by Belle Payton
CHAPTER
Fourteen
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ava’s friend Kylie asked her again. “You seem extra nervous tonight.”
Ava and Kylie were in the stands, waiting for the Tigers’ game to begin. Ava was glad to see Alex was at the game too. She knew her sister hadn’t gone to school, but obviously she’d talked their mom into letting her go to the game.
Ava had made the decision not to talk to Alex—she didn’t want her sister to know that something was bothering her. It was too hard to keep that sort of thing from her twin. Alex would be able to sense how nervous Ava was. What if something went wrong with Tommy’s plan? What if Coach somehow found out that he was sneaking out of the stadium to go to his band concert? And she, Ava, was going to help him with the whole thing. She glanced down at the small duffel bag at her feet for the fourth time. It was there. It had Tommy’s music and a change of clothes in it. Plus, to add to her general sense of unease, she had the date with Jack to look forward to after the game.
“I’m fine,” she said with a weak smile. “Just nervous about the game. Coach thinks it’s going to be a close one. And also . . .” She hesitated. Then she decided she might as well share. “And also, I have a kind of, sort of date with Jack after the game, at Sal’s.”
Kylie gave a low whistle. “Wow! Good for you! Is that why you have lip gloss and an actual shirt on rather than your usual football jersey?”
Ava felt herself flush. “That was Alex’s doing,” she said. “She laid the whole outfit out for me last night—including the lip gloss. Does it look stupid?”
“No,” said Kylie. “You look really nice. I mean it.”
“Thanks,” said Ava. “I hope this isn’t a bad idea. We really like hanging out together. I just don’t know if he looks at me as girlfriend material. Or if I look at him that way, to be honest. I don’t want to spoil things.”
“Stop overthinking it,” said Kylie, lightly whacking Ava on the arm. “And stop talking. It’s kickoff time, and I want to concentrate on the game.”
Ava grinned. Her friend had come so far in such a short time! When they’d first met, Kylie couldn’t have explained the difference between a punt and a field goal.
The game was close, and the score toward the end of the first half was 7–7. As the clock ticked down to the halftime, Ava could feel herself tensing up. Twice she saw Tommy glance up at her in the stands from the sidelines. He looked grimly determined. I guess he’s not backing down, thought Ava.
At halftime, Ava stood up quickly. “Be right back,” she said to Kylie. “I’m going to run to the bathroom before the lines get crazy.”
Kylie nodded, hardly looking up. She liked to stick around for the halftime show, which was still her favorite part of every game. But then she glanced back at Ava. “What’s in the gym bag?” she asked casually.
Ava had slung Tommy’s bag over her shoulder. She glanced down at it. “Oh, this? Just some stuff my brother wanted me to drop off.”
Kylie shrugged and looked back at the show. That seemed to satisfy her, luckily.
As the band marched out onto the field, Ava wound her way down through the crowded stands and to the locker room area.
About four minutes later, Tommy emerged from the locker room. He’d taken off his pads and uniform and was wearing a T-shirt and sweats. He saw her immediately and took her by the elbow. They moved down the hall and ducked around a corner.
“Here,” said Ava, handing him the bag, which he slung onto his own shoulder. “How did it go?”
“Pretty well,” he said. “I ran ahead of the team to the locker room. When Coach came in, I told him I’d just puked and that I should probably get out of there. He bought it. I guess he was so distracted by the game, he barely seemed to hear me.”
Ava felt like she was going to puke.
“So remember the plan,” said Tommy. “If he gets home first and asks where I am, you tell him I called Luke and he took me to the walk-in clinic. I texted you to tell you this because I didn’t want to bother him or Mom.”
Ava nodded, swallowing hard. “Okay. Good luck at the concert.”
Tommy glanced at his phone. “Thanks. I better run. Luke’s waiting at the side exit. Text me and let me know what happens in the game.”
Ava said she would. He gave her a quick Tom version of a hug—enveloping her head in the crook of his elbow—and off he went.
She watched him hustle away down the empty, dimly lit hallway. Outside, she could hear the band still playing, and the shouts of the cheerleaders. She hurried back to her seat.
