by Belle Payton
How was she supposed to silently communicate with her twin on command? What had she gotten herself into?
“Are you doing it?” Emily whispered.
Alex nodded and closed her eyes.
“Shhh, guys,” Emily whispered to the others.
Ava. Ava. Ava. Alex silently repeated her sister’s name.
Could she somehow sneakily text Ava to hightail it over here? That seemed like the only way this would work. She opened one eye.
Everyone was watching her.
She closed her eye. What choice did she have? There was no logical way that Ava could receive her psychic message. Alex knew that. Whenever they’d had twin connections before, they’d always been together. And the past few days had just been full of coincidences.
This was going to end badly.
They’ll all laugh at me, she realized. By next period, I’ll be the joke of the school.
She came up with a plan. She’d keep her eyes closed until the bell rang. Maybe convince them that there hadn’t been enough time. Or the conditions weren’t ideal.
Or something.
She inhaled the pungent odor of tacos. She listened to distant laughter. And waited. And thought really, really hard about Ava.
Ava looked around the crowded cafeteria. The entire seventh grade was packed in. A strange odor of tacos and industrial cleaner filled the air.
“Here.” Ava passed half her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and one of her dad’s homemade oatmeal cookies to Kylie.
Kylie slid over her corn chips and a bunch of grapes.
Every day they shared the best parts of their lunch. It was much better than buying the cafeteria food.
“Do you want some?” Ava held up the bag of chips to Charlotte.
“Thanks.” Charlotte nibbled on a chip. “Do you like Mallomars? I brought twenty boxes when we moved. I could bring some for us tomorrow.”
“What are those?” Kylie asked.
“Chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies,” Ava explained. “They’re yummy. My mom likes them.”
“It’s an East Coast thing. You can only get them in our part of the country,” Charlotte explained. “Right, Ava?”
“I didn’t know that,” Ava said. Had she seen the cookies here in Texas? She guessed not. She hadn’t really missed them, though.
“So let me finish telling you who’s who.” Ava gazed at the nearby tables. They had been giving Charlotte the breakdown of all the groups at Ashland Middle School. “Okay, we’ve covered the drama kids, the band geeks, the A-plus kids, and the random table.”
“So that leaves the sporty kids,” Kylie said. “They’re kind of divided. That table is the baseball and volleyball boys. That table is a mishmash—soccer girls, softball girls, and I think gymnasts and swimmers.”
“And then there’s football,” Ava said.
“And cheerleaders,” Kylie added with a knowing smile. “There’s two tables of those mixed together, but one group is much cooler.” She nodded her head in the direction of Alex’s table. It was easy to see that they were the social center of the seventh grade. The energy of the room seemed to naturally swirl in their direction.
“Is that Alex?” Charlotte asked, surveying the table. “She looks like you, Ava.”
“Indeed she does,” Kylie answered. “See the cute boy at the end? The one with the dark hair and green shirt? We’re sort of going out.”
“Sort of?” Charlotte asked.
“His name is Owen,” Ava explained. “They like each other, but each of them is too shy to do anything but text emojis.”
“That’s not true!” Kylie twirled one of her many tiny braids. “Okay, it is a little.”
“So why don’t you guys sit over there too?” Charlotte asked.
“Sometimes we do,” Ava said. “But sometimes we just like to chill, the two of us. Three now.” She smiled at Charlotte.
“That works for me,” Charlotte said.
“And their table is really crowded.” Kylie played with all the rings on her fingers as she thought about it some more. “And sometimes Owen gets weird when I sit near him. He can’t seem to spit out a full sentence.”
“Boys are like that,” Charlotte said knowingly. Ava wondered if she’d had a boyfriend in her old school.
Charlotte watched the kids at Alex’s table. “Alex looks nice. And pretty, too.”
“Do you want to meet her?” Ava asked. “I am supposed to be introducing you around. I’ll introduce you to the whole group.”
Charlotte hesitated. “I can meet her later. With you.”
“Let’s go now,” Kylie said, her dark eyes flashing mischievously.
