All You Never Wanted

2. School Without Jake

Megan walked into third period Spanish more nervous than she had been in a while. After Jake didn't show up for second period, she'd done the only thing she could think of – she texted Jen. Megan had really hoped that Jen would have some kind of advice, but of course she didn't know any more than Megan did. Besides, it wasn't like Jake and Jen were particularly good friends or anything. But Megan brightened a little as she realized that she knew someone who was good friends with Jake – Greg.

Sure, Greg didn't exactly know what Jake was, but maybe he still knew something – even if he didn't realize it. Megan knew there was a chance that all she would do was alert Greg to the fact that something was going on, but it was a chance she was willing to take; she just had to know anything that he might know. And with any luck, she could think of a way to ask him her questions without him getting too suspicious.

And that was why Megan was nervous – she never had been particularly good at this kind of thing. Still, what choice did she have? She saw Greg walk in and sit down, and Megan took a deep breath. This was her chance. And whether she liked it or not, she really did have to at least ask him. Slowly, she walked up to Greg, trying to act confident.

"Uh, Greg?" Megan asked hesitantly. Now that she was here, she wasn't actually sure how to go about this.

"Yeah?" Greg asked.

Megan stared at him for a second. He wasn't exactly rude or anything, but it sure wasn't the friendly greeting she was used to. Megan wondered why. Had Jake told him something? Well, if he had, it was all the more reason for Megan to talk to Greg. She took a deep breath, deciding to start over.

"Have you talked to Jake recently?"

"Not since class yesterday." Greg shrugged. "Figured he's sick again – seems to happen to him a lot."

Greg turned back to his desk, as if their conversation was over. But Megan wasn't done quite yet.

"Did he mention anything to you after that? Like in a text or something?"

"About being sick? Why would he?" Greg looked like he thought Megan might be feeling ill herself.

"I mean, was anything bothering him?" Maybe he'd given Greg a clue or something that Megan could use.

"No – nothing. Look, I'm sorry." Greg told her. He shrugged, looking somewhere between apologetic and bored. Megan tried to think of something to say. But nothing came to her, and she ended up just standing there at Greg's desk like an idiot.

Fortunately, Megan's incredibly awkward conversation was interrupted by Mr. Clarinval starting class. Megan never would have thought she'd actually be glad for a class to start. As Megan took her seat, wondering what could possibly be wrong with Greg, Mr. Clarinval told everyone to partner up for dialogues. Megan looked vaguely over at Emily; she was still pretty distracted about what Greg had said.

But Emily was already turned away from Megan, talking to another girl. It looked like Emily was planning on partnering up with that other girl instead. Megan was more than a little surprised – when was the last time Emily didn't want to be partners with her? Well, that was fine – Megan would just find someone else. That was one of the few good things about her wish – no matter how terrible she was at Spanish, everyone always wanted to be her partner. But when she asked Tony, he just shook his head.

"Sorry, I think I'm going to partner with Kyle."

Kyle nodded along with Tony, scooting his desk a bit closer to the left and away from Megan's.

"Ok..." Megan said slowly. She looked around, but everybody else already seemed to have partners.

How could this have happened? Megan couldn't believe it. She'd had everyone in all of her classes just dying to be her partner for the past two months. Now, not only did Greg not seem to like her that much, but the rest of the class didn't seem to be all that interested in her either. Hadn't she wished to be popular? The whole school loved her – she'd had to deal with that long enough to know exactly what it entailed. So what had changed?

Sure, Megan would have been the first to admit that her wish was pretty annoying. But it was still better than how her life had been. Was that all gone now? Was it because she wasn't Jake's master anymore? Or was it something else? She wished Jake was here to ask. But not only did it look like she might have lost him, but she might have lost her wish too. It seemed like her her whole world was changing – and not for the better.