Two Cool for School (2 page)

Alex paused at the doorway to her room and turned back toward Ava. “It's going to be a great first day of school, right, Ave?”

Ava smiled back at her. “It's going to be awesome.”

“Gahhhh!”

Alex gave a loud cry of exasperation. She finished her eggs and slammed her fork onto her plate. Ava had overslept. Even though she'd promised Alex over and over again last night that she wouldn't. Alex had heard both of Ava's alarms blaring at 6:25 while she was in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on her hair. She had even called to Ava to be sure she was awake, and Ava had assured her that she was.

But then she hadn't appeared at breakfast, and now it was seven o'clock. The bus was due to arrive at 7:20, and they'd been told to be at the stop at least fifteen minutes early because
bus routes on the first day of school were always chaotic.

“You go on,” said Mrs. Sackett, thrusting Alex's lunch into her hands and propelling her toward the kitchen door. “I'll make sure Ava's right behind you.”

Alex gave one last glance at her harried-looking mother. Her long wavy hair was uncombed and wild, and over her cotton pajama bottoms she wore one of Coach's old Texans T-shirts that was way too big for her. Even in this disheveled state, Alex noted, her mom still looked pretty.

“Go!” said Mrs. Sackett.

Alex went.

She didn't want to be seen running to the bus stop on her first day of school, but she set out at a brisk race-walk. Her nearly empty brand-new backpack bumped up and down with each step. The air was already warm, despite the time of day, and promised to be blazing and humid later. But Alex was getting used to the heat here in Texas. Sort of.

She rounded the corner and saw a line of four kids. She slowed her pace to a casual walk. They all turned to regard her as she said, “Good
morning!” and they nodded back. Three of the kids looked like sixth graders, but one boy looked like an eighth grader. He carried what might be a French horn case and wore pressed khaki pants and leather lace-up shoes, despite the impending heat of the day.

In the distance Alex heard the
psshhh
of air brakes, and a second later the yellow school bus was visible, turning the corner at the other end of the block, heading in their direction.

Alex glanced worriedly behind her. Could it be possible that Ava was going to miss the bus on the first day of school? Her heart sank. She'd been so sure Ava was going to have her act together this morning.

Just a second or two later, Ava came careening around the opposite corner at a full sprint. Alex closed her eyes with a pained expression, and then opened them again. Ava's striped tank top was half tucked in, the hem on the right side hanging a good three inches lower than the left. In one hand she carried her partly unzipped backpack, and in the other, a half-eaten bagel with peanut butter.

Ava made it to the bus stop in a dead heat with the school bus, skidding to a stop at the
end of the line just as the bus doors swished open.

The boy with the French horn took an alarmed step back as Ava bent over to catch her breath and almost dropped her bagel.

“Close call, Ave,” said Alex in a low voice. “You really had me worried.”

Ava stood back up and followed her sister onto the bus. “I had it all planned,” she said with mock casualness, although she was clearly still out of breath from her sprint. “I just wanted to add a little bit of excitement to our first day of school.”

Alex rolled her eyes as she and her sister found an empty seat toward the middle of the bus. “Ave, has anyone ever told you how exasperating you can be as a sister?”

“Yep,” said Ava with a twinkle in her green eyes. “You have. Frequently.”

They got to school before the first bell and were able to remember the way to their lockers, which, thankfully, were right next to each other.

“This place looks really different when it's full of kids,” said Ava. She rotated her wrist to
peer at the locker combination she'd written in pen on the palm of her hand. “It's about eleven times the size of our old school.”

“Think of it like a big plus sign,” said Alex. “There are four wings: North, South, East, and West. Remember what they told us on the tour yesterday? The gym is in the middle, and the cafeteria is on the second floor, just above it.” She trailed off. “Ave? Are you even listening to what I'm saying? What? Did you forget something?”

“Um, yeah, sort of. My schedule,” said Ava.

“Oh no!” moaned Alex.

The first bell rang, and the hallways swelled with kids, now moving at a faster pace to get to their homerooms.

“It's fine,” said Ava. “My homeroom is right here, in the S wing. I remember that from the tour. I'm sure Ms. Kerry will be able to give me a new schedule, and besides, I think I remember every class—except when my English is.”

Alex nodded and closed her locker. She moved closer to her sister and held out her fist, down low, so that Ava could bump it with her own. “Good luck,” she said under her breath.

“You too. See you at lunch,” said Ava, and off they went in opposite directions.

The first person Alex saw when she entered Mr. Kenerson's classroom was Lindsey Davis surrounded by a group of girls Alex didn't know. The second bell hadn't yet rung, so kids were standing around in clumps exclaiming over new haircuts, summer tans, and cute outfits.

As Alex stood near the doorway, assessing where the best tactical place to sit might be—close to the popular girls, but not so close as to suggest she thought she was already in the group—Lindsey smiled and waved her over.

Thank goodness,
Alex thought. She had only met Lindsey once, but she had already figured out that Lindsey was pretty popular . . . and Alex hadn't exactly made the best first impression. Grateful for the chance to change that, she walked over and joined Lindsey's group.

“Guys, this is Alex,” said Lindsey. “Alex Sackett.”

Had she emphasized Alex's last name in a meaningful, nudge-nudge, do-you-know-who-this-is kind of way? Alex couldn't be sure. She wished Ava were here.

