Ghost Town by Annie Bryant Page A

You’re pretty close, so you don’t want to hit the cue ball too hard. Just a soft tap,” he directed. “There, the shot’s all lined up. Pull the cue back as straight as you can and bring it forward straight.”
    Katani did as he said, and the chalked tip of the cue hit the cue ball. The cue ball hit the number 5 ball with a clink and it rolled forward into the corner pocket.
    â€œYes!” Katani exclaimed, accepting a high five from her new teacher, Daniel.
    â€œYou did it,” Isabel beamed.
    â€œAwesome,” Nik concurred.
    â€œTotally awesome,” Daniel agreed and flashed his lopsided grin. “You’ve played before.”
    Katani felt warm and fuzzy all over and snuck a look at Isabel, whose eyes twinkled.
    â€œHey, over here,” Daniel called out to three guys who’d just come through the door. “We were just going to play a couple of rounds,” he said to the girls. “Wanna play some speed pool?”
    â€œWhat’s speed pool?” Sam asked.
    â€œEasy. We’ll play girls against boys. Each person keeps taking a pool shot until they miss. Three missed shots and you are out! Got it?”
    â€œGot it!” Nik said. “Come on, girls, let’s do this!”
    â€œLadies first,” Daniel gestured toward the table with a gallant bow.
    â€œKatani! You’re a natural!” Sam exclaimed as Katani managed to sink her first shot.
    By the end of the game Katani was surprised to realize that she was the last girl standing. Across from her, Daniel was the last boy.
    All the skaters from the ice rink had finished up and come in to check out the game room. The snowboarders had retired for the day, too, and the game room was packed.
    â€œCome on, Daniel! You can take her,” a tall boy named Orville called out as the final round began. Katani continued to knock in shot after shot, and to everyone’s amazement, including her own, she won the game.
    â€œWoo-hoo!” Katani cheered. “All right!”
    â€œI must be a good teacher,” Daniel said with a wink as he high-fived Katani.
    What a nice guy
, she thought.
    â€œAwesome,” Nik proclaimed, also giving Katani an enthusiastic high five.
    â€œYou girls going boarding tomorrow?” Daniel asked as he congratulated Katani.
    â€œI don’t know,” Katani said. “I’ve never snowboarded before.” She wanted to add how klutzy she was at sports, but then thought better of it. They would discover that soon enough when she was tumbling down the mountain.
    â€œWell, if you need a few pointers, let me know,” Daniel offered with a smile.
    Orville suggested they all meet on the slopes the next day, and the girls agreed.
    As she helped put away the pool cues, Katani heard a couple of girls behind her whispering loudly. “Hey, look, isn’t that Nik and Sam?”
    The buzz started to spread, and soon it seemed that everyone was whispering and pointing to the twins.
    Orville was the first to whip out his lift ticket and a pen and ask for an autograph, and then it seemed everyone in the room was scrambling for a scrap of paper. The group pressed closer to Nik and Sam, demanding autographs and shouting out all sorts of questions.
    Katani and Isabel were pushed to the side as kids tried to get up close to Nik and Sam.
    Nik and Sam were very gracious and open to talking to everyone. Katani couldn’t believe how they could stand answering the same questions over and over.
    Katani checked her watch. The twins had been fielding questions and signing autographs for quite some time, and they were starting to look tired.
    â€œNik and Sam,” she called out. “Time to go! Sorry, guys,” Katani held out a hand to the crowd that clearly meant STOP. “Nik and Sam are late for an appointment. Maybe you can catch them later. Come on, girls,” she motioned for Nik and Sam to follow her as she grabbed Isabel’s arm. “We