by Belle Payton
“So when I was grading Wednesday’s homework, I noticed something,” Mrs. Bridges began. “Your answers are exactly the same—word for word.”
Alex got a sinking feeling. How could that have happened?
“Alex, I asked you to help Max, not do his homework for him,” Mrs. Bridges said.
Then Alex remembered—how Max had acted strange when she got back to the library on Tuesday, and how her papers were sticking out of her folder. He must have copied off her paper while she was trying to apologize to Lindsey! Mrs. Bridges had given the class the assignment on Monday and Alex had finished it on Monday night. It was in her folder, waiting to be handed in.
She glared at Max and opened her mouth to tell Mrs. Bridges what happened, but stopped when she saw the mortified look on his face. She closed her mouth. She had to tell the truth—or did she?
“Maybe you thought you were helping, but I’m going to have to talk with the principal about consequences,” Mrs. Bridges said. “This kind of cheating is taken very seriously, especially now that you’re in seventh grade.”
Alex held her tongue. Back at her old school in Boston, she remembered when a kid in her class had been caught cheating. He’d been given a warning and told if he did it again, he would be suspended. Alex knew that there was no danger of her ever being accused of cheating again, so the worst that would happen would probably be a warning. Which definitely stung, but she couldn’t bear to tell on Max. He just looked so sad and sorry.
“That’s all, Alex,” Mrs. Bridges said. “Max, I still have some things to say to you.”
Alex nodded and walked out the door, but her curiosity got the better of her. She hung back, listening.
“Max, you’re going to be on academic probation soon if you don’t keep your grades up,” she said. “You’re a smart kid. You don’t need to cheat. You can come to me for help at any time, okay?”
“Okay,” Max mumbled. Alex heard him start to leave. She took a few steps down the hall so he wouldn’t know she had been listening. She stepped in front of him as he walked past.
“Max, I know what happened,” she said. “You copied my homework at the library on Tuesday!”
“I did not!” he insisted, but he was looking down at his sneakers, not at Alex’s face.
“Max, I saw that my folder was messed up,” she said, starting to feel more angry at him than sorry for him. “How else did you end up with the same answers as I did?”
“Right, like you’re so smart that the only way it happened is if I copied from you,” Max said. “How do I know that you didn’t copy from me?”
“Because I didn’t!” Alex replied.
“Whatever,” Max said, and he pushed past her.
Alex stared after him, feeling hurt. She didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because she was going to be late to her next class.
What am I doing wrong? she wondered as she hurried through the halls. It didn’t seem right. She had ruined her friendship with Lindsey by standing up for Max. She hadn’t ratted him out to Mrs. Bridges. And for what? So he could be a jerk to her?
She jammed her books into her locker just as the bell rang.
She would be so happy once this terrible week was over!
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Alex did a double take when she passed by the kitchen Saturday morning and saw Ava standing there in her basketball uniform.
“Ava! You’re not supposed to be playing yet. It hasn’t been three weeks,” she said.
“Yes, Dr. Alex, I know,” Ava said. “But the game is against Lewisville this morning, and I’m going to stay on the sidelines. I’m still a member of the team, you know.”
“I know,” said Alex, moving to the refrigerator and pulling out a carton of milk. “But won’t it be kind of hard for you, sitting there?”
“Yes, but at least I’ll be at the game,” Ava replied.
“That’s the spirit,” Coach said, entering the room. “You ready?”
Ava nodded. “Let’s go!”
Ava wasn’t prepared for the response as she walked into the gym at Lewisville Middle School.
“Ava!”
Callie and Madison ran toward her, and each of them high-fived her. The other players gathered around, asking questions all at the same time.
“Does it hurt?”
“Can you play today?”
“I can’t play for, like, another week,” Ava informed them. “Believe me, I’m itching to get back on the court!”
Coach Rader blew his whistle, and the other girls ran off to do warm-ups. Ava took her place on the bench with a little sigh.
