Read A Whole New Ball Game for Free Online

Moxy’s water dish to refill. “Michael, I’m taking the girls shopping for school clothes today, remember?”
    Alex whooped.
    Ava groaned.
    â€œRight. Sorry I forgot about that, honey,” said Coach. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
    Mrs. Sackett nodded. “I know,” she said. She turned to the girls. “ And you both need back-to-school haircuts. I made appointments at the salon in the mall.”
    â€œMaybe I’ll get a full inch trimmed off this time,” mused Alex, pulling a tendril of glossy hair around from the side of her head to examine it with pursed lips. “The Texas heat is wreaking havoc on my ends.”
    â€œMaybe I’ll get it all cut off,” said Ava. “It’d be so much easier to deal with in this heat.”
    â€œOh yeah, as if,” scoffed Alex. “Why not just dye it blue and get a Mohawk?”
    â€œMaybe I will,” retorted Ava. “What do youthink about a blue Mohawk for me, Coach?”
    â€œWhat?” said their dad, looking up from his practice plan. “Yes. Sounds great.”
    Ava scowled.
    Mrs. Sackett frowned.
    â€œWhy can’t I go with Coach to practice?” asked Ava, reaching across the table for the box of cereal. “I don’t need new clothes. I already have plenty.”
    Alex buried her face in her hands and shook her head in despair. Then she parted her hands and stared at her sister across the breakfast table. “You just said that to annoy me, didn’t you?”
    Ava grinned and shrugged. “Maybe. But you know me, Al. My idea of getting dressed up is a clean football jersey.”
    â€œWell, I’m ready to go shopping,” said Alex. She took out her phone and pulled up her list, which was complete with links to different stores’ websites.
    Ava smiled. “I hope that’s in alphabetical order,” she teased. She was happy to be joking around with Alex; it meant that things were all right with them again.
    Their dad looked up from his clipboard again and stared at his daughters over his half-glasses.“Go to the mall with your sister, Ave,” he commanded. “It will be good for you two to see more of this town.”
    â€œCan I get a new pair of kicking shoes?” Ava asked eagerly. “My feet have grown, like, half a size in the past three months.”
    Their dad exchanged a quick look with their mom. Then he grumbled under his breath and looked back down at his clipboard.
    Ava bounced in her chair. That meant yes!

    â€œShotgun!” Ava called as she walked out the front door toward their mom’s red SUV.
    â€œUgh! Not fair!” cried Alex. “You always get to sit in front!”
    â€œBecause I’m better at Shotgun,” Ava said matter-of-factly. Alex muttered something about Ava just having better reflexes as she climbed grudgingly into the backseat.
    â€œWe’re not in Massachusetts anymore,” said Ava, staring at the houses in their subdivision as they drove through. “I think I just saw a cactus in someone’s front yard. An actual cactus.”
    â€œWhat did you expect? A polar bear?” saidAlex without looking up. She was studying a map of the mall on her smartphone, strategizing the most efficient shopping route.
    They passed the little park where Ava had met Jack the day before. Ava thought about him for the hundredth time. He did have a nice smile. She hadn’t even asked him what grade he was going into, or what his fall sport was. It was probably football. She wondered if he liked soccer. Here in Texas, people played soccer as a spring sport, so it wouldn’t interfere with football. But on the other hand, they were almost as crazy about baseball as they were about football—at least that’s what Charlie had told her.
    They turned onto a busy four-lane road, flanked with car dealerships and fast-food places. And then they were out of the bustle and Ava stared across