A Whole New Ball Game (4 page)

Alex and Ava exchanged a look.

Lunch was a glum affair. Tommy ate two grilled cheese sandwiches, and then proceeded to make himself a huge, open-faced turkey sandwich, muttering about needing more protein. Ava wondered how upset he was about not being the star quarterback anymore. After watching him at practice, she had a funny feeling that he didn't mind all that much. Maybe that was the source of the tension between Tommy and Coach. Maybe Tommy could feel Coach's disappointment that he wasn't excited enough about football.

After the lunch dishes were done, Tommy and Coach headed back to the high school for a “chalk and talk” session with the team before the afternoon practice.

Alex went upstairs to map out exactly where she wanted to put her new, supersize bulletin board, which she planned to paint the same color purple as her walls.

Ava couldn't stand being inside another minute. She laced up her high-tops, picked up her basketball, grabbed her bike helmet, and headed outside.

The early afternoon heat enveloped her like a warm bath as she stepped out, but once she'd gotten used to it, she decided it wasn't as bad as it had seemed the day before. Maybe she was becoming a Texan after all.

She bungee-corded her ball onto the rack on the back of her bike (Tommy had helped her set up the rack specifically for that purpose) and pedaled off toward a small park area she'd discovered two blocks from their house.

Her head was hot and itchy inside her bike helmet. For the zillionth time she wished she had a pair of scissors to cut all her hair off.

She pulled up alongside the little park and hopped off. There was no one else here—because who would be dumb enough to want to play outside in this suffocating midday heat?

As she stepped onto the court, the heat rose
up, engulfing her, and she smelled the hot rubber. It was a nice court. Springy surface, level rims; they even had real nets, which her neighborhood park back home hadn't had. She started in close, working the Mikan drill—alternating shooting off her left and right foot—which Tommy had taught her. He was one of these amazing all-around athletes, good at every sport he played. If he kept growing, he could be a legit basketball prospect on top of being a good quarterback. She hoped she would be just like him someday.

“Mind if I shoot around with you?” asked a voice behind her.

She turned.

It was a boy, around her age. A cute boy. He was about her height, with a lanky build and jet-black hair.

In answer, Ava bounce-passed the ball to him. He took a few steps closer to the basket and shot. It didn't go in, but Ava knew enough about basketball to know that he had major skills. She rebounded and bounced it back to him. This time he made it. And then he made the next shot, and the next, and the next.

“I'm Jack,” he said, holding onto the ball. “Jack Valdeavano.”

Ava raised her eyebrows.

“I know,” he said. “It's kind of a mouthful.” He smiled. His teeth were bright white against his light-brown skin.

Ava felt herself flushing and hoped it would pass as mere exertion.

“My dad is Mexican,” he said. “Which explains my name.”

“I'm Ava,” she said. She was about to tell him her whole name, but stopped. Maybe this time she'd just be Ava, so she wouldn't have to deal with that now-familiar look when she said the name Sackett. She was also glad that Alex wasn't around. Not because she didn't want her around—it was just that it would be obvious they were twins, and everyone in this town seemed to know that Coach Sackett had identical twin daughters.

“You go to Ashland Middle?” he asked, wrinkling his brow as though trying to place her.

“Um, yeah. At least, I
will
be going. I'm new.”

He bounce-passed the ball to her, and she swished it. She moved around the semicircle, making each shot as he passed it to her, happy that she'd found her rhythm at just the right time. Not that she was trying to impress this boy
or anything. He
was
pretty good-looking, and she liked the way he smiled sort of crookedly, but she had only just left her kind-of, sort-of crush Charlie behind in Massachusetts. On the other hand, she reflected, she and Charlie hadn't officially been going out or anything.

They played H-O-R-S-E, and Ava beat him by just one letter and with a pretty lucky reverse-hook shot. Then they played one-on-one and Jack beat her, but it was a close game.

“Guess I'd better get going,” she said finally, still panting. She realized she'd left the house without water. That was something she'd have to learn not to do when it was this hot outside.

Jack nodded and jogged over to where he'd dropped his backpack. Unzipping it, he pulled out two water bottles and handed her one. “Here,” he said. “You look like you could use this.”

She gulped it down gratefully and smiled. “Thanks,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You going to try out for the basketball team?” he asked.

“Not sure,” she said, still panting.

“You should. You're good.”

She felt herself flush deeper. “Thanks. Oh,
and by the way, my name's Ava Sackett.”

“I know,” he said simply.

Her eyes widened. “You do? How? Am I that recognizable?”

He shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders. “Nah, your name is on your ball. See you around. Thanks for the game.”

She watched him lope off across the park toward the opposite entrance.

“So wait. Does this guy Jack live in our neighborhood?”

It was later that evening. Ava and Alex were sprawled end-to-end across the couch, watching their favorite show,
That's So Awesome!
just like old times. Moxy had leaped onto the couch and contently nestled between them, with the understanding that if Mrs. Sackett should happen to come in, Moxy would jump to the floor in a hurry.

Alex had been so happy when Ava suggested they watch together. They'd been watching the show every week since they were eight or nine years old. It was a little babyish now, they both
agreed, but it was their guilty pleasure, something they shared. Alex had been worried that Ava wouldn't want to maintain their silly traditions in the new house.

Ava popped some popcorn into her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. “He must live around here,” she said. “I mean, he was on foot. He wasn't on a bike or anything.”

“Hmm,” said Alex. “I don't recall seeing his name in the student government at AMS.”

