Best Family Ever

by Karen Kingsbury

  But instead, she was in the dry dining room. She sat across from her parents and blinked a few times.

  “Let me see if I have this right.” Dad looked hard at her. “You drew a picture instead of doing your math.” He put his elbows on the table and leaned closer. “And then you lied to your mother about it?”

  Ashley struggled for any possible explanation. “Technically it wasn’t a picture.” She started to smile and then changed her mind. “It was flower blossoms.”

  “Ashley.” He didn’t yell. But his voice was angry. “Please answer the question.”

  Tell the truth, she told herself. You have to tell the truth. She squeezed her eyes shut and let her answer come. “Yes!” She covered her face with her hands. “I drew blossoms instead of answers and then I lied about it.”

  “Look at us.” Her mom sounded extra-serious.

  Ashley lowered her hands a few inches and turned to her mother. She was sitting right next to her dad. They were like a jury all lined up. A sad feeling came over Ashley and tears gathered in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “I hope so.” Dad leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “We expect more from you, Ashley. A lot more.”

  A single tear fell onto her cheek. “Maybe you shouldn’t expect so much.”

  Just then Brooke came down the stairs. She was happy and lighthearted as usual. She had her Bible under her arm. Brooke was the picture of everything perfect.

  Ashley watched her parents’ faces. “Hello, dear.” Their dad’s voice was much kinder. He stood and hugged Brooke. “You’re headed to youth group?”

  “Yes.” Brooke smiled. “Jenny’s mother is picking me up!”

  Now their mother was on her feet, too. And she was also hugging Brooke. Like she was going away for the summer and not just for the night. “Homework done?”

  “Of course.” Brooke looked as happy as a kid with cake.

  There was a honking sound outside and Brooke waved. “See you later!” She smiled at Ashley. “See ya, Ashley.”

  “See ya.” Ashley looked down at her hands. She felt worse. She’d never make her parents this happy.

  Brooke grinned at their mom and dad. “Love you!”

  “Love you, too.” They both said it at once. They might as well have said they loved Brooke the most. Because that much was obvious.

  When the door shut behind Brooke, Ashley looked at her parents. Silence. They returned to their seats at the table. “What do you have to say for yourself?” Trouble took over Mom’s face again. “I can’t believe you’d lie to me.”

  “Okay.” Ashley swallowed hard.

  “Okay what?” Her mom’s voice was higher than before.

  Ashley thought fast. “Okay, maybe it’s better if you don’t believe it.” Another tiny smile. “Then we could pretend it never happened.”

  “We won’t pretend anything of that sort.” Her dad took a long breath. “Ashley, you are a Baxter. Remember what we say about lies?”

  Ever since the lie, Ashley had tried to forget. But the truth was there. She nodded. “You don’t love someone you lie to . . . and you don’t lie to someone you love.”

  “Yes.” For the first time since they sat down, Dad looked a little less upset. “Baxters don’t lie. We face the truth. Even if it means getting in trouble.”

  Ashley pictured herself at a cold desk in a boarding school. Her parents would probably send her off and the place would be run by a mean headmistress and Ashley would have to scrub floors like in Little Orphan Annie. For the rest of her life.

  “You’ll go straight to your room when we’re done, and finish your math. However long it takes.” Their dad looked at Mom. “Elizabeth, I have work to do tonight. Maybe you could help her.”

  “I will.” Her mom looked tired. “Ashley, homework is serious business. Math, too. These things are not optional.”

  They were the same words Miss Wilson had used.

  Ashley nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You need to be a better student.” Her dad looked at her for a long minute. “The kind of student Brooke is. Maybe you could learn from her.”

  Brooke? Ashley felt her throat get tight. “But . . . Brooke doesn’t even like to draw.”

  “Drawing is secondary.” Her mom sounded frustrated again. “You have to do what matters, Ashley.”

  What matters? Ashley felt sick again. Drawing didn’t matter? Be like Brooke? She thought about Brooke and how she spent her time: reading, studying, speech and debate? Quiet and serious all the time? Ashley couldn’t think of a worse punishment. She felt the tears coming again.

