The next day Alex sat in the girls’ locker room, lacing up Ava’s cleats. She had to admit, Ava’s clothes certainly were comfy. Her baggy T-shirt, faded and soft from dozens of washings, flopped over her loose shorts, which billowed around Alex’s legs and extended almost down to her knees.
“Hi, Ava,” said a girl as she entered the bank of lockers where Alex was sitting. “No pads today?”
Alex shook her head. “Nope. We’re watching film.”
The girl, whom Alex didn’t know, was quickly changing into what looked like volleyball clothes. Alex admired the way her mahogany-brown hair tumbled over her pretty purple shirt as she propped a foot up on the bench to tie her shoe.
“That burgundy tee is a perfect complement to your hair color,” she blurted out.
The girl looked at her, startled. “Huh?” she said.
Shoot. Ava would never say anything like that, Alex thought. “Nothing,” she said. “I better get going—see you!”
The girl cocked her head at Alex, looking slightly confused, but managed a “Yeah, see you,” as Alex hurried out to practice.
One of the coaches—was it Coach D’Annolfo?—was standing outside the locker rooms, directing kids down the hall to an empty classroom to watch the film. Alex slipped into the darkened room and found a seat way at the back, without looking at anyone.
“Sackett! Feeling better?” barked Coach Kenerson from the front of the room, where he was fiddling with a camera attached to a laptop.
Alex froze. What would Ava say? “Yes, Coach!” she said, and prayed he wouldn’t ask her anything else.
“You missed the pro formation review we did at practice yesterday, Sackett. Tell me: Where would the X receiver line up?” he asked.
Wait. He was asking her? Fear clutched her heart. Ava had been right. It was a terrible, terrible idea for her to go to Ava’s football practice. Alex’s heart pounded like the big bass drum in the high school marching band.
“Did you say the X receiver?” she stammered, stalling for time. “I—uh—”
Wait. Was someone saying something to her? Someone was. Corey. He was sitting right next to her and talking in a low voice.
“. . . to the left, to the left, to the left,” he murmured.
“To the left!” she blurted out.
Corey was still murmuring, “The X receiver would align to the left of the formation, on the outside.”
“The X receiver would align to the left of the formation, on the outside,” repeated Alex, in a louder voice.
Corey murmured, “. . . and the X receiver would be on the ball.”
“And the X receiver would be on the ball,” she added.
“Good! Nice job, Sackett,” said Coach Kenerson. He hit the play button and rolled the film.
Alex nearly wept with relief. She collapsed in her seat, her heart still hammering so loud she was sure the whole room could hear it. She turned to Corey and whispered, “Thanks.”
He gave her a sideways smile and an almost imperceptible nod, and leaned back in his chair to watch the film.
“Okay, don’t get mad, but I think you’re Alex, not Ava,” said Corey, as they walked toward the locker rooms. The “chalk and talk” session was over, and Coach K had dismissed them for the afternoon, urging them to get a good night’s sleep. Most of the guys had run ahead, laughing and jostling one another.
Alex had finally allowed herself to relax the tiniest bit because the official football stuff was over, but now she felt a jolt throughout her whole body. She darted a look at Corey. She thought about protesting, but that would be futile. He knew. And anyway, he’d saved her life in there, answering Coach K’s question.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Please, please, please don’t tell.”
“Why would I tell?” he asked with a grin. “Was that you I was talking to yesterday, watching the cheer tryouts and pretending to be Ava?”
Alex nodded ever so briefly, her eyes darting from side to side, making sure no one was listening.
“So Ava’s trying out for cheerleading, pretending to be you.” Corey gave a low whistle. “That’s bold.”
“It’s really complicated,” said Alex out of the side of her mouth. “I can explain, but maybe not here, or now.”
Coach D’Annolfo and Coach MacDonald walked past them, discussing something on a clipboard.
After they’d passed, Corey shrugged. “No need to explain. I’m sure you guys have your reasons. Will you . . . ah . . . will Ava be at football practice tomorrow?”
