Two Steps Back (4 page)

Alex barely touched her food and seemed lost in thought, drumming her fingers on the table.

“Al's bumming,” said Tommy, plopping a gigantic pile of roasted sweet potatoes onto his plate. “She still needs an idea for a story.”

Alex didn't even seem to hear him. She nibbled on her knuckle, her brow furrowed with concentration.

“How was your day, Ave?” asked Mrs. Sackett.

“Not great,” said Ava. She took a deep breath, and then told them about the Briar Ridge situation.

Tommy whistled. “That's lame,” he said.

“It's outrageous!” said Mrs. Sackett, indignation written across her face. “Just wait until you tell your father about this! The idea!”

“It's awesome!” Alex blurted out. Ava's information appeared to have revived her.

The other three turned to look at Alex.

“
This
will be my big story!” she said. “An exposé about Briar Ridge School's refusal to play football against my twin sister! I'll e-mail Ms. Maxon and pitch this idea to her! Mom, may I please be excused?”

“No, Alex, you may not,” said Mrs. Sackett firmly. “It can wait until after dinner.”

“And also,” said Ava, “don't I get a say in this decision?” This was the last thing in the world she wanted Alex to report about. But just then the kitchen door opened and Coach tramped in, looking weary. Moxy sprang up to greet him, her back end wagging wildly.

He leaned over and kissed Mrs. Sackett on the top of her head, then headed to the sink to scrub his hands.

“Sorry, honey,” he said, toweling off.

Mrs. Sackett was already heaping his plate with chicken and potatoes. “Byron again?” she asked in a low voice.

Coach nodded. “His kids have a dentist appointment,” he said, pouring himself a glass of water. “He has to miss practice tomorrow, so we were going over the practice plan with the other coaches. Anyway, how were everyone's days?”

“Ava has something to tell you about football,” said Mrs. Sackett.

“What's up, sweet pea?” he asked Ava.

Ava frowned. Her father seemed preoccupied, like he was only half listening. But she told him about Briar Ridge. “So part of me feels like I should just sit it out so my team can play, but Mom is outraged by that idea and wants me to stand up for myself.”

Instead of reacting with indignation, Coach just nodded. He took a thoughtful sip of water and set his glass down carefully. “Whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll be for the good of the team, Ave,” he said.

That's a perplexing statement,
thought Ava. She'd expected him to agree with her mom and encourage her to take a stand. Instead he seemed like he had barely registered what she'd said.

“And whatever you decide, Ave, I just want you to know that it's brilliant for me,” said Alex excitedly. “I finally have a perfect news story for Ms. Maxon. I can't wait to tell her! I mean, I can't wait to pitch it to her. That's how you suggest an idea for a story: You pitch it. She's been making suggestions that my story be focused on my family, and being a Sackett and stuff, because everyone knows who Daddy is. She'll be so psyched!”

Ava rose from the table. “But I don't want you to do a story about me,” she said to Alex in a firm, strong voice.

Alex froze. “Wait, what?”

“I'm sick of being the center of attention in these dumb news stories. I need your support here, Al, and I don't want you joining the other side. So, no. You have to think of something else.” A few too many times, Ava had found herself in situations she didn't like, just because she had a hard time saying no to her sister. Her mind flashed back to events of a few weeks before, when Alex had talked her into switching places so that Ava could try out for cheerleading, pretending to be Alex. There had been disastrous consequences. Well, not this time. This time, she would stand her ground.

The rest of her family had gone quiet. Tommy even stopped eating for a moment. They all seemed surprised by Ava's sudden firmness, but Ava didn't care.

Mrs. Sackett spoke first. “Alex, you need to respect your sister's decision,” she said. “And anyway, since there's not going to be a game on Saturday, you won't have much to report about, right? I'm sure you'll think of something else.”

“Your mother's right, Alex,” said Coach. “Your sister has a right to her privacy.”

Alex shrugged. “Okay, okay, fine,” she said. “If that's the way you feel about it, Ave.”

Alex sounded wounded, but Ava tried not to let it bother her. “Yes. That's the way I feel about it.” She left the kitchen without even asking if she could be excused from the table.

Alex sank into her desk chair, lost in thought. Ava was upset, and Alex understood why—she knew how much her twin hated to be in the spotlight. But this story was bigger than Ava. It was about women's rights, and fighting injustice. And Ms. Maxon had told her that for a good reporter, getting the story was everything. If you had to upset some people in order to get it, well, so be it. She would still do the story, even if it meant upsetting Ava. Hadn't Ms. Maxon written that a good reporter had to make sacrifices? Now Alex understood what that meant. And besides, once Ava saw the piece, she'd see why Alex was right. She'd understand. There was the small matter of what to shoot that she needed to think about. With no game being played, she'd need to be creative about how to do the story. If Ava wasn't willing to be interviewed, then maybe she could get Coach Kenerson, and Corey, and some of Ava's teammates to talk. And maybe she could surprise the athletic director of Briar Ridge School with a camera on his way into work one morning, catch him off guard, the way some of those hard-hitting news programs did.

Alex turned to her computer and typed up the idea, her fingers flying with excitement. Then she sent it off to Marcy Maxon.

Later that evening, Luke came over for a tutoring session with Ava.

