to."
Slightly mollified, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Well, don't barter your soul. You know what happened to that other guy who tried to do it."
"Dorian Grey?"
"Um, was he played by Brendan Frasier?"
"No. Never mind. O.K. I promise, no selling my soul. But I'll help you, Jane. With whatever you need."
"I know. You're the best." Swinging around, she grabbed him in a fierce hug. "I don't know if I can do this, Adam. But it helps to know that you think that I can."
Touched, he held her lovingly in his arms. "Cha, of course. You can do anything. You're Jane."
Smiling and held fast in his embrace, she pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss.
"Ahem. Can I get in on this or what?" Friedman asked as he approached the couple.
Without breaking contact, the two reached up and smacked him on the head.
"Ouch! Watch it! The Friedman needs to be in tip top condition for the next while. There's a marathon to be run and women to impress with my athletic prowess."
Breaking the kiss, Joan turned to Friedman and said incredulously, "You're doing the Particles in Motion marathon?"
"But of course. I do it every year. Are you in it, too?"
"Yeah, I somehow got sucked in by Lishack. You were right in front of my when it happened."
"Ah, yes. I was completely entranced staring at the luscious and lovely Lisa Zeinweg. She's wearing a very flattering, and revealing, outfit today. Growl."
"Ew. Over-sharing." Disgusted, she closed her eyes to the images dancing in her head. "You do this every year. You can barely climb the rope in gym."
"It's not about muscle. It's about skill, endurance and calculating."
"Calculating?" Adam piped up.
"Sure. Calculating how long you can go without over-tiring yourself. How much distance you've travelled, how much more you still need to do. So… you're doing the run Joan. If you want, I can give you some help. Show you some pointers. All one-on-one of course."
"Gross," exclaimed Joan, shoving him hard enough to get him to back up a couple of paces. "Adam said he'll help me."
"But Adam's never run more than a couple of times around the gym." Seeing the mutinous looks on both Adam and Joan's faces he raised his arms in surrender. "O.K. kidding aside. I can help. Adam can come, too. I just don't want you to hurt yourself. You can't just go running without any rhyme or reason. That's how people get hurt."
"I wasn't just going to run without researching. I would have read a book." All of them knew that was a bold-faced lie but no one countered the statement.
"Well, now you don't have to. It's better when a real person is there anyway. They can monitor and gauge your progress much more effectively than a book."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Suspicious, she gave Friedman an appraising look.
"Hey, we're friends." Noticing her scowl he continued, "Seriously, we are. I mean, you were friends with Judith, so…" His voice broke off abruptly, and he didn't know what to say after that.
Joan's face softened and, against her own nature, she reached out to take his arm.
Moving away from the gesture, Friedman ran his hands through his air and turned away. "Just let me know if you want someone to run with. Luke knows where to find me."
Watching him walk away, Joan said softly, "He's not really over her."
"He cared about her," Adam said simply.
Nodding, Joan closed her locker and, taking Adam's hand, walked outside.
(tbc)