The Tigers ended up winning, but it was a close game. Ava texted Tommy the final score, and while still holding her phone, she got a message from Jack saying he’d meet her at the gate closest to the Tigers’ bench.
“I can’t go to Sal’s tonight,” said Kylie. “It’s my sister’s birthday, and we’re having cake at my house. But I want to hear all about how it went tomorrow, okay?”
Ava nodded. “I promise.”
Kylie left, and Alex appeared.
“Exciting game, wasn’t it?” said Alex. “It’s a shame Tommy didn’t get in.”
Ava nodded. “Yeah, a shame.” She had been wondering whether Alex would notice that Tommy hadn’t been on the sidelines for the second half. Apparently she hadn’t.
“So, are you ready for your big date?” Alex asked Ava.
Ava rolled her eyes. “No. Have I mentioned how annoying it is that you were the one who created this annoying situation?”
“Yes. Several times. And I said I was sorry . . . kind of.” Alex told Ava her news. How she’d confessed to Coach Jen and to the team.
Ava’s jaw dropped. “Are we in trouble?”
“You definitely are not. I convinced Coach Jen that you weren’t to blame; that I was the evil mastermind. She accepted that. And to be honest, even though we could have gotten away with it, I’m glad she knows. I couldn’t have that guilt hanging over my head every second. I swear, Ave, I’m never lying again.”
Ava thought about what Tommy was doing at that moment. She shifted uncomfortably.
“And,” said Alex, “guess what?” She told Ava about being the PR person for the cheer squad.
“That’s so awesome,” said Ava warmly. “And how did it go, sitting with the team?”
“Pretty well, except that Annelise kept thanking me for my bravery and courage, and telling everyone how I’d heroically saved her from a terrible injury. Obviously the whole thing was my fault, but she’s such a sweet person, she couldn’t see that.”
Ava’s phone buzzed. It was Jack again. “Guess I’d better go,” she said.
“Yes. Hurry,” said Alex. “I saw him down there waiting for you. I think he actually combed his hair.”
Somehow this made Ava feel embarrassed and squeamish. She didn’t like how she and Jack were both doing stuff they didn’t usually do—she’d never seen his unruly hair neatly combed, and she certainly never wore makeup (unless she was pretending to be her sister, of course). As she made her way down the stadium steps, she realized she hadn’t even thought to text Charlie. She usually texted him after the Tigers’ games. On the other hand, he hadn’t texted her, either.
Jack was waiting for her, and his hair was definitely neater than it usually was.
“Hi,” she said, feeling suddenly shy.
“Hi,” he said.
They were silent. They watched people moving past them, heading for the exits.
Finally Jack came up with something to say. “So, are you hungry?”
“Um, yeah. A little,” said Ava.
“Cool. Let’s head to Sal’s,” said Jack, and Ava nodded in agreement.
What was the matter with her? It was like she’d forgotten how to have a normal conversation. And with Jack, of all people, who was so easy to talk to, usually. Well, he seemed to be having the same problem. On top of feeling awkward about the date, she was nervous about timing. What if this silly thing lasted a long time? Wha
t if she didn’t get home before Coach? There was almost always someone they knew at Sal’s who lived close to the Sacketts and who was willing to give her and Alex a ride on Friday nights. Most everyone understood that the coach’s daughters might need a ride home because their dad was busy after the game. But would Jack want to take her home? Was that what happened on a date?
They walked to the pizza parlor without speaking. Jack was one of those people who seemed comfortable with silence, and normally Ava didn’t mind it either, but tonight everything felt weird. She glanced at the time on her phone. She’d be fine. Usually it was at least two hours from the end of the game until Coach got home, sometimes much more than that. He did a postgame talk with the team, and then had interviews with the media, and then generally met with his assistant coaches to recap the game and watch film and stuff. But with her luck, maybe tonight would be the one night that he chose to go directly home, out of concern for his “sick” kid.