No moping! she reminded herself. Kylie isn’t even back in school yet!
All thoughts of moping left her mind as soon as the game started. She watched every move her teammates made, and she was surprised to realize how much she could learn just by watching. Like how Tessa was a cautious passer, and how Tamara seemed to be getting better and better—and was being sort of a ball hog.
Ava cheered when her team scored, and was literally on the edge of her seat when Madison scored the winning basket in the last thirty seconds of the game. The Cubs got together in a huddle, and Callie pulled in Ava to join them.
“You guys did great,” Ava said.
“And we’ll do even better when you’re playing with us again,” Callie responded. Ava beamed.
After the game, Coach brought Ava out to the ranch for a visit with Kylie.
“See? I didn’t even need the wheelchair. I can get around just fine on these,” Kylie bragged, as she crossed her living room quickly using her crutches.
“You are a speed demon,” Ava agreed. “Now, please sit down so I can finally sign your cast!” She waved the marker she held at Kylie.
Kylie propped her leg up on the coffee table. Her parents had already signed it, and Ava saw that Owen had written:
Andromeda United! Owen
“Ooh, heart Owen,” Ava said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“I know, isn’t he sweet?” Kylie asked, blushing. “I keep wanting to draw all over this cast, like a cool alien landscape or something, but Mom says I have to leave some space because everyone’s going to want to sign it.”
“Like me,” Ava said, and the marker hovered over the cast as she thought about what to write. Something nice? Something inspirational? Something funny?
Funny won out.
Help! I’m trapped inside this cast! Ava
Kylie laughed. “Oh my gosh, it really does feel like hundreds of tiny little creatures are trapped in there,” she said. “It’s already itching like crazy!”
“That stinks,” said Ava. “We should do something to take your mind off it. How about a board game?”
Kylie brightened. “Citizens of Elvador?” she asked.
Ava stifled a groan. She had been thinking of something easy, like where you have to draw pictures to guess words. Citizens of Elvador was one of those complicated board games where you created societies and went on quests and searched for gold. Kylie loved to play it with Owen. Ava had never been interested in playing it, but she couldn’t say no to Kylie now.
Kylie got back on her crutches. “Going to the game closet! Be right back!”
Two hours later, Ava was absorbed in the game, much to her own surprise.
“Okay, my elves are exploring this mountain cave,” she said, moving her piece along the board.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Kylie asked.
Ava knew Kylie was trying to give her a warning, but she didn’t care. She wanted to see what happened. Kylie turned over a card in front of the cave.
“Dragon!” Kylie cried. “Your elves are not strong enough to withstand the attack.”
She moved a playing piece over to Ava’s citadel. “Now that you are unguarded, I claim your citadel. I win!”
Ava sat back on her chair. “Wow, that was intense.”
Then Kylie’s phone chimed, and she picked it up. “It’s Keshawn, texting to ask if
I’m okay,” she said. “He’s so nice. I think I’ve been in every class with him since kindergarten.”
Then she looked up at Ava. “Hey, I meant to ask. How is the line dancing going?”
“It’s great—really fun,” Ava lied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Keshawn had sent her the steps days ago, but she hadn’t practiced at all. She looked at her phone.
“My dad’s picking me up soon. Let me help you clean up,” she offered.
The two girls put away the game and were sitting on the porch talking when Coach pulled up. He opened the window and waved.
“How you feeling, Kylie?” he asked.
“Great, Coach!” Kylie replied.
“I’ll see you again soon,” Ava promised.
Kylie grinned. “Monday. I’m allowed to go back to school!”
Ava climbed into the car and Coach started chatting, something about getting Chinese food because her mom was going to be working late in her pottery studio and he didn’t feel like cooking—or eating Uncle Scott’s cooking. But Ava wasn’t paying much attention. She was trying to figure out the best way to practice that line dance.