“Oh, you want an excuse to say hi to Owen,” Ava teased.
“I don’t need an excuse,” Kylie said. “I want to help you be a good ambassador.”
“Likely story.” Ava turned to Charlotte. “Come on.”
Ava and Kylie led Charlotte across the cafeteria. As Ava drew closer, she saw that Alex had her eyes closed. What was she doing? Sleeping? Here?
“She’s coming!” Emily let out a high-pitched squeal.
Alex’s eyelids shot open. Her eyes bulged with surprise, and she leaped to her feet. “You’re here!” she cried. “Ava, you’re here!”
“Obviously,” Ava said, tilting her head.
“That’s amazing!” A huge smile lit up Alex’s face. “I did it!”
“I told you!” Emily said.
“Way incredible!” Lindsey cried.
“I can’t believe you just walked over,” Corey said to Ava.
“Believe it,” Ava said. “What’s with all of you?”
“Alex just made you appear,” Emily said. “It’s the Power.”
“I’m still not following.” Ava turned to Alex, who had dropped back into her seat. Alex shrugged and chewed at her lip. Ava knew she was trying to work something out in her mind. Alex chewed her lip when she did math and when she had a problem. “So?” she asked.
Alex didn’t say anything. Ava decided to wait until they were home to ask her about it.
“Okay, moving on,” Ava said. “This is Charlotte. She’s new and really nice. She’s from New York City.”
Everyone said hi, but Charlotte just stared down at her feet.
“Hey, I thought New Yorkers talked a lot,” Corey teased.
Charlotte turned to him with a glare. Her many silver bracelets chimed together as she crossed her arms. Ava wasn’t sure why she’d suddenly clammed up. Corey’s comment was kind of rude, but he was just kidding. Maybe Charlotte couldn’t see that.
Emily looked at Ava quizzically, and Ava shrugged. “Well, welcome to Texas, Charlotte,” Emily said with a big smile and a nod at Ava.
“No ‘Howdy, y’all’?” Charlotte asked finally. “I mean, isn’t this cowboy country?” When she spoke, it was with a strange Southern twang that she hadn’t used with Ava.
“This isn’t cowboy country,” Lindsey said defensively. “We have a mall, we’re near a big city. Ashland isn’t the middle of nowhere.”
“Compared to New York it is,” Charlotte mumbled. Ava looked at her in shock. It was one thing to complain about her new town to Ava, but to complain in front of all these kids who’d grown up here seemed mean.
“Hey, don’t dis Texas,” Corey protested. “Texas has football.”
“And ranches,” Kylie added.
“And Dr Pepper,” Annelise put in.
“And you guys think those are good things?” Charlotte gave a sharp laugh that startled Ava even more. “Manhattan has museums, chic shopping, Broadway shows, and amazing restaurants. Texas is like Hicksville.”
Doesn’t she know that these kids love Texas? Ava wondered. She glanced at Alex, who didn’t seem to be listening to Charlotte. She was gazing off toward some unseen spot, murmuring, “I did it. I really did it.”
“I like your shirt, Charlotte,” Emily tried again. “And your bracelets. Did you get them at the mall?”
“As if! These came f
rom a little vintage store in the West Village. You don’t have stores that cool anywhere in Texas,” Charlotte said. Ava cringed.
“But we can order anything online,” Lindsey pointed out. “I could order a shirt from Paris if I wanted to.”
“But by the time the delivery guy makes it all the way out here, that shirt will be so last year!” Charlotte let out another short laugh.
Emily and Lindsey gave each other looks.
Ava groaned. Didn’t Charlotte know that she was supposed to tell Emily how fabulous her shirt or shoes or something was? Emily and Lindsey were used to everyone complimenting them. If Charlotte had wanted to get in with the popular crowd, she’d messed up her first impression, Ava realized.
No, she’d more than messed it up.
She’d destroyed it.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Ava stood in the middle of her bedroom and listened. She’d never heard her house this quiet on a weekday morning. Usually by the time her mom yelled that she’d be late, Ava could hear Coach making breakfast, Tommy singing in the shower, and Alex fiddling with her straightening iron as she recited vocabulary words.
