Go! Fight! Twin! by Belle Payton

brilliant, Ave. We won the contest! We totally stole the show! The three of us—Jackson on drums, Harley on bass, and me—each had a solo improv, and we killed it.”
    â€œAw, Tommy, that’s so great,” said Ava. “Butwhat are you going to say to Coach?”
    â€œNothing, I hope,” he said. “I’ll just say I’ve been home throwing up but now I feel better.”
    Alex and Mrs. Sackett were the next to arrive home, followed soon after by Coach. Ava wasn’t in the mood to hear about Charlie from Alex, so she pretended to be asleep. She heard her parents go in to check on Tommy, and then she heard the murmur of his voice, sounding weak and sick. She heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like Tommy had gotten away with skipping out on the second half of the game.

    â€œWell, it looks like you got away with it,” snapped Alex as she came into Ava’s room the next morning without even knocking. She dropped into Ava’s comfy chair and crossed her arms, eyeing her sister with extreme annoyance.
    Ava was still in bed, but she’d been awake for a while. She closed her phone. “Got away with what?”
    â€œOh, brother,” snorted Alex. “With being on a date with a guy and having the other guy you’ve been going out with show up at the same exacttime? Thanks to me, anyway. I covered for you, even though you were zero help in this whole thing, thank you very much.” She sat breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring.
    â€œAl, it’s not like I asked for this date with Jack,” Ava pointed out. “May I remind you that you were the one who said yes, posing as me?”
    â€œOkay, well, whatever,” said Alex. “I am totally and completely exhausted from all the excitement of these past few days.”
    â€œI just texted Jack,” said Ava quietly. “I apologized for running out like that. Told him maybe we should stick to playing basketball together. He was pretty decent about it.”
    â€œWait. So you broke it off with Jack?”
    â€œWell, it’s not like there was anything to break off,” Ava pointed out. “We weren’t actually dating. But now I’m conflicted about Charlie again. I don’t know what to think about the fact that he came all that way, just to see me.”
    Alex shifted uncomfortably. “Hey, Ave. Have you been on his Buddybook page recently?”
    â€œNo. You know I don’t go on Buddybook nearly as often as you do.”
    â€œI know. That’s why I’m mentioning this,” said Alex. “See, it looks to me like Charlie mightkind of have a girlfriend. Remember Caroline Blatz from last year?”
    â€œCaroline the volleyball star?”
    Alex nodded.
    Ava sat, contemplating. “She’s okay, I guess. Still, it’s weird. You finally decide you’re going to break up with someone, and then find out they were about to break up with you, and it feels, well, bad. But I’m glad for him.”
    Alex watched Ava open her phone and send a text. Soon after, her phone buzzed, and then she sent another.
    â€œWho’s it from?” Alex asked.
    â€œCharlie. I just texted him and apologized for being weird at Sal’s and said how good it was to see him. And then he texted me and said one of the reasons he wanted to sit and talk with me last night was that he wanted me to know he’d sort of started going out with Caroline. And I texted back and said I knew, and it’s cool. So we’re cool.”
    â€œSo you just went from having two boyfriends to zero boyfriends—and you’re happy about it?” Alex asked, shaking her head. “I just don’t understand how we can be sisters, let alone identical twins.”
    Ava grinned. “It’s a wonder.”

CHAPTER
Seventeen
    The next day Ava joined her parents and Alex on the sidelines after her game. Flushed and sweaty, she was exhilarated by the win over the