by Belle Payton
The girl gave an exasperated sigh and turned around. As she did so, her eyes met Alex’s.
It was Lindsey.
Alex waved at her. “Hey, Lindsey!” she called across the store.
Lindsey weakly waggled three of her fingers at Alex and dove back into the dressing room.
Alex stood, unsure what to do. Should she keep pretending to be engrossed in the jewelry case, or should she hurry back to the dressing room area to wait for Lindsey to emerge? She wanted to make things up to Lindsey after her cluelessness in the bathroom this morning, but she didn’t want to come across as too eager. She decided to keep studying the jewelry.
Lindsey must have changed in lightning-fast time, because she emerged fully dressed just a minute later, carrying the dress she’d been trying on. After a hasty, whispered conversation with her mother, Lindsey finally thrust the dress into Mrs. Davis’s hands. Her mom made her way toward the register at the front of the store, but Lindsey didn’t make an effort to move in Alex’s direction. Instead she stood in the dressing room area and flipped listlessly through a rack of ugly belts.
Alex decided to make the first move, promising herself she wouldn’t say anything to offend Lindsey.
“So do you come to this store often?” she asked Lindsey as she joined her next to the belt rack. “This is my first time, but I love thrift shops. My friends and I used to go to them all the time back in Boston. And my mom is always looking for old glass or jewelry and stuff for her pottery.”
Lindsey said nothing, so to fill the awkward pause, Alex prattled on in her false-cheerful voice. “I came to find a red blazer for my speech this Friday, but I don’t think they have one here. Did you find anything good?”
“I think my mom is ready to go,” mumbled Lindsey. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”
And a second later, she had dragged her mom out of the store.
Alex stared after her, contemplating Lindsey’s behavior. She’d seemed more embarrassed than anything else. Why would she be embarrassed? What was the big deal about running into someone at a thrift store?
This time it dawned on her more quickly.
She’s shopping here because she can’t afford to shop at other stores, not because she thinks it’s cool.
No wonder Lindsey had seemed so embarrassed. Twice in one day, Alex had inadvertently shown up at just the wrong place at the wrong time. First she had seen Lindsey transfer her school-issued lunch into her own bag. And then she had seen her shopping at a thrift store. Lindsey’s family must really be hurting for money, Alex thought, and I’m the one kid from school who has witnessed firsthand what she’s going through.
“Did you find your red blazer?” asked her mom. Mrs. Sackett was carrying several thick glass bottles, the sort they probably used for medicine back in the olden days.
“No, but that’s okay,” said Alex, still thinking of Lindsey. “I’ll make do with something from my closet.”
CHAPTER
NINE
Ava was completely winded. She took off her helmet and gulped fresh air. Must be the pads. They’d take some getting used to, especially in this unfamiliar Texas climate.
Her second-ever Ashland practice was over. They hadn’t run nearly as much as they had yesterday, but it had still been tough.
“Sackett! A word.”
She trotted over to Coach K, who was standing on the sideline, out of earshot of the locker room area.
“Heard you did a nice job kicking today, Sackett,” he said.
“Thanks,” she replied, and waited.
“So here’s the deal. Good news, bad news. You’ve made the team. But you can’t play. At least, not just yet.”
A lump immediately rose in her throat, and she felt her eyes mist up with hot tears, but she kept quiet and waited to hear what he would say next.
“It seems that while there’s nothing in the rule book saying girls aren’t allowed to play, there’s a clause in the district bylaws that says the school board may prevent a child from playing if it has any concerns about the child’s safety, or the safety of others. There are some parents who have called the athletic director. They want it brought up before the school board at the next meeting.”
“Was it the Kellys?” asked Ava.
Coach K took off his sunglasses and began polishing them furiously on his pant leg.
So it was the Kellys, Ava thought. “Why do they care?” she asked.
Coach put his glasses back on and coughed. He looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. Then he sighed and looked at her. “Andy Baker.”
“What about him?”
“He’s Doug Kelly’s nephew. That’s why they care.”
“Oh,” said Ava. That explained why the Kellys were so interested in the middle school football team. “When is the next meeting?” she asked in a tiny voice.