“He didn't strike me as the type to run for office,” said Ava with a wry smile.

Ava's slight sarcasm went right over Alex's head. “So, do you
like
like him?”

“Oh, no,” said Ava. “We just played basketball, that's all.”

Alex waited. She knew her sister well enough to recognize the signs of a possible crush.

“Well, okay, so he's a little bit cute. But whatever. We just played ball,” said Ava. She appeared to be engrossed in a commercial for breath mints.

Alex grinned. Her sister had a crush! Aside from Charlie, back home, who barely counted because they'd known him since they were all in diapers together, she'd never known her shy, reserved sister to have a real crush. She
was giddy with happiness for Ava.

“So how's your student government takeover plan going?” asked Ava, who seemed eager to change the subject.

“Okay, I guess,” said Alex. She thought she detected a slight hint of mockery in Ava's tone, but she was never sure. “I've got the chart all done. I've cross-referenced the people in the top positions from last year with sports, clubs, and activities they participated in. It's all available on the password-protected website. I got my registration done yesterday—one more thing to check off my list! Maybe you should register too.”

Sometimes Alex's words tumbled out so fast that Ava was the only one who understood her. Ava grinned. “Al. There are still three weeks before school starts. I'll get to it.”

“Ave, would it kill you to do things in a timely fashion, rather than waiting till the last minute for everything? Maybe it might help you to be a little more organized when school starts.”

Ava glared at her. “Thanks for the tip,” she said drily.

Alex hadn't meant to lecture her. But her sister was constantly losing stuff, signing up late, missing deadlines. She always hated it when a
teacher called Ava out on a missing assignment. She usually jumped in with some well-thought-out excuse, like that they only had one computer and she, Alex, had spent all night using it so Ava wasn't able to research ancient Mayan culture.

“I'm just trying to help you avoid the usual mad scramble before school starts,” she said in a slightly wounded tone. She knew she should stop pressing Ava, but she couldn't help it. “Have you started the books for summer reading?” She was pretty sure she knew the answer to that question. They'd been assigned two books,
To Kill a Mockingbird
and
Call of the Wild
, which of course Alex had long since finished. Alex didn't understand why Ava didn't like to tear through books like she did, but Ava always said she got too distracted and could never stick with a book all the way to the end.

“Al, I'll get it done. I always do,” said Ava. “Well, almost always,” she added. “Anyway, don't you think you're going a little overboard preparing for the school year? It's still summer!”

“What?” Alex was taken aback.

“I mean, with this whole class president thing—we just moved here! Don't you think you should, you know, wait and see how things work
at Ashland Middle School before you charge in there, thinking you've got it all figured out?”

Here Alex had been worrying on Ava's behalf, and now Ava was telling her
she
was the one to be worried about? “So you don't think I can do it? Be class president?” asked Alex.

“Al, I didn't mean it that way,” she said.

Alex knew Ava meant well. But her words still stung.

Neither girl said much else until their mom called that it was time for bed.

That night Alex slept on the couch. She wished Ava had invited her to sleep in her room—she had wished that before her own room was filled with toxic paint fumes—but she guessed Ava thought that was too babyish.

The next morning the twins were surprised to find their dad at the breakfast table, scribbling down notes on a clipboard.

“Why aren't you at practice?” Ava asked him worriedly. “It's almost eight.”

He looked up from his clipboard. “What? Oh. The players are getting weighed and measured and having body comps done. Timed sprints, vertical leaps, that kind of thing. My assistants are handling that. They told me the guys would be too nervous if I were there watching them. Practice doesn't start for another half an hour, but I'm about to head out.” He grinned at Ava. “Worried I'd gotten sacked already?”

“What?” said Ava. “No! Of course not.” But
she was secretly relieved. “Can I come along?”

“Sure,” said their dad.

“No!” said their mom, who had just walked into the kitchen from outside, with Moxy on a leash. She gave Coach a look as she unclipped the leash and picked up Moxy's water dish to refill. “Michael, I'm taking the girls shopping for school clothes today, remember?”

Alex whooped.

Ava groaned.

“Right. Sorry I forgot about that, honey,” said Coach. “I've had a lot on my mind.”

Mrs. Sackett nodded. “I know,” she said. She turned to the girls. “
And
you both need back-to-school haircuts. I made appointments at the salon in the mall.”

“Maybe I'll get a full inch trimmed off this time,” mused Alex, pulling a tendril of glossy hair around from the side of her head to examine it with pursed lips. “The Texas heat is wreaking havoc on my ends.”

“Maybe I'll get it all cut off,” said Ava. “It'd be so much easier to deal with in this heat.”

“Oh yeah, as if,” scoffed Alex. “Why not just dye it blue and get a Mohawk?”

“Maybe I will,” retorted Ava. “What do you
think about a blue Mohawk for me, Coach?”

“What?” said their dad, looking up from his practice plan. “Yes. Sounds great.”

Ava scowled.

Mrs. Sackett frowned.

“Why can't I go with Coach to practice?” asked Ava, reaching across the table for the box of cereal. “I don't need new clothes. I already have plenty.”

Alex buried her face in her hands and shook her head in despair. Then she parted her hands and stared at her sister across the breakfast table. “You just said that to annoy me, didn't you?”

Ava grinned and shrugged. “Maybe. But you know me, Al. My idea of getting dressed up is a clean football jersey.”

“Well,
I'm
ready to go shopping,” said Alex. She took out her phone and pulled up her list, which was complete with links to different stores' websites.