But not today. On this Wednesday morning she was up first, long before her alarm rang.
Today was the play-off game against Longhorn Acres Middle School. Ashland Middle School had to win to get into the state semifinals. Ava was fired up and ready to win.
She touched her toes, then dropped down for ten push-ups. She stretched her legs, loosening her muscles for the big kick. She played kicker. She was determined to make every extra point at today’s game.
She kicked one of her jerseys off the floor. It arched up and landed atop another pile of clothes. Ava’s messy room made Alex crazy. Unlike Ava, Alex was always so neat and orderly.
She scooped up the jersey nearest her and was about to pull it over her head when she remembered that the play-off was an away game. She groaned.
Ava had always loved football. She’d diagrammed plays in her coloring books when she was little. She’d slept holding a football instead of a stuffed animal.
But the only thing she hated about being part of the school football team was the away-game tradition. The entire team had to dress in their best clothes for school on game day.
For the boys, that meant suits and ties. For her, that meant a skirt, a nice shirt, and real shoes.
It was one thing to get dressed up for church and dinner at her grandma Beth’s house, but another to have to sit in class in a skirt. Ava supposed it showed respect, but she still hated it.
She opened her closet. Her denim miniskirt hung where her mother had put it after the last away-game day. It was her go-to skirt. It was the only one that wasn’t itchy.
Ava pulled it on. What do I wear on top? she wondered. The boys didn’t have this problem. Every week they wore the same suit and tie, as if it were a uniform too. Ava was envious.
In a back corner, she spotted a purple short-sleeved sweater. She vaguely remembered her mother bringing it home from a shopping trip when they first moved. She examined it. The tags were still on, and the material felt soft. Ava pulled it over her head and ripped off the tags.
She could hear Coach and Tommy moving around now. She rummaged in her backpack for the printout of plays for today’s game. She’d been over them so many times, but she wanted to be extra sure she knew them.
A knock sounded on her door, and her dad peeked his head in. His dark hair was covered by a Tigers cap. “I thought I was still dreaming when I saw your light on,” he teased. “Game day jitters?”
Ava shook her head. “Game day excitement.”
“That’s my girl!” Coach beamed proudly. “Tommy and I are going in early to watch film. The Rutland Raiders have a tricky running back. We need to figure out his moves.”
“Look who’s up early!” Mrs. Sackett called, stepping into Ava’s room.
“You guys act like it’s a big deal,” Ava said. “Look behind you. That’s a big deal.”
Her parents turned, and the three of them stared at Tommy. His button-down shirt was wrinkle free and tucked into a pair of ironed khakis. His curly hair was styled with what looked to Ava to be gel, and she’d smelled his cologne long before she saw him.
Mrs. Sackett squinted at her son. “What’s with the snazzy outfit?”
“Nothing,” Tommy said.
“Tommy has a girlfriend!” Ava sang out. “He’s trying to impress Cassie.”
“She’s your girlfriend?” Mrs. Sackett sounded surprised. “I thought she was just a Homecoming date.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. We don’t do labels like that.” He turned away, but Ava saw the blush creep up his neck.
“Tommy likes her,” Ava mouthed to her parents. She liked Cassie too. The one time she’d met her, Cassie had been wearing a Patriots jersey. If Tommy was going to get all crazy about a girl, at least it was one who not only liked football but also liked the Patriots.
Coach frowned. “Tom, this isn’t the time. Everything is riding on our game this weekend. I need your attention on the field. Not on some girl—”
“Thanks a lot, Ava,” Tommy called, heading down the stairs.
“Sorry,” Ava said. She knew it was hard for Tom to have their dad as his coach. He never got a break. “Hey, I’ll catch a ride with you guys now, okay? I want to get to school early too.”
She figured that was the least she could do for Tommy. Coach would talk to her about the upcoming game, and Tommy would get to just stare out the window and listen to his music.