“Next Wednesday. A week from tomorrow.”
“But . . . that’s three days before the first game!”
“I know,” he said, nodding grimly. “I’m sorry, Sackett. You’re a good kicker, and I could use you. But this is out of my hands. I can give you a playbook to study while you wait for their decision, so you’ll at least be familiar with the I formation and the shotgun. I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.”
He turned and strode away from her. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and headed toward the girls’ locker room. Several guys from the team were talking in low voices in small groups outside the boys’ locker room door, but no one said anything to her as she walked past, not looking up.
Just before she headed in, her eye caught some movement through the window that led to the athletic offices. Coach Kenerson was in with the athletic director. And sitting just opposite the desk were a man and a woman. The Kellys.
Dinner that night was a somber affair. Somehow Ava’s mom and dad already knew about what Coach K had said to her.
For a few minutes, there was just the clinking of silverware.
Coach set down his fork and cleared his throat, started to say something, then seemed to think better of it and picked up his fork again.
Mrs. Sackett kept looking from Ava to Coach and back again. Ava thought her mom looked like she was bursting to speak, but she was clearly waiting for Coach to broach the subject.
Next to her, Alex was at a rare loss for words. Actually, Ava noticed that when she looked more closely at her twin that Alex’s lips were moving. Ava leaned sideways a little, cocking an ear to hear what she was saying. She decided Alex must be practicing the speech she had to give on Friday.
It was Tommy who finally broke the ice.
“Tough day out there, huh, Avesy?”
That seemed to energize their parents, who both spoke at once.
“It’s outrageous,” said Mrs. Sackett. “Beyond belief that they would—”
“It’s not Coach Kenerson’s decision,” said Coach. “But it’s a tough situation—”
They both left off speaking. Tommy spoke up again. “So how’d you actually do in tryouts? Would you be on the team if you were a dude?”
Ava nodded. “Coach K said I technically made the team. I kicked pretty well today, and yesterday during conditioning I had the second-fastest time in the pro-agility test and the fourth-fastest time in the shuttle endurance drill.”
Coach looked impressed. “You’ve got both speed and quickness, honey,” he said approvingly.
“Aren’t those the same?” Alex asked, pausing midway through practicing her speech.
“Speed is how fast you can go, but quickness is how fast you can change speed or direction,” Coach explained.
Alex nodded and tuned them out again.
“And today they made me practice with the quarterbacks and receivers,” Ava continued. “Because I guess they didn’t know where else to put me.”
Mrs. Sackett elbowed Coach meaningfully. “Michael. Tell Ava what we’ve decided.”
Ava pushed away her uneaten spaghetti and looked at he
r dad. She had no idea what he was going to say. He was so adamant about parents not fighting kids’ battles for them, especially when it came to sports. And yet, right now she was feeling pretty unsure what to do.
“Sport,” said Coach. “You mother and I are going to support you the best we can with this situation. It’s tricky, as I’m sure you know, because I’m the coach of the Tigers.”
“But I’m not the coach of the Tigers!” said Mrs. Sackett fiercely. Her eyes were bright, and she had two pink spots on her cheeks. “I can say whatever I want to them!”
“Laur,” said Coach, putting a hand over hers. “Ave, we’ve decided it would be best if your mother came with you next Wednesday to the school board meeting. But in the meantime, you can come to my practices. You can participate in the conditioning we do, and you can practice kicking when we’re not using that end of the field.”
“And I’ll have some time this weekend to work out with you,” said Tommy. “I need to do some passing drills and you can be my receiver.”
“Thanks,” said Ava. “The whole thing just seems so dumb. I don’t get why it’s such a big deal. I’m not any more likely to get hurt than any of the guys.”
“I know, right?” Alex finally piped up.
Ava looked at her.
Alex shrugged. “Just trying to be supportive,” she said.
“Thanks a lot,” said Ava dryly.
“And I can help you study your playbook,” said Mrs. Sackett. “So you’ll be able to come back knowing the plays.”
