'Tis the Off-Season Read Online Free PDF Page A

softly.
    Ava finally looked up at her. “It’s so not fair,” she said. “I’m being penalized because I have ADHD.”
    â€œI think Mom and Dad mean well,” said Alex, who of course had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the kitchen from a listening post at the top of the stairs.
    Ava’s green eyes flashed.
    â€œAnd you know, maybe they have a point, about giving you structure and consistency with your study habits,” said Alex. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.
    Ava shot her a reproachful look. “Thanks for the support,” she said bitterly.
    Alex gulped. “Sorry, Ava, I didn’t mean—”
    Ava dumped her textbook onto the floor.
    The sound made Alex jump. “Well, see you in the morning,” she said quickly, and bolted from the room.

    Ava was late getting downstairs for breakfast the next morning—which was nothing new. To make amends, Alex toasted a bagel for her and was just slathering it with peanut butter when Ava appeared in the kitchen with her backpack on and her wet hair showing comb marks.
    Coach and Tommy had already left for school. Mrs. Sackett was upstairs getting dressed.
    â€œThanks,” Ava said gruffly as Alex handed her the bagel on the paper towel. “Let’s get going so I don’t have to pretend to be cheerful.”
    When they got to school, Ava quickly shoved her stuff into her overflowing locker and muttered good-bye to Alex.
    Alex was still frowning after her sister when she heard a low voice speak in her ear.
    â€œHey. Quick question for you.”
    Alex felt her knees buckle slightly when she turned around and saw that it was Corey. But she managed not to choke on the words as she said, “Sure! What’s up?”
    â€œNumber three on the math homework? Did you get a negative answer?”
    Alex’s mind raced. Should she pretend to think it over, or just tell him yes right away? Because of course she had total recall of her homework answers. There had only been seven math problems. “Yes, I had a negative number,” she said, choosing the latter option.
    â€œCool,” he said, and grinned. He had such a nice smile.
    â€œHey, guys!”
    Alex’s breath caught in her throat. Lindsey!
    She felt Corey tense up next to her. She instinctively moved a few inches away from him.
    If Lindsey was bothered by their being together, she didn’t say anything. “Just to let you know, we’re choosing Secret Santas at lunch today,” she said. “Spread the word!” She turned and hurried away.
    â€œOkay!” said Alex and Corey at the exact same time.
    Corey muttered a quick good-bye and hurried off.

    At lunch, everyone wrote their names on scraps of paper and put them into Corey’s baseball cap. Kids weren’t allowed to wear hats during the school day, but Emily had asked him to bring it to lunch. They passed the hat around and everyone drew a name.
    Alex watched Ava unfold her paper, read the name, and blush. Ha! She must have chosen Jack, Alex thought. When it was Alex’s turn to choose, she found to her dismay that she’d selected Rosa. Of all the people whose names were in the hat, Rosa’s was the one she’d have least wanted to select. It wasn’t like they didn’t like each other, exactly. They just didn’t seem to click the way Alex did with most of the others. Plus, she had no idea what Rosa’s interests were, outside of cheerleading.
    Charlotte picked next. She peeked at the name and smiled. “Ha!” she said. “I know just the thing for my Secret Sant-ee. We’re going to New York City for Christmas, of course, and there’s this ultracool boutique in Tribeca that just opened where you simply can’t go wrong.”
    Alex saw several dismayed faces around the table. She was kind of happy that Charlotte had recently joined her group of friends, because it meant she and