  “Don’t be upset.” Her dad stood and came to her. “Stand up.”

  Ashley obeyed. What choice did she have?

  Dad hugged her and took gentle hold of her chin. His eyes were softer now. “Get your work done. Now.” He smiled. “I know you can do it.”

  His words stayed inside her as she walked up to her room and started untangling the math problems. Every so often an angry tear would fall on the clean sheet of paper. But Ashley didn’t care. She had bigger problems.

  No more drawing.

  No more dreaming.

  As she worked on her homework, she felt herself getting stronger. She decided that if her parents wanted her to be more serious about school, then that’s exactly what she would do. Find a way to be more serious. More hours for homework. Better grades. And by the end of the night she was ready to do the one thing her parents wanted most of all.

  She was ready to be more like Brooke.

  17

  The New Coach

  ASHLEY

  Math was like a mountain Ashley could never climb. No matter how hard she tried to be like Brooke, there was one missing piece.

  Ashley hated math. Brooke loved it.

  So how could she ever actually be like Brooke?

  That Saturday, though, math and numbers and common denominators didn’t matter at all. Because today was something more wonderful than spring.

  Soccer!

  Drawing was Ashley’s first best talent, but soccer was a close second. That’s what her dad always said. A very close second. Ashley was a forward, which meant she was at the front of the field. The place where all the scoring happened. Ashley’s foot was more like a boot.

  That’s what Ashley’s teammates always said. “You’ve got a good boot, Ash!”

  They didn’t actually mean a boot, of course. You couldn’t play soccer in boots. It meant that Ashley kicked hard and lots of times she sent the ball straight into the goal.

  Ashley could hardly wait for practice. Finally, something other than math.

  As soon as she and Kari walked onto the soccer field, Ashley noticed something wonderful. Their team had a new coach! Last year’s coach had been a large, loud man who smelled like hot dogs. A yeller, Kari’s dad called him. Almost every game last year one of the girls on the team would cry.

  Which almost ruined soccer for everyone. Even Ashley.

  The coach this year looked like a soccer player. She was tall with a ponytail and she wore a pink baseball cap. She had a sweet smile. And she looked like someone Kari would want to be her coach.

  As soon as Ashley saw her, she started to run. “Come on.” She reached out for Kari’s hand. “Let’s sign in!”

  But Kari stopped and shook her head. “I’m not sure. I heard something terrible.”

  “Huh?” Ashley put on the brakes. She turned to her sister. “What do you mean? What’s terrible?” She looked back at the sign-in area. “We have a new coach.”

  “I see that.” Kari crossed her arms.

  Ashley tried to understand. “What did you hear?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. Brittany told me at school yesterday.” Kari moved her toe around in the grass. “I just remembered when Dad dropped us off.”

  Kari’s words weren’t lining up. “What did Brittany tell you?”

  “Nothing.” Kari waved her hand around. She acted like they’d already lost their
first game. Finally Kari looked up. “It’s just . . . what if I’m not good enough?”

  “You?” Ashley couldn’t make sense of her sister’s statement. “Don’t be silly. You’re already on the team. Plus, Brittany doesn’t even play soccer.” Ashley wanted to get going. “Come on!”

  “You go.” Kari bit her lip. She set her gear bag on the grass in front of her. “I need to change shoes.”

  Ashley looked at her sister’s tennis shoes. She had a point. Cleats were required here.

  “Girls!” They both turned to see their dad standing near their family van. Dad usually stayed for practice, but he told them he had to spend a few hours at the hospital working this morning. He smiled at them. “Have fun!”

  They smiled and waved at him. But Kari’s smile didn’t last long.

  Ashley had a thought. “Want me to wait? While you put on your cleats?”

  “That’s okay.” Kari’s expression looked nervous. Like a kindergarten kid on the first day of school. She shook her head. “I’ll catch up.”

  Ashley wasn’t so sure. She’d never seen Kari act like this. No, her sister wasn’t the best player on the team. But she was a good midfielder. She was always running around, kicking the ball to someone who could actually score.