As it turned out, no one talked in the car. Instead they listened to the local radio station’s sports show. Two announcers who said they were reviewing her dad’s coaching strategy managed to criticize everything he had done so far this season.
“Oh, please!” Ava cried. “Your team is winning. What are they moaning about?”
“Everyone in this town thinks they’re a better coach,” Tommy quipped. “The lunch ladies. The bagger in the grocery store. The crossing guards. You should hear them all go on.”
“You’re doing a great job,” Ava told Coach. “This is dumb.” She reached to turn off the radio.
“No!” Coach stopped her. “Leave it on.”
“Can Coach Sackett bring in the big win?” one announcer asked. “All the games up until now were child’s play. It’s all about the big win.”
The other announcer made a disapproving tsk-tsk noise. “A big win needs big experience. Coach Sackett doesn’t have the track record. I fear he doesn’t have the nerves for this level of football.”
They listened in silence as the announcers second-guessed every decision he’d made all year.
Coach shook his head. “They should try getting out from behind their microphone and onto the field. Then we’ll see who has the nerves for this game.”
Ava grinned. “You tell them!” If anyone knew how to best guide a team to victory, it was Coach. Ava wished everyone would stop questioning him.
Five minutes later, she stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the middle school. The toxic radio show continued to blare out the car window as she watched her dad drive down the shared driveway toward the high school.
“Is everything okay?” asked a girl behind her.
Ava turned to find Charlotte standing there. Her long brown hair was piled into a messy bun, and she wore a cute tank dress and black ankle boots. Picking out an outfit obviously came easily to her.
“Fine.” Ava wriggled uncomfortably in her skirt. She didn’t know how to feel about Charlotte after what had happened Monday at lunch.
“You don’t look fine,” Charlotte said. “You look upset.”
“It’s my dad,” Ava explained. “The big high school game is on Saturday. If they win, they’re on the path to the state tournament. He’s supposed get Ashland the big win. That’s what they called it on the radio.”
“Can he?” Charlotte asked.
Ava shrugged. “He’s an amazing coach. But the R
utland Raiders—that’s who they’re playing—are a great team. Everything is riding on this. I mean, this is why we moved here. His birthday is on Sunday, and we can’t even talk about it, because he’s too stressed. He hasn’t baked anything in weeks.”
“And that’s weird?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes. Coach loves to bake. Cookies and muffins, especially,” Ava explained. “But his complete focus is on the game and nothing else.”
“Don’t you have a game today too?” Charlotte asked.
Ava raised her eyebrows. She was surprised that Charlotte knew this. They had barely seen each other since Monday. “I do. But I’m sure I can make the field goals if they aren’t crazy far.”
“To be honest, I have no idea what a field goal is. I’m thinking it’s a good thing. Perhaps better than barbecue?” Charlotte smiled.
“Definitely better.” Ava gave a slight smile. Then she frowned. “It’s horrible seeing Coach this tense.”
“A party is the answer,” Charlotte said. “And chocolate. Always chocolate.”
“He said no parties,” Ava reported.
“So how about just a family meal with all his favorite foods?” Charlotte asked.
Ava laughed. “Coach does love breakfast foods. French toast with powdered sugar, omelets, biscuits.”
“Have you ever had chocolate-covered bacon? It’s crazy good. There’s a restaurant in New York that sells it. You could make him that,” Charlotte suggested. “Chocolate plus breakfast. Pretty perfect, huh?”
“True,” Ava said, grateful to Charlotte for helping her come up with ideas. Then she shook her head. “But he won’t agree to it.”
“Make it a surprise for Sunday morning,” Charlotte said. “If he wins, he’s happy. If he loses, you have this amazing breakfast to cheer him up. I mean, who wouldn’t be cheered up by chocolate-covered bacon?”
“I like the way you think,” said Ava, following Charlotte into the school.
For a moment, she thought of asking Charlotte what had happened at lunch on Monday, but decided to let it pass. Charlotte had probably been nervous on her first day. Ava had said plenty of stupid things herself in the past. Charlotte was nice, fun—and she was obviously going to be a good friend.
