Free Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? by Belle Payton

practice.
    â€œJust tell me how,” Alex whispered. “How did you do it?”
    â€œDo what?” Ava took a big gulp. Gross. It was totally warm.
    Alex glanced around. The boys gathered their stuff and trudged, heads down, into the locker room. The sports bus would be here in ten minutes. When Alex seemed certain that no one was listening, she grabbed Ava by the shoulders. “It worked! We found the bracelet!”
    â€œReally?” Ava draped a towel around her neck and turned toward the girls’ locker room.
    â€œAve, stop. Did you hear me? Isn’t it the best thing ever? We linked our minds and psychically found Rosa’s bracelet!” Alex put her hands together in a flurry of excited claps.
    â€œSo the bracelet was in her locker?” Ava asked. She couldn’t believe how happy Alex looked. It was as if she’d found a winning lottery ticket.
    â€œExactly where you told me it would be. Did you have a vision? I can’t believe we can seriously do this. I mean, I can believe it. I knew we had the Power!” Alex’s words came out at rapid-fire pace.
    Ava didn’t say anything. She began walking. Alex followed, beaming with happiness.
    â€œLindsey and Emily and everyone were so impressed. No, not impressed. In awe. Stupefied. Astonished. Stunned.” Alex wrinkled her nose. “Wait. I can think of more synonyms.”
    â€œI get it,” Ava assured her.
    â€œI knew we were special,” Alex said.
    Ava cleared her throat several times. She took another swig of the horrible water to buy time.
    The truth was she’d stopped thinking about Rosa’s bracelet the minute she hopped off the toilet seat. But when she’d gone into the girls’ locker room to change for practice, the hair band she wore around her wrist caught on the tiny piece of metal jutting out from the slats on the inside of the locker. This happened a lot. Sometimes she didn’t feel it and then found the hair band hanging there days later.
    Then she thought about Rosa’s bracelet and thought that maybe that was where it was. But the cheerleaders hadn’t appeared in the locker room yet, so she’d texted Alex.
    It had been a logical hunch.
    It hadn’t been the Power, or whatever Alex was calling it.
    Alex, of all people, should appreciate how I used logic to solve the case of the missing bracelet, Ava thought. Her sister was the Queen of Logic. Except now, when she wanted to believe in this twin power thing.
    â€œSo?” Alex pressed her.
    â€œIt’s totally amazing,” Ava agreed. “I’m happy for Rosa. Listen, you should find Charlotte. I’m sure she’s waiting. I’ll meet you guys out front in a minute.” Before Alex could speak, Ava slipped into the locker room.
    She leaned her back against the door, taking in the quiet, cavernous room. All the other girls who played sports had come and gone. Her heart beat loudly in the silence.
    She knew she should’ve been honest with Alex. But she hadn’t lied. Not really.
    Tonight I’ll tell her how I found the bracelet, Ava promised herself. It’ll be fine if Alex believes we’re special.
    At least for a little while.

CHAPTER
EIGHT
    â€œBendel, then Bloomie’s, then Bergdorf and Barneys,” Charlotte was saying to Alex when Ava found them in front of the school.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Ava asked.
    â€œCharlotte’s ranking her favorite department stores in New York City,” Alex explained.
    â€œOh.” Ava hadn’t heard of any of them. But right now, she’d rather talk shopping than psychic powers.
    â€œThe stores all start with B ,” Alex said to Charlotte.
    Ava smiled. This was Alex’s way of taking mental notes. She was big on memory tricks, such as remembering the first letter of something. Ava knew she’d find Alex on her computer tonight, researching each and every store.
    Ava didn’t care. If she