  Like Ashley.

  “All right.” Ashley gave her sister a quick smile. “See you in a bit.”

  She ran toward the coach and excitement filled her to overflowing. All around her the girls seemed to feel the same way. A few were kicking a ball. Some dribbled around orange cones for practice.

  Ashley recognized most of the girls from school, but a few were new. Lydia came running up beside her. “I just got here.” She sounded out of breath from happiness. Lydia had a boot, too. “Can you believe it? Soccer season!”

  “Finally!” Ashley hugged her friend. They walked together to the new coach. The woman had a clipboard and a bag of soccer balls. After they signed in, the coach used a whistle to get the girls’ attention.

  “Everyone come sit down.” Her voice was loud, but there was a smile tucked inside it. “Welcome to soccer.”

  Ashley looked over her shoulder. Kari was just walking up, slower than the other girls. “Over here.” Ashley said the words but she kept the sound out. She patted on the grass next to her and Lydia.

  Kari came and sat down, but she looked sick.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Girls.” The coach still looked happy. Ashley wanted to keep it that way. The coach looked straight at them. “Please pay attention.”

  Ashley nodded. Lydia and Kari did the same thing. Poor Lydia. She was always getting in trouble just for sitting next to Ashley. In class and now here. Ashley patted her friend on the back. “Sorry, Lydia.”

  Her friend didn’t look at her. “Shhh.”

  “Right. Quiet.” Ashley nodded and looked at the front of the group of girls.

  The coach was waiting.

  When Ashley stopped talking the woman raised her voice. “Okay, good morning, girls. I’m Coach Kelly.” She looked around at the group. “Let’s figure out our team name first.” She looked around. “Anyone have a suggestion?”

  Ashley stood straight up. “Me!” She’d been thinking about this since last year. They were the Little Kickers last year. Now that seemed like a baby name.

  “You can sit down, Ashley.” Coach Kelly did a short laugh. “Okay, what’s your idea?”

  “The Mighty Dolphins.” Ashley couldn’t actually sit back down. Not yet. She put her hands together out in front of her and wove around in little half circles for a minute. “See? A dolphin has a strong tail. He can move in and out of other fish in a flash. Also . . .” She stopped weaving and looked at Kari and Lydia and the other girls, and finally back at Coach Kelly. “Who wouldn’t want to be a Mighty Dolphin?”

  The coach blinked a few times. “Okay.” She looked at the group. “Anyone else?”

  No one had a better suggestion. No one had any suggestions. Ashley felt excited but tried not to let it show. Mighty Dolphins was her favorite team name ever.

  “Okay, then.” Coach laughed again. “We are the Mighty Dolphins.” She looked at her clipboard. As she did her smile collapsed. “Now, please sit down, Ashley.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ashley sat.

  “One thing before we get started.” Coach Kelly’s tone seemed sort of unhappy.

  Ashley’s heart started to run faster inside her.

  The coach looked around again. “I’m afraid I have some tough news today.”

  Ashley pulled her knees to her chest. What was this? The coach was afraid of some bad news? What could be so bad? They hadn’t even started. Ashley listened.

  “So here’s the situation.” Coach Kelly raised her cap a bit. “Too many girls came out for soccer.” She waited. “We’re going to pick some of you today for the Mighty Dolphins. The rest of you will play on a different team.” She smiled like that was a good thing. “Everyone will get to play. Just not on this team. This will be a Three-A team. The other one will play a division down, at Two A.”

  Ashley felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, and Kari gave her a little nod. “See?” she whispered. “Brittany knew.”

  Ashley let the truth sink in. She wasn’t worried about making the team. But what about her sister? Soccer wasn’t Kari’s best talent. No wonder she was worried. Ashley stared at the grass.

  Coach Kelly explained that first they were going to do a passing drill. That sounded easy enough. But then Ashley looked at Kari. Her sister’s eyes were filling up. Ashley put her arm around Kari’s shoulders. “It’s okay. You’re good at passing.”