“Why don't you two work in the study tonight, rather than at the kitchen table?” suggested Mrs. Sackett, after Luke had finished greeting Moxy, who'd gone wild with delight upon seeing him again. “That way you won't be constantly interrupted.”

Ava thought that was a good suggestion, considering how frequently Alex had found reasons to traipse through the kitchen the last few times Luke had been there.

“Okay, so how's pre-algebra going?” asked Luke, as soon as they were settled next to each other at the desk in the study, and Moxy had shimmied her way under the desk at their feet.

“So-so, I guess,” said Ava. She curled her bare toes into Moxy's fur. Moxy heaved a contented sigh. “During class, I get bogged down taking notes. By the time I finish writing down what the teacher said, she's moved on to the next thing, and—”

There was a hesitant knock at the door, and Alex walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt you, Ava,” she said. “Oh! Hi!” She acted surprised to see Luke.

Yeah, right.
Ava knew that Alex had known full well Luke was coming tonight.

“By the way, Ave, have you seen my library book?”

Ava's eyes narrowed. Alex had changed out of the comfy flannel pants and T-shirt that she'd been wearing at dinner, and now wore her new blue shirt and formfitting jeans. Ava could also see that she had sparkly pink lip gloss on. “No, Alex,” she sighed. “I haven't seen your book.”

“Oh! There it is!” said Alex brightly, and strode to the side table next to the couch. “Thought I'd left it in here. Oh, whoops!”

The book seemed to jump out of her hands. It landed on the floor next to Luke, who stooped to retrieve it for her.

“
Circuitry Fun
, huh?” he said, reading the title as he handed it over. “Little light reading?”

“Since when do you read books about circuitry?” asked Ava.

“Oh, I just thought it looked interesting,” said Alex with a little laugh. She turned to Luke. “I'll bet you know all about circuitry,” she said. “Have you formulated a simplified way to evaluate high-speed switching circuits?”

Luke blinked at her. “I have no clue what you're talking about.”

Alex tried to laugh it off, but Ava could see she was mortified.

“Funny coincidence, though,” Luke continued. “Because just the other day I had to slog through a chapter on circuitry for my physics homework. It's tough going if you're not into that sort of thing. I'm more of an English and history guy, I admit.” He bopped Ava playfully over the head with his pencil. “Although I think I can handle helping this one with her pre-algebra.”

He turned back to the book, and out of the corner of her eye Ava watched Alex trudge dejectedly out of the room.

It couldn't be. Could it?
Ava thought. Was it possible that Luke was the guy Alex thought had a crush on her? It was obvious from a million miles away that Alex had a major crush on him, but where in the world did she get the idea that it was reciprocal? He was nice to her, of course, but he was nice to everyone. Surely Alex couldn't be that dense. Ava shook her head, planted her elbow on the desk, and sank her chin into the palm of her hand.
Not again with the Alex drama,
she thought, and then turned to focus on what Luke was saying.

Upstairs in her room, Alex threw herself back onto her bed and sighed dramatically. She was so envious of the easy way Ava and Luke had. What was the vocab word she'd just learned?
Rapport
. That was it. Spelled with a
t
at the end, but you didn't pronounce it. She was so envious of the easy
rapport
they had. Although it was certainly a relief not to have to read any more about circuitry. She sat up and tossed the book onto her desk, and then fell backward onto her bed again, conjuring an image of Luke's curly, sandy-colored hair. Those baby-blanket-blue eyes. She replayed the scene from moments before. Hadn't he dropped his gaze after their eyes had met? He'd smiled so warmly—showing that extremely adorable dimple in his right cheek. What if he really were secretly pining for her? Their whole relationship felt so
Romeo and Juliet
—the forbidden love between them. And so what if he was in high school and she was in middle school? They weren't
that
far apart in age. Why, her own parents were a few years apart!

Her e-mail plinked, and she sat up to see who the sender was. Marcy Maxon!

You're on the right track, Alexandra. A Sackett family story would have real crossover appeal for our viewers. But if it's a forfeit, there's no story. So you need to talk your sister into agreeing to sit out. THEN we'll have a story. She agrees not to play, we film the big game showing her sitting on the sidelines, and then we do an exclusive interview with her. Get your father there too.

So let me know after you've spoken with your sister, and I'll arrange for the crew to meet you at the game on Saturday.

Alex gulped. This was a new wrinkle. How was she supposed to talk Ava into agreeing not to play, let alone convince her to let herself be filmed? Sitting out would go against everything their parents had taught them about standing up for yourself. And even if Ava did opt out, there was no guarantee Coach Kenerson would accept her decision. Alex groaned. What a complicated mess.

A text came in from Emily.

Greg Fowler still hasn't asked me to Homecoming. If he doesn't, should we just plan to go together, you and me?

Alex replied:

He will ask you. Don't worry.

That would be very awkward if Alex told Emily she'd go with her to Homecoming and then Luke finally worked up the nerve to ask her. Homecoming was coming up quickly. She had to show him more signs of encouragement, send him messages that yes, it was okay to ask her and yes, she would say yes if he did.

Will we go to the high school dance, or the middle school dance?
she wondered.

The idea of going to the high school dance excited her, but then she wouldn't get to hang out with all her friends—or show off her adorable date!