I bet I can find videos on the computer, she thought. Yes, that would work. Alex did that all the time. She could look online and practice all weekend. She wasn’t going to let Kylie down!
When her dad pulled into the driveway, Ava rushed out of the car.
“You’re welcome!” Coach called after her.
She ran upstairs and shut the bedroom door behind her. Somewhere in her backpack she had printed out the dance steps that Keshawn had e-mailed her. She rummaged around and found the paper crumpled up underneath her notebook.
She smoothed it out and started to read.
Walk Forward
Grapevine Right
Grapevine Left
Step, Tap
Step, Tap
It might as well be written in Elvadoran, Ava thought. She flipped open her laptop and started typing, Video of basic line dancing steps.
“Yes!” Ava cried, as a list of videos popped up on the screen. There was one—four minutes long—“Basic Grapevine for Beginners.”
“Perfect,” Ava murmured, and she hit play. A man and a woman wearing cowboy hats were facing the camera.
“To grapevine right, you need to start with your right foot,” the woman began.
“Right foot,” Ava repeated, and she started mirroring the steps on the screen. She stepped with her right foot, then put her left foot behind her right foot, and then . . . what were they doing?
“How did their feet end up there?” Ava asked out loud, and she started the video from the beginning.
She heard a whining, and Moxy pushed through her door, attracted by Ava’s voice and the music. When she saw Ava dancing, she started to bark.
“Moxy, I am not some sheep you can order around!” Ava scolded. “Come on, I’m trying to dance!”
She walked back to the laptop and started the video again. Then she took a deep breath.
“Okay, start with a step to the right,” she muttered as she tried to follow along.
“Woof! Woof!” Moxy barked.
Then Tommy stuck his head into the room. “Hey, Ave, Coach wants to know what you want to order—what are you doing? You look ridiculous.”
Ava paused the video. “I am trying not to make a fool of myself!” she cried, flopping down on the bed.
“Uh-oh. Sounds like a crisis,” Tommy said. “What’s up?”
Ava launched into the story about how she had volunteered to take Kylie’s place in the line dancing act.
“And I’ve realized I’m in way over my head. I can’t do it!” she wailed.
“Come on, Ave, you know you can do anything you set your mind to,” Tommy said, sitting on the bed next to her.
“Usually I can. But not this,” Ava said. “It’s like it’s some weird Texas thing. I think you have to be Texan to do it.”
“But you are Texan,” Tommy said.
“Not really. We just moved here,” Ava argued.
“I don’t mean that. I mean Dad. He was born in Texas. So that makes us, like, authentic half Texans,” Tommy pointed out. “In fact, you should probably ask Coach for help. He’s a good dancer, and since he grew up here, I bet he knows how to line dance.”
“Maybe,” Ava said. She sat up and looked at the dancers paused on her computer screen. “Right now, I don’t think anybody could help turn me into a line dancer. Not even the Grand Wizard of Elvador.”
Tommy looked at her. “You sure you’re feeling okay?”
Ava sighed. “I’m fine. Just spent two hours playing a board game with Kylie.”
Tommy stood up. “So, anyway, I’m supposed to ask you what you want from the Hungry Panda.”
“Beef lo mein, please!” Ava replied, and then she flopped back down on the bed as Tommy left.
Moxy nudged Ava’s feet with her nose.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Forget it, Moxy,” Ava said. “I am done with dancing today!”
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
“Hey, Alex.”
Corey slid in front of Alex as she took books out of her locker Monday morning.
“Oh, hey,” Alex said, trying to sound casual and cool. Inside, she was doing a happy dance. She and Corey had only been bumping into each other since the Christmas party. She had been starting to wonder if he was avoiding her.
“So . . . ,” Corey began, looking at her briefly before moving his gaze to his shoes. “I was wondering, do you want to hang out today? After school? With me?”
Alex let the words sink in. She restrained herself from jumping up and down and saying, “Yes! Yes!”