“Great,” said Ava. “Not exactly the perfect strategy for a kid with ADHD. Studying the playbook makes me go cross-eyed. I learn so much better when I actually do them.”
“Speaking of Ava’s ADHD,” said Tommy cheerfully, “my friend Luke says he wouldn’t mind interviewing to be a tutor for her. He wants to be a teacher, I guess.”
“Good for him,” said Coach. “We’ll have to talk to him.” He turned toward Alex. “And how’s the campaign going, honey?”
“Oh, the campaign itself is fine,” said Alex. “But I don’t think I have a chance at winning. Logan has the jock vote, and Ella has the brain vote, so that leaves me the artsy kids and the delinquents, and I don’t think either of those groups even know there’s an election. Plus, Logan and Ella both seem to have unlimited campaign funds. Logan has no end of swag to pass out. His staffers were handing out candy bars yesterday”—she looked accusingly at Ava—“and today it was pencils with ‘Vote for Logan’ on them. And Ella’s posters look like they were done by professionals, which they were, because her dad owns a chain of copy shops.”
“Sounds like Ashland Middle School needs some campaign finance reform,” said Tommy.
“Go ahead and make a joke,” said Alex, “but it’s actually so not funny. They’re obviously both independently wealthy, and I don’t think it’s fair.”
“Well, now you’ll be known as the candidate whose sister wants to play on the football team,” said Tommy optimistically.
Ava smiled.
Alex frowned. “I hope that doesn’t happen, Tommy,” she said. Then she brightened. “Anyway, it’s not the sort of thing middle school kids care about. I’m sure no one’s going to pay any attention to what’s going on with Ava and the school board.”
CHAPTER
TEN
But as they got off the bus the next day, Alex quickly realized that Ava seemed to be all anyone was talking about.
“Good for you, Ava!” yelled a girl.
“Girls can’t play football!” yelled a boy.
A group of girls was arguing with a group of boys, and Alex was pretty sure she heard “football” and “Sackett.”
Other groups of kids just stopped talking and watched Alex and Ava make their way through the crowd.
“Everyone’s staring at us,” said Alex through a frozen smile. She was trying to speak without moving her lips, like a ventriloquist.
“Sure looks that way,” Ava muttered back, as the two walked up the front steps of the school.
Ms. Farmen, the principal, was standing at the top of the stairs as she did most mornings, greeting kids as they walked in. As Alex and Ava passed her, she flashed Ava an encouraging smile.
“Well, it looks like you’ve got Ms. Farmen’s support, at least,” said Alex. “She probably can’t be too obvious about it, though, because she’s the principal and she answers to the school board.” She looked around the lobby at the posters plastered on every wall. Of course there were posters for the sixth- and eighth-grade candidates, and there was the one of hers she’d put up yesterday morning, but it felt as though everywhere she turned she saw Logan and Ella’s posters.
A group of eighth-grade girls walked past them. “Way to go, Ava!” said one.
A group of seventh-grade girls Alex vaguely recognized from the one science club meeting she’d attended walked past from the other direction. “Aren’t you afraid you’re going to get hurt?” asked one of them.
Ava opened her mouth to respond, but Alex poked her in the side. “It’s better to ignore them!” she whispered.
“Football’s for guys,” grunted a boy, and the group he was walking with all nodded.
Mr. Fifer, the music teacher, passed by as they arrived at their lockers. He stopped and gave Ava a double thumbs-up, pausing briefly as though waiting for someone to snap his picture.
“You go, girl!” he said enthusiastically, and walked on.
Ava cringed. “Who even says that anymore besides nerdy teachers and parents?” she asked Alex.
Alex shook her head darkly. “I had no idea this was going to be such a big deal,” she said. “It’s definitely distracting my voters from the issues at hand. I don’t like it one bit.”
Ava slammed her locker closed and glared at Alex. “It isn’t always all about you, Al,” she said. “Do you think I want to be the center of attention? All I want to do is play.”
Before Alex could respond, Kylie McClaire appeared on the other side of Ava. “Oh my,” she said, grinning. “You do know how to cause a stir, Sackett girls! The whole school is talking about you and the school board meeting next Wednesday!”
