CHAPTER 16

Ava

“And what are you good at?” Lucy asked Ava.

“Well, I’m a really good friend, and I like animals, and I play tennis really good—” Ava started.

“Well,” Ms. Linda corrected. “You don’t play good, you play well.”

“Right,” Ava said. “I play well. Weller than most. I’m the wellest at tennis.”

“That’s not grammatically correct,” Ms. Linda said.

“Who cares about grammar?” Lucy said. “Can’t you see this kid is going to be a famous tennis player?!”

The next thing Ava knew, she was playing at the Australian Open in Melbourne. It turns out Ava really was the wellest at tennis. She beat everyone in the outback—even a kangaroo.

She was exhausted. (She hated naps, but for the first time in her life, she really wanted nothing more than to take one.)

After that, Ava flew to the French Open in Paris. She’d never been to Paris before, and she couldn’t wait to see the Louvre museum. She played game after game—and won each time. “Can I go see the Louvre now?” Ava asked after she won first place.

“Not right now,” Lucy said. “You need to keep playing tennis if you want to be famous for it.”

Ava flew to the US Open in New York City. Ava’s uncles lived there, and the rest of the family came to see her. Everyone was excited to have a family reunion. “You can see them after you win,” Lucy said. So Ava played and played and played. Once again, she won first place.

But Lucy had a plane waiting for her. “You’ll have to see your family next time. You got an invitation to play in the Wimbledon Championships in London. You can’t say no!”

Ava felt terrible. “I miss my family and I’m tired of playing tennis.”

“Do you want to be known as the world’s wellest tennis player?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Ava answered, now unsure.

“Then you have to keep playing.”

Ava flew to London. There, she beat every famous tennis player, male and female, in the whole world. But before they gave her the title of the Wellest Tennis Player in the Whole World, one more person wanted to play her—the queen of England!

“I can’t beat the queen in tennis!” Ava said, thinking of her own lovely grandmother Shirley. “That would be rude!”

“Don’t you want to be famous?!” Lucy shouted.

Ava thought about it. She really did like tennis, but maybe it wasn’t worth embarrassing the queen of England. Plus, she missed her family, especially her cousins—Angelina, Siena, Sophia, Taylor, and Morgan. Ava was surprised to find she even missed her brother.

“I’m done with fame,” Ava said. She handed her tennis racket to Lucy and went home.