Or—and now she was really torturing herself—what if Coach texted her mom? Maybe told her to cancel her dinner with her friend and go home to check on Tom? It would be equally bad—possibly worse—if their mom were the one to discover the plot. Ava shuddered just thinking about it.
At Sal’s, Ava and Jack waved to the table full of their mutual friends but chose a booth in a far corner. They ordered sodas, and Sal himself delivered them, singing an aria in his booming tenor voice. It sounded like a love aria, and Ava didn’t like the way Sal looked at the two of them, waggling his thick eyebrows in a silly kind of way.
They sat in silence, sipping their drinks. Ava fiddled with the little accordion-scrunched paper from her straw and racked her brains for something to say. Then finally she thought of something.
“So did you see how PJ had twenty-five completions?”
While at the exact same time, Jack said, “I think Jeff Coolidge rushed for over a hundred yards.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Ava took another sip of her soda and saw that out of the corner of her eye, several of Jack’s friends were making goofy faces at him from their table. Could this be more awkward?
Just when she thought it couldn’t possibly, the door chime tinkled and someone walked into the restaurant. Glad to have a distraction, Ava turned to see who it was. Her jaw dropped.
It was Charlie. Her sort-of boyfriend from back in Massachusetts.
CHAPTER
Fifteen
Alex was in mid-sip of her drink when Charlie Weidner walked into Sal’s. She nearly spewed soda all over the table.
“Are you okay?” asked Emily, slapping Alex on the back several times.
Alex managed to stop coughing enough to gasp that she was fine, that she’d just swallowed a sip the wrong way.
Charlie hadn’t seen her yet. He stood near the door, scanning the crowd. A few kids looked up at him curiously. Despite her shock, it struck Alex that it really was obvious when someone showed up who wasn’t from Ashland. She couldn’t put her finger on why—Charlie wasn’t dressed in different clothes or anything. He was still the same freckled, red-haired kid she remembered, although he seemed to have grown at least two inches since she’d last seen him. But somehow he looked like he wasn’t from around here.
She glanced over at where Ava was sitting with Jack. Ava had definitely seen Charlie walk in, because she’d picked up the huge menu no one ever looked at—everyone always ordered the specialty, pizza margherita—and had it propped up in front of her. She was clearly hiding behind it. Alex saw her sister’s eyes peek out over the top of the menu, and she could tell that Ava was completely freaked out.
“Do you know that kid?” asked Lindsey, looking curiously at Charlie.
“Yes,” said Alex. “That’s . . . Charlie.”
Corey looked up sharply from where he was sitting, farther down the table. Everyone was now staring from Alex to Charlie and back again.
“I thought you said you’d broken up!” hissed Emily under her breath.
“We did,” Alex responded weakly.
“So he came all the way from Boston to beg you to come back to him?” asked Emily. “Wow. That is so totally romantic.”
Alex stood up. “Be right back,” she said to her friends, and she hurried over to where Charlie was standing.
“Charlie? Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it!” she gushed, giving him a huge bear hug.
“Hey, Alex,” said Charlie. He half hugged her in return, patting her awkwardly on the back.
“What are you doing here?”
“Surprise, ha-ha. How’s it going? What happened to your chin?”
“Oh, I fell. You know me, I’m a total klutz! But—” Her eyes flicked to Ava’s booth. She was still hiding behind the menu. “But what—how—how did you—”
“I’m here with the whole family,” said Charlie. “We have a week off at school and we’re heading to Mexico. But our connecting flight doesn’t leave until midnight tonight, so my mom and your mom are having dinner. And Isabel and I told her not to tell so we could surprise you guys. Izzie’s got a temperature, so she’s with my dad, but she told me to be sure to say hi to you. She’s really upset she doesn’t get to see you.”
“Wow, that’s awesome! Except the part about Izzie being sick, that’s not awesome,” said Alex, blinking rapidly, trying to think. She needed to look happy to see him, for his sake, but not too happy, because she was aware that an entire table full of her friends was watching how she interacted with this pretend ex-boyfriend, the guy she’d told everyone in the whole school she’d recently broken up with. And then what do I do about Ava?
