Meg looked directly at me when she asked the question, and I could tell that there could only be one answer. the Lonely Hearts Club was about to go public in a big way.

"So, are your parents okay with the concert?" Ryan asked at the end of the day.

"Well, as much as my parents can be okay." He smiled at me and I felt my heart sink. I really needed to get over whatever it was that was making me so nervous before our outing.

"Hey, guys. Ryan, ready for our run?" Diane approached us with her workout gear.

"Yep, I just have to drop off some student advisor stuff to Braddock," Ryan responded.

"Okay, seriously, what is the deal with that?"

Ryan shrugged. "Hey, as soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know. We now have gone from talking football to talking about the upcoming basketball season. I'm starting to get annoyed that I'm losing out on study hall once a week."

Diane rolled her eyes. "Oh, poor you."

He grimaced at her before heading to the office.

they seemed rather friendly . . . although I knew better than anybody that they were just friends.

"At last, we're alone." Diane smiled at me. "So the jig is up!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. "What are you even talking about?"

"So when exactly were you going to mention to me that you and Ryan are going to a concert?"

My heart stopped. "Oh, Diane, I'm so sorry. it's just everything with Nate happened and it sort of slipped my mind. I was planning on telling you and the Club, but I didn't want anybody to think it was a date or something. I mean, I was going to say no, but Ryan made it seem like it was almost your idea so I didn't think you would mind --"

Diane just started to laugh. "Jeez, relax, will ya, Pen! I'm not upset. I was just watting for you to say something. Are you worried what the Club will think?"

"Honestly? I haven't thought much about it. He called last night, and then before I knew it, my parents dropped the Nate bomb on me. So .. ." this was so awkward. "What exactly did Ryan tell you?"

Diane's smile just widened. "Not much. He asked me if I thought you'd be interested in going with him to the concert. He was afraid that he might offend you."

"Why?"

Diane curled a long, blond strand of hair with her finger. "He just thought that you'd be a true Beatle fan and not want to hear some cheesy tribute band. I know how your parents feel about it,"

"Yes, my parents don't understand why people remake anything -- even movies. they are very traditional, although the term traditional is probably the last word people would use when thinking of my parents,"

Diane smiled at me, "Well, I'm sure you guys will have a great time."

"Diane, are you really okay that I'm going?"

She nodded. "Of course. You two are the most important people in my life. Why would I be upset?"

I paused for a moment, "No reason,"

"Well, I'm going to warm up -- can you tell Ryan I'll meet him at the track?"

"Sure." I instantly felt uncomfortable with the thought of having to deal with Ryan alone.

He came back a few minutes later,

"Diane said she'd meet you at the track."

"Okay, thanks."

I started to walk to Tracy's locker.

"Hey, Penny!' Ryan called after me.

"Yeah."

I turned around and saw him smiling at me. "I'm really glad you agreed to go with me to the concert. It will be nice to spend some time together outside of school."

I just stared at him.

"See you tomorrow," he said to me. As he jogged by, he reached out and gently squeezed my arm.

There was no way this was going to end well.

Chapter twenty two

MEG SPENT THAT SATURDAY interviewing the Club members for her article. But she wanted to interview me, Tracy, and Diane separately.

While I was one hundred percent behind the Club and couldn't have been happier about our success, the timing for this interview couldn't have been any worse. The looks we all had been getting from the male population at McKinley High and girl nonmembers had become more and more awkward. Todd, had stopped talking to me all together.

"So do you consider yourself a feminist?" Meg asked after I'd given her the background.

"Um, I guess?"

Nice answer.

I knew I had to start focusing on the interview. The Club was too important to me not to, and I really wanted it to be portrayed as something positive.

"You better only be saying nice things about me," Tracy interrupted as she walked into the room. "is it my turn yet?"

Meg shut off the tape recorder. "I just need to grab another tape. I'll be right back."

For over a week I'd been avoiding telling Tracy about the upcoming whatever-it-was with Ryan. With Meg out of the room, it seemed as good a time as any.

After I was done, I asked, "So how do you feel about that?" "Sounds like fun, Pen, this isn't a date or anything, is it?" "Are you kidding me? No, Tracy. It's just a concert. No big deal."

"Yeah, I've always liked Ryan. I'm surprised he hasn't started dating someone new."

"Well, he went to Homecoming with Missy --" "Penny, he's not dating her -- he just took her to Homecoming, He is one hundred percent single and available." My heart stopped. "Man, I should talk to Meg about writing some sort of gossip column for the Monitor, I would hate to think where you'd be without my knowledge of the goings-on of the student body. Anyways, you're not going to believe what those little brats did to me last night while I was babysitting. . .."