“Yeah, sure,” she replied. “Today works really well for me, actually, because I don’t have a student council meeting and I don’t have to do anything for the Variety Show and Ava doesn’t have a basketball game,” she babbled on.
Corey nodded when she finally stopped talking. “Cool. Maybe we can go to the park or something.”
Alex smiled. “That would be nice!”
“Okay, so, um, I’ll see you later,” Corey said, a little awkwardly, and then he walked away.
Alex practically floated to her first-period class. Her good mood lasted exactly until third period, when, before class started, Mrs. Bridges motioned for Alex to come to her desk.
“Alex, I need to see you and Max back here after school,” she said.
“But I—” Alex started to protest, but Mrs. Bridges held up her right hand.
“No excuses, please, Alex,” the teacher said. “This is serious.”
Alex sighed and nodded. “I’ll be there.”
She walked to her desk, passing Max along the way. He avoided her gaze, and Alex suddenly felt angry with him again. Thanks to him, she’d have to cancel hanging out with Corey. Why had she even bothered to help him in the first place?
When lunchtime came, Alex looked for Corey in the cafeteria. He and his friends were sitting at a different table from Alex’s friends today, so she had to walk across the room to talk to him. He lit up with a smile when he saw her, which only made Alex feel more terrible about what she had to say.
“Corey, I’m sorry, but I actually can’t hang out today,” she said, and his smile quickly faded. “I totally forgot. I have to work on my social studies project with Max.”
It was a lie, but just a little one. She didn’t want to tell Corey about the cheating. That wouldn’t be fair to Max, even though it was his fault they had to go talk to Mrs. Bridges after school.
“Oh,” Corey said. “So, maybe some other time?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Alex said.
As she walked over to her lunch table, she scolded herself. I should have suggested another day! she realized. Who knew when Corey would ask her again? Should she ask him?
“You look like a sad puppy,” Emily said when Alex sat down next to her.
Alex looked over at Lindsey. She was busy talking with Charlotte,
so Alex lowered her voice.
“I’m just disappointed, because Corey asked me to hang out today after school, and first I said yes, but then I had to cancel because I found out I have to do something else,” she confided.
“Something better than hanging out with Corey?” Emily asked.
Alex sighed. “No. Definitely not better,” she replied, and she didn’t say anything more. She hadn’t told anybody about Max’s cheating—not even Ava. How could she explain that she was covering for a cheater? A cheater who was causing problems for her with Lindsey and Corey? She wasn’t even sure why she was doing it.
Alex couldn’t wait until the day was over and she could get the meeting with Max and Mrs. Bridges over with. She’d walk away with a warning, finish up the project with Max, and then she’d be done.
Max was already sitting in front of Mrs. Bridges’s desk when Alex entered the room.
“Close the door behind you, please, Alex,” the teacher instructed.
Alex obeyed and took a seat next to Max.
Mrs. Bridges took a deep breath. “So, I have spoken with Principal Farmen, and she agrees with me that we need to have a meeting with your parents and consider putting you on academic probation if it happens again,” she announced, and Alex gasped. That sounded a lot more serious than a warning!
“Cheating is not tolerated in this school,” Mrs. Bridges said, looking at Max, and then she looked right at Alex. “Nor is helping someone else to cheat. Would you like to tell me what happened, Alex?”
Alex’s mind was racing. There were more consequences to keeping quiet than she thought. If Alex told what she knew, Max could be in real trouble. If she didn’t tell, then she could be in real trouble too. But she had a nagging feeling that whatever was happening with Max wasn’t his fault. Even though he was totally messing things up for her, she didn’t want to see him get in trouble.
“I don’t know what happened,” Alex said. “I did my homework on Monday night, by myself. If Max had the same answers as I did, I don’t know why.”
Which was all true, technically. She had a clue that Max had copied from her paper, but she hadn’t actually witnessed it.
Mrs. Bridges kept her gaze locked on Alex. “So you have no idea how Max ended up with exactly the same answers as you.”