  “I don’t know.” Kari stood, and Ashley and Lydia joined her. The three of them took their places on the field. Then Coach Kelly blew her whistle.

  And with that the season started!

  Ashley got the ball from Lydia. She dribbled a few feet and kicked the ball to Kari. It was a perfect pass, but Kari was out of position, playing more in the backfield. She must’ve been nervous, because the ball went zooming past her.

  Everyone stopped while Kari ran after the ball. Ashley shared a look with Lydia. Anyone could make a mistake, but if Kari played like this, she was in big trouble. Ashley and Lydia both knew it.

  The coach blew her whistle. “Kari. You’re supposed to be in the middle. That means try to be ready for every pass.”

  Ashley watched Kari move to midfield. She walked like her feet weighed a hundred pounds. Lydia kicked the ball into action again. They were six passes into the drill when Kari got the ball.

  “I’m open!” Ashley yelled.

  But this seemed to make Kari even more nervous. Instead of passing, she took the ball by herself to the goal.

  Most of the girls stopped and watched.

  Coach Kelly blew the whistle again. “Kari Baxter. You understand the drill, right? You have to pass. Your sister was open.” She looked at the other players. “Share the ball, girls. That’s what soccer is about.”

  Ashley saw Kari dab at her eyes. Poor Kari, Ashley thought. This just wasn’t her day. If she kept this up she wouldn’t get a spot on the team.

  And that would be the worst possible news ever.

  18

  The Almost Mighty Dolphins

  ASHLEY

  Coach Kelly announced it was time for shooting drills and Ashley raised both hands in the air. “Yes!” She patted Lydia and Kari on their backs. “Finally some action out here!”

  The best part of soccer was shooting the ball. Ashley loved this part. But as they ran to their places, Ashley noticed that Kari looked even more upset than before.

  “You okay?” Ashley moved closer to her sister.

  “Not really.” Kari put her hands on her hips. “I meant to pass the ball to you. I’m sorry, Ash. I . . . I just panicked.”

  “It was an honest mistake.” Ashley put her arm around Kari’s shoulders. “Remember what Dad says when we mess up?”

  “What?” K
ari took a long breath. Like maybe she was feeling a little better.

  “He says move on. So let’s do that.” Ashley clapped her hands a few times. “You’re a good player. You got this.”

  The drill was simple. Half the team was on offense, half on defense. The offense needed to make five passes and then whoever had the ball was supposed to shoot. Kari was on the team with Ashley and Lydia.

  Ashley had the ball first. She passed it to Lydia, who passed it across the field to Kari. Kari dodged two defenders and passed it back to Lydia. So far so good.

  They were near the goal and they’d done five passes. Lydia passed the ball to Ashley and she could see the goal. Feel it. This would be her first score of the season. She needed this one.

  But at the same time Ashley spotted Kari open on the other side of the field.

  And right in that moment, Ashley knew. Kari needed the goal more. She passed the ball to her sister and boom!

  Kari scored!

  Ashley ran to her sister and the two hugged and high-fived. Lydia and the other girls on their team joined them.

  “Why’d you do that?” Kari looked at her. Her face said she couldn’t believe the goal had actually happened.

  “You were open.” Ashley grinned. “The open player gets the worm.”

  Kari laughed, and like that the afternoon was better. It was the turnaround Kari seemed to need. The rest of practice she didn’t miss a single ball and her passes were almost perfect. And even though she didn’t score again, Ashley really thought Kari was good enough to make the team.

  She had to be.

  Two hours flew by and Ashley was dripping with sweat by the time they circled up. Coach Kelly had her clipboard again and rallied the girls one last time for the day. “Okay.” She looked at everyone. “You were all very good. I’d love to have any of you on my team.”

  Here we go, Ashley thought. She looked at Kari sitting beside her. Lydia seemed to do the same thing. They were all a little worried.

  Coach Kelly started reading off names. “Ashley Baxter. Lydia Green.” The list seemed very long. Only not one name was Kari’s.