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about the Variety Show. That settled it. If Emily wasn’t going to say anything to Lindsey, Alex wouldn’t either.
    Still, she felt uneasy as she headed to her next class—and not just because of Max. She still couldn’t shake that feeling that something was wrong with Ava!

CHAPTER
FOUR
    â€œYou know, if you ate an Ayurvedic diet like I do, you might heal a lot faster,” Uncle Scott told Ava.
    After coming back from the doctor’s, Mrs. Sackett had instructed Ava to sit on the couch with her ankle raised. She had to keep an ice pack on it for twenty minutes at a time until the swelling went down. Moxy, the family’s Australian shepherd, sat on the floor near Ava’s feet, staring at the ice pack like it was a squirrel in a tree.
    Ava was absently changing channels on the TV when Uncle Scott had walked in. He had moved into the Sackett household in December, out of a job and with no place to live. Some good had resulted from Uncle Scott moving in;for one thing, he had helped Ava convince her parents that playing basketball was a good thing for her.
    But the house was just big enough for five Sacketts, and sometimes it was stressful having Uncle Scott squeeze in. He slept in the study, and if he went to sleep early, the girls had to tiptoe around the house and couldn’t turn the volume up on the TV.
    â€œSo, if I go totally Ayurvedic, I can’t eat cheeseburgers, right?” Ava asked.
    â€œRight,” said Uncle Scott.
    â€œAnd no onion rings?” Ava asked.
    Uncle Scott shook his head. “No onion rings. But it’ll be totally worth it, Ava. I promise.”
    Her uncle’s dark eyes glittered with intensity when he talked about something he believed in—like recycling, or renewable sources of energy, or his specialized vegetarian diet.
    â€œSo, if I do this, can you guarantee I’ll be back on the basketball court sooner?” Ava asked.
    â€œAva, there are no guarantees,” Uncle Scott replied. “But it would be a smart thing to do.”
    Ava leaned back into the couch cushions. “If you can’t guarantee it, forget it,” she said crossly.
    Uncle Scott put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “I know this is tough for you, Ava. I’m going to make a mix of calming music that I think will help your mood.”
    Alex came into the living room, carrying her backpack.
    â€œWho needs to change their mood?” Alex asked.
    â€œAva’s just feeling bummed out that she can’t play basketball for three weeks,” Uncle Scott reported, as he headed into the study.
    â€œThree weeks!” Alex cried, plopping down on the couch next to Ava. “Oh, Ava, that’s terrible. I had a feeling something was really wrong with your ankle. Is it broken?”
    Ava shook her head. “Just a sprain. But I have to wear this stupid brace all the time, and even after three weeks the doctor says I have to wear the brace when I play!”
    Alex looked thoughtful. “Well, a brace is a lot better than an itchy cast. It could be a lot worse.”
    â€œIt could not be worse!” Ava protested. She knew she was being really crabby, but she couldn’t help it. She was stuck on the couch with her leg in the air when she should be at basketball practice.
    Mrs. Sackett came into the living room with a streak of gray clay on her arm. She was a potter, and she’d worked on some of her pieces at home today instead of going into a studio like she normally did. “How was your day, Alex?” she asked.
    â€œPretty good,” Alex reported.
    â€œOf course it was good,” Ava said. “ She’s not stuck in a stupid leg brace with a stupid sprained ankle.”
    Alex looked at her mother and rolled her eyes.
    â€œI saw that!” Ava cried.
    Mrs. Sackett ignored Ava’s obnoxious behavior. “Alex, can you please set the table for dinner?” she asked.
    Ava jumped up from the couch, and the ice pack