Alex nodded vigorously.
“Okay, good. Tell her to text me and I’ll fill her in on what we went over today.”
Alex smiled gratefully at him as he headed into the boys’ locker room. He was a good guy. Of course, she no longer like liked him, but she could still admire the fact that he was a good guy. And trustworthy—hopefully.
Alex went straight to the gym to watch the end of the final day of cheerleading tryouts. She sat in the bleachers, and besides one mom who was sitting with two younger kids, overseeing their homework, she was the only spectator. Ava and five other girls were practicing a dance routine in a small group.
Rosa, Molly, and Emily were together in another group. Lindsey was in yet another group, along with Annelise and some other girls Alex didn’t know.
Alex frowned. Ava was not looking at all terrible. She was moving in sync with Yvette as the high schooler led them through the steps. In fact, she looked like she was the most coordinated in the group. Alex sighed. Her sister was so competitive. She couldn’t not try her hardest. Well, she’d better not have done this well all day. What a disaster it would be if Ava made the team! Alex shuddered, just thinking about it. As she looked at the group of girls working together with such skill and coordination, she couldn’t even begin to imagine herself out there. She’d fall over her own feet. They practically looked professional—and there were still cuts to be made!
“Hey, Ava,” said someone to her left.
It was Jack Valdeavano. He must have come in through the side door behind the bleachers and was standing alongside them, surveying the scene. Alex smiled at him. “Hey, Jack.”
“I promised my aunt I’d stop in to see how Lindz is doing,” said Jack. He and Lindsey Davis were cousins. “Aunt Beth says Lindsey tells her absolutely nothing, so she has to resort to spying. I’ve been drafted into the Secret Service.”
Alex laughed. “It looks like Lindsey’s doing great,” she said. She self-consciously touched her hat, making sure her hair was still tucked up and under.
“Plus, I figured you’d be here,” he added, his face getting a tiny bit pink.
For a second Alex panicked. Why was Jack turning pink talking to her? Aside from the fact that she knew she looked cute in this Celtics hat? And then she remembered she was Ava. He was talking to Ava, not to her. What would Ava say here? Alex wondered. Probably nothing. She’d probably punch him in the arm or something.
But he was definitely blushing. Ha! she thought. So he does like Ava! She sat up a bit straighter and swiveled her body so that her knees were pointing slightly in his direction. She’d read somewhere how important body language was in sending someone a message. Crossing your arms and legs sent a message that you weren’t open to what a person had to say. Open arms, a slight lean in the person’s direction—those were little signals that told the person you were interested in him. After all Ava had done for her, she owed it to her sister not to mess up here. Jack was supercute. Ava could do much worse.
“Hey, listen.” Jack didn’t look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the girls working through the routine. “I was wondering.”
Alex waited with bated breath. Was he going to ask her—Ava—out? She gave him a small, encouraging nod.
“Do you want to, like, hang out together after the game on Friday night?” He said it quickly, all in a rush, still not looking at her. His face went two shades deeper pink.
She knew it! He was asking her out! Ava would probably make a joke out of this and change the subject, or tell him to stop being such a dork, or grab his hat and toss it behind the pile of mats or something.
But she wasn’t Ava. She just looked like Ava. Still, she had better seek clarification.
“So you mean, like, a date?” she asked.
He looked taken aback, and momentarily at a loss for words. “Oh! I, ah, yeah. Yes, I guess you could call it a date. But just to Sal’s. And there’s probably going to be a lot of guys there and we don’t have to—”
“I’d love to!” she interrupted him.
He closed his mouth. Then he grinned at her with a slightly surprised look in his eyes. “Cool!” he said. “I’ll come find you after the game then.”
He darted away, and Alex leaned back and smiled with satisfaction as she thought about how much easier it was to talk to a guy she didn’t have a crush on. And Ava was going to be so pleased with her. Really, this identity switch was proving to have some real side benefits.