“So where’s Ave?” asked Charlie, looking around.
“Ave?”
“Ava.”
“Ava?”
“Yeah. Your twin sister?”
“Oh! Ava! Why she’s, uh, well, let’s see. Where is she?” Alex was madly stalling for time. She prayed that Ava would have the sense to crawl between the tables and get to the bathroom. Then she could shimmy out an open window and escape down the water pipe.
“Charlie!” It was Ava. She’d set down her menu and was calling to him and waving from across the room.
Alex closed her eyes and inhaled a long, cleansing breath. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
Charlie gently moved past Alex to head over to Ava, who was now standing up and walking over to them. Jack stood up too and was looking at Charlie with serious confusion. Ava had a fake frozen smile on her face, as though she were into the third hour of cheerleading tryouts. This time, though, her face was as white as paper.
Alex briefly contemplated running, but then turned and followed after Charlie.
“Hi!” said Ava when she reached Charlie and Alex. She gave Charlie a quick hug, and then they both jumped backward. “What—what are you doing here?”
Charlie explained quickly.
“Oh. So that explains the mysterious date our mom had with an old friend,” said Ava. “She was weird about not giving any details.”
“Yeah,” said Charlie. “We thought it would be cool to surprise you guys.”
“Ha-ha, what a surprise,” said Ava. It was a hollow laugh. The conversation faltered, and then ground to a standstill. The three stood in awkward silence.
Alex looked from one to the other, wondering what to do. Finally, when the silence between Ava and Charlie became intolerable, she blurted, “So, Charlie. See that guy over there that Ava was sitting with? He’s on the school paper. And he’s interviewing Ava. About being the only girl on the football team. It’s not like a date or anything. Right, Ava?”
Ava’s mouth fell open. She looked over her shoulder at Jack. Then she turned back to Charlie.
Jack must have seen the look and interpreted it as an invitation to come join them, which he then did.
“Jack! This is Charlie. Charlie, this is Jack,” said Alex desperately.
“Hey, Charlie,” said Jack with an easy grin. “I’ve heard
a lot about you.”
“You have?” asked Charlie.
“Yep. Alex has talked about you a lot.”
“Alex has?”
“Oh, you know my sister,” said Ava, jumping in quickly. “Always the chatterbox.”
“Um, yeah,” said Charlie. “So are you and Jack still talking, or do you have time to hang out?” Charlie asked Ava.
Ava turned bright pink.
Charlie turned to Jack. “I’m impressed you don’t need to write anything down. I would never be able to remember what people said.”
Jack looked puzzled. “Write it down?”
Ava pulled her phone out and looked down. “Oh, wow, it actually looks like I have to go, you guys,” she said. “My brother’s texting me and he really needs my help with a, um, a situation, and I’m going to catch a ride back with the Cahills over there, who look like they’re heading out. Sorry, Jack. Gotta go. Bye! So awesome to see you, Charlie!”
And she fled.
Alex shot her a reproachful look, but Ava was already on her way out the door. Alex stood there awkwardly between Charlie and Jack, conscious of the fact that Corey and Lindsey and Emily were all looking curiously at the three of them from the long table across the restaurant.
“So, uh, Jack,” said Charlie, “Alex says you’re an ace reporter for the paper. That’s awesome.”
Jack looked at Alex and raised an eyebrow.
Alex looked at him and pleaded with her eyes for him to go along with this.
He seemed to understand, because he turned to Charlie and grinned. “Oh, yeah, well, thanks. I try.”
Alex felt a surge of gratitude toward Jack.
“Well, Alex, our moms are having dinner together right down the street at a place called the Pain or something.”
“Le pehn,” Alex corrected him automatically, pronouncing it the French way. Yes! A way out! “Why don’t I walk you there?” she suggested. “We can talk on the way, and catch up and stuff.”
Charlie nodded, and after saying good-bye to Jack, Alex led Charlie out. She turned toward the table where her friends were sitting and gave them what she hoped was a look that said, I’ll try to let the poor guy down easy, before they walked out the door.
