Go! Fight! Twin! by Belle Payton Page A

Titans.
    â€œNice game, Fourteen,” said Coach, whacking her affectionately on her padded shoulder.
    She grinned happily. “It was a tough one, but I thought we played pretty well.”
    â€œAnd you caught a thirteen-yard pass!” exclaimed Mrs. Sackett.
    â€œWait. Was she a wide receiver today?” asked Alex. “I somehow missed that.”
    Ava and Coach exchanged a bemused look.
    â€œYes, honey, she played wide receiver foralmost a full quarter and did really well,” said Mrs. Sackett.
    â€œWell, congrats!” said Alex.
    â€œHere comes Mr. Kelly,” said Mrs. Sackett under her breath.
    Ava didn’t like the look in Mr. Kelly’s eyes. She knew he didn’t approve of her dad’s coaching tactics, and now that she was playing wide receiver, she knew he also resented her taking playing time away from his nephew. He always acted nice around her dad, but Ava didn’t buy it.
    â€œGreat game, young lady!” said Mr. Kelly as he joined the Sacketts. He raised his hat briefly as he nodded to Mrs. Sackett. “Y’all just cleaned their plow today!”
    â€œUm, thanks?” Ava ventured, not sure if he’d meant it as a compliment.
    â€œHowdy, Coach.”
    â€œDoug,” Coach said with a nod.
    â€œSay, how’s that son of yours? I noticed he wasn’t on the sidelines for the second half of the game last night.”
    â€œOh, he’s just fine,” said Coach. “Tom got sick during the game. It was a sudden onset kind of thing. I sent him home to bed, but luckily, it seems like it was just a twelve-hour bug.”
    Mr. Kelly pushed his half-glasses down his nose and fixed Coach with a beady stare. An uneasy sensation shot up and down Ava’s spine; she had a feeling Mr. Kelly was enjoying himself.
    â€œYou don’t say,” he said. “Well, I heard from Gladys Pike that there was a big band competition over at Eastern High last night. And she says your son was in that competition. And that he plum won it. Now isn’t that the darnedest thing? Wonder how on earth she’d think she’d seen that son of yours, when you’re standing right here, tellin’ me he took ill.”
    With a triumphant smile, Mr. Kelly crossed his arms across his burly chest and looked at Coach innocently.
    Ava felt her heart plummet into her cleats. She heard Alex, next to her, give a little gasp of surprise. Her mother looked at Coach.
    Coach’s expression did not change, though. He merely nodded at Mr. Kelly and said, “Well, that Gladys Pike surely is a staunch supporter of the arts. Glad she enjoyed the concert. And now we Sacketts need to get this one home. Good to see you, Doug.”
    And Ava felt his guiding hand on her back, propelling her toward the parking lot. Alex andMrs. Sackett followed them.
    They rode home in silence.

    When they got to their house, Coach walked in ahead of them and took the stairs three at a time. Ava heard the door to Tommy’s room open and close, and the murmuring of voices.
    â€œDo you girls know anything about this?” asked Mrs. Sackett.
    â€œMom! No! Of course not!” said Alex quickly. “Mr. Kelly was just making trouble. Tommy went home from the game. He was sick. Right, Ave?”
    Ava didn’t say anything. She just stared down at her feet.
    Mrs. Sackett gave Ava a long look. “Go upstairs, Ava,” she said quietly. “We’ll discuss this later.”
    Ava ran upstairs and quickly showered. As she turned off the water, she heard Tommy and Coach’s voices much louder. They were arguing. She couldn’t make out the words, but of course, she didn’t need to. She quickly threw on clothes and went to see Alex.
    Alex was sitting on her bed, her eyes wide,clutching her pillow closely. “Ave! Did you know about it?” she asked in a whisper.
    Ava nodded. “Yeah. It was really important to him, Al. But wow, I feel terrible. Lying can