The girls all smiled and said hi, although Lindsey didn't tell Alex what their names were. To fill the awkward moment, Alex turned to Lindsey and said brightly, “I love your hair up like that!”

“Thanks,” said Lindsey. “Your dress is really cute.”

“Oh, thanks.” Alex flicked at it casually, as though she hadn't put hours of thought into choosing her first-day-of-school outfit. “I got it at Cooper and Hunt last week.”

Lindsey's smile twitched to a frown, and then became a smile again, although not quite as bright as before.

Alex wondered what she'd said wrong. Then she remembered what she'd heard about Lindsey's family. Lindsey's cousin Jack had told Ava that they were having financial troubles. Oh, great! Cooper & Hunt was kind of expensive, so now Lindsey probably thought she was spoiled and wealthy. “I got it on the clearance rack at the end-of-summer sale,” she put in hastily. “It's amazing what you can get on clearance.” She felt an urge to keep speaking, to smooth over the awkwardness. “I almost never buy clothes full price at Cooper and Hunt, because it's way
overpriced. They have good sales, though.”

Lindsey raised her eyebrows.

The bell rang, and Mr. Kenerson told everyone to take a seat.

Alex slid miserably into her chair. Was Lindsey offended? Maybe she should have just said thank you and not gone on about buying stuff on clearance. She was just trying to make Lindsey feel better!

Mr. Kenerson was taking attendance. Alex sat up straighter and paid attention to the names. The sooner she learned who was who, the sooner she could start moving forward with her plans to ascend to the top of the student government. Alex had been sixth-grade class president at her old school in Boston, and she was hoping to continue her reign here in Texas.

“Alexandra Sackett,” Mr. Kenerson droned, and then his eyebrows furrowed and he looked up, startled.

“Here!” said Alex, shooting her hand up into the air.

“Are you Coach Sackett's daughter?” he asked, and the rustling of papers and snapping of binders suddenly ceased. Alex could feel the whole room go quiet, staring at her.

“Um, yes,” she said. For the first time she noticed that Mr. Kenerson had Ashland Tigers pennants on his wall, and his paperweight and wastepaper basket were emblazoned with the Tigers' logo. Her stomach did a little flip. Uh-oh.

“How's the team look so far?” asked Mr. Kenerson, fixing her with a keen stare. Alex could easily conjure up a visual of him in his coaching attire, a whistle around his neck.

“Um, okay, I think,” said Alex. “The first game's a week from Friday, so—”

“Does your father like the idea of his corners jamming the wideouts, or will they play off?”

Alex prayed for a miracle. Maybe the ceiling would cave in. Or the fire alarm would go off. “I don't, um, really follow—”

“Now really, Mr. K, just because her dad's the coach doesn't mean she's an expert, does it?”

Alex turned. Lindsey had saved her!

“What's that? Oh, right. Sorry. Got carried away there,” said Mr. Kenerson sheepishly. He stared back down at his clipboard. “Moving along.”

“And besides,” Lindsey continued, “doesn't that strategy depend on how confident he is that his front four can apply pressure?”

Alex gaped at her.

“Well, I suppose that's true,” mused Mr. Kenerson, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He continued with the roll call.

Alex's eyes were wide with astonishment and gratitude. “Thanks for jumping in!” she whispered to Lindsey. “I had no idea you knew so much about football!”

Lindsey smiled back at her, a hint of triumph in her expression. “No worries,” she said. “You learn a thing or two when you've been cheering as long as I have.”

“Oh, right,” said Alex. “And cheerleading starts up soon, doesn't it?”

Lindsey shrugged. “Yeah, well, I'm still deciding if I'm even going out for the squad again,” she said. She suddenly became very interested in organizing her pencil case.

Once again Alex felt baffled, like she'd said the exact wrong thing to Lindsey.

Ava and Alex had arranged a meeting location near the cafeteria, and Ava was glad when she spotted her sister through a gap in the throngs of kids hurrying to get in line.

“Hey,” said Ava, slightly out of breath.

“Hey,” said Alex. “How's it going?”

Ava hesitated. “Okay, I guess. I was late for science because I got lost. It's a really big school.”

They headed toward the cafeteria together. It was easy to find—all they had to do was follow the stream of kids and the smell of pizza.

Alex nodded vigorously. “I was almost late for social studies. And people keep asking me football questions I can't answer.”

“Yeah, I'm thinking of changing my last name,” said Ava with a grim smile.

“Oh! Look! There's Emily and Lindsey sitting at that table over there!” said Alex, and she began waving an arm at them as though she were landing an airplane.

Ava looked. She put a restraining hand on her sister's arm, but Alex shrugged it away.

“Come on. Let's go sit with them,” said Alex, and marched off in their direction.

“Al, their table already looks pretty full,” Ava called after her, but she knew it was useless to try to talk her sister out of something once she had set her mind to it. She followed Alex unhappily.

“Hey, guys!” said Alex, flashing a dazzling smile.

“Alex!” said Emily, seeming genuinely pleased. “You look so cute! I love your cowboy boots!”

Ava had been hanging back, but now she stepped forward.
Maybe they will let us sit with them,
she thought.

“Mind if Ava and I squeeze in with you guys?” asked Alex, pointing to the empty space between Emily and Lindsey.