“It is?” asked Alex, growing more despondent by the minute.
“Mm-hmm.” Kylie nodded, her long, dangly earrings jangling. “And it sounds like Logan Medina is trying to turn it to his advantage, saying stupid stuff about how ‘girls should be girls’ ”—she crooked her fingers in the air as quotes—“and how the Sackett twins are troublemakers, et cetera.”
“He said that?” asked Alex weakly.
“Yeah, but I think it’s going to hurt him,” said Kylie. “He’ll lose the girl vote if he keeps this up.” She turned to Ava, who had remained quiet during this whole exchange. “You okay?” she asked her.
Ava nodded. “The worst thing is all the whispering I see kids doing. I have no idea if they’re for or against. And I guess I don’t care. But still—it’s awkward.”
It was still early, and when Alex arrived at her homeroom classroom she found Emily and Lindsey chatting outside the door. Lindsey was wearing the dress she’d been trying on at the thrift shop. Her mom must have hemmed it, and it looked adorable on her.
“Hey, Alex!” said Emily, cheerful and welcoming as ever. “Don’t you love Lindsey’s new dress? She got it at Spruce. Isn’t it just the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen?”
“She got it at—wait.” Alex wrinkled her brow. She was positive that was the dress . . . oh. Of course. Lindsey didn’t want Emily to know she’d been shopping at a thrift store. She’d lied about where she’d gotten her dress. “Spruce!” said Alex hastily, her face lighting up. “Of course! It looks—it looks awesome on you, Lindsey.”
The worried furrow on Lindsey’s face smoothed and relaxed. She smiled gratefully at Alex, clearly relieved that Alex was playing along. “Thanks,” she said. “So how’s the campaign going?”
Alex was momentarily shocked that Lindsey was initiating conversation with her. It was the f
irst time in a while—she had been so standoffish lately. “Um, fine!” said Alex. “Well, mostly fine. Logan seems to have an entire staff at his disposal. He’s got them passing out candy, helping him with posters, doling out pencils. And Ella has the public relations thing wrapped up. It’s amazing how many posters she’s got up, and what professional quality they are.”
“That’s no fair! Hmm . . . what if we help you?” suggested Lindsey.
“Yes! Let’s help!” said Emily with genuine enthusiasm.
Again, Alex was startled by Lindsey’s warmth, and by her offer. Lindsey and Emily had said they would help a while ago, but so far they hadn’t been around much, and Alex had assumed they hadn’t really meant it.
“Wow, that would be awesome,” said Alex.
“Great,” said Lindsey. “We all have the same lunch period, right?” When Alex and Emily nodded, Lindsey said, “Let’s sign out the art room. We can make a bunch more posters.”
The bell rang, and Alex and Lindsey said good-bye to Emily, who headed off to her homeroom class.
“I’ll see if other kids want to come help us!” said Lindsey as she slid into her desk. Alex slid into the one next to her, elated but perplexed.
“Wait, Lindsey did that?” Ava almost dropped the book she was holding and stared incredulously at Alex.
“I know. It’s crazy, isn’t it? She started being nice just after I went along with a lie she told.”
Ava’s eyes widened. She’d never been a big fan of Lindsey and hadn’t understood why her sister wanted so desperately to be accepted by her. Sure, she was part of the “cool” crowd, and belonging was really important to Alex, but it was clear that Lindsey didn’t like Alex, and that bothered Ava. Of course, that could be because of the whole Corey issue. But Alex had turned him down, and Lindsey still hadn’t been super nice to her. Until now, Ava supposed.
“What do you think made her change her mind about you?” asked Ava.
Alex explained how she had run into Lindsey in the thrift shop, and how she had seen her in the girls’ bathroom before the field trip. “So after I saw her in two different embarrassing situations—embarrassing for her, I think, even though I didn’t have a clue why they’d be embarrassing—she’s been totally nice to me. She rounded up half a dozen kids and they all helped make twelve more posters, and then she even insisted on putting them up during lunch. Why do you think she’s doing this?”
