Making the Save

by Matt Christopher

  Text copyright © 2004 by Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc. Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Daniel Vasconcellos

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Time Warner Book Group

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

  Visit our Web site at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

  The “Warner Books” name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  ISBN: 978-0-316-02581-2

  Contents

  Soccer ’Cats Team Roster

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Soccer ’Cats

  Soccer ’Cats Team Roster

  Lou Barnes Striker

  Jerry Dinh Striker

  Stookie Norris Striker

  Dewey London Half back

  Bundy Neel Half back

  Amanda Caler Half back

  Brant Davis Fullback

  Lisa Gaddy Fullback

  Ted Gaddy Fullback

  Alan Minter Fullback

  Bucky Pinter Goalie

  Subs:

  Jason Shearer

  Dale Tuget

  Roy Boswick

  Edith “Eddie” Sweeny

  Chapter 1

  Thwap! Bucky Pinter slapped down the soccer ball Dewey London kicked at him. He sent the ball rolling back to Dewey. Dewey trapped it with his foot, lined up behind it, and kicked again. This time, Bucky jumped high to tap the ball up and over the goal.

  “Another great save, Bucky!” Dewey cried enthusiastically.

  Bucky retrieved the ball. “Thanks for practicing with me today,” he said. “I want to be sure I’m ready for our last game!” Bucky was the starting goalkeeper for the Soccer ’Cats. Dewey played halfback.

  “It’d be awesome to end the season with a win,” Dewey agreed. He punted the ball at Bucky.

  It was a soft kick, and Bucky caught it easily. This time, instead of sending the ball back to Dewey, he started bouncing it from knee to knee. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Maybe we should get Coach Bradley a thank-you present for all he’s done for our team. What do you think?”

  Dewey nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let’s talk to Bundy and see what he thinks. He is the captain of the team, after all.” He checked his watch. “Bundy had a dentist appointment earlier, but he should be home by now. Want to head over to his house?”

  Bucky gave the ball one last bounce. “Sure. Think his mom will feed us lunch? I’m starving!”

  Several minutes later, the two boys were sitting with Bundy at his kitchen table. Bucky and Dewey were eating sandwiches and chips. Bundy had a bowl of applesauce.

  “Is that all you’re having for lunch?” Dewey asked, his mouth full of peanut butter and jelly.

  “I can’t chew. My lips and tongue are numb,” Bundy replied. At least that’s what Bucky thought he said. It sounded more like, “Ah cad tsew. By libs ad tug ah nub.”

  Mrs. Neel explained, “Bundy had a cavity. The dentist gave him a shot to numb the area around the tooth so he could drill out the cavity without hurting Bundy. The numb feeling will wear off in a while.”

  Dewey looked horrified. “A shot? Did it hurt?” Bundy nodded miserably.

  His mother kissed the top of his head. “It’ll feel better soon. And maybe now you’ll stay away from sugary snacks and drinks!”

  Bucky watched Bundy scoop up a spoonful of applesauce and carefully put it in his mouth. He decided to follow Mrs. Neel’s advice. He sure didn’t want to have to get a shot in his mouth!

  As the three boys ate their lunches, Bucky brought up his idea. “So, what do you think, Captain Bundy? Should we get the coach a thank-you present?”

  Bundy nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, his mother interrupted. “I think it would be a great idea. I just have two questions.” She turned from the counter and looked at the three boys. “First: What are you going to get him? And second: How are you going to pay for it?”

  Chapter 2

  Bucky gulped. He had an idea for the present, but he hadn’t really given much thought to where the money would come from.

  Mrs. Neel seemed to realize that. “I suppose we, your parents, could just give you the money,” she said. “But then the gift wouldn’t really be from you and your teammates, would it?”

  “So we need to figure out a way to earn the money ourselves,” Dewey finished for her. “Maybe we could have a bake sale. You know, make cookies and cakes and sell ’em to people?”

  Bundy shook his head violently. “No way!” he said, his speech still a little garbled. “I’m staying away from sugar!”

  “A lemonade stand?” Dewey smacked his lips. “I love lemonade!”

  The other two boys shook their heads. “Lemonade stands are for little kids,” Bundy said. “Besides, no one ever makes money from them. Why don’t we just ask everyone to break open their piggy banks? I bet I’ve got a couple of dollars in mine.”

  “We could,” Bucky agreed. “But I think it’d be better to come up with a way to earn money as a team.”

  The three boys were quiet for a few minutes, each trying to think up a way to make money. Then Bucky snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it!” he cried. “How about a car wash?”

  “A car wash?” Dewey looked doubtful. “How would we do that?”

  “Easy!” replied Bucky. “We’ll get buckets and sponges and towels. We fill the buckets with warm, soapy water. A car drives up, we wash it with the soapy water, and we collect the money!”

  “Where does the car drive up? And how do we get the car rinsed off?” Bundy asked.

  But by now Bucky had it all figured out. “We’ll have it at my house since I live on a dead-end street and cars can park without blocking traffic. We’ve got a long hose we can use to spray off the soap. We can even towel dry the cars after they’re clean.” He grinned. “So, what do you think?”

  “I think a lemonade stand would be easier,” Dewey said. “Tastier, too.”

  Bucky laughed. “Then we’ll also set up a lemonade stand and make twice as much money!”

  Bundy stood up. “Let’s call a team meeting and see what everyone else thinks.” Suddenly, he blinked. “Hey, I can feel my tongue and lips again!”

  Bucky grabbed the phone. “Just in the nick of time,” he said. “Start making those calls!”

  Within an hour, the whole team had gathered in Bundy’s backyard. Once more, Bucky explained his idea about getting the coach a gift. He outlined the plan for the car wash, too. When he was through, everyone began talking at once.

  “I’ll make some signs to put up around town,” Amanda Caler offered.

  “My dad’s got this stuff that makes hub-caps shine like new,” said Brant Davis. “I’ll see if I can bring it.”

  “I don’t like lemonade,” muttered Stookie Norris, not bothering to look up from the handheld computer game he was playing. The game was Stookie’s prize possession. He never went anywhere without it.

  “More for the rest of us, then!” Jason Shearer said.

  “But only if you pay for it,” Bundy reminded them.

  “That’s right,” agreed Bucky. “We need to make a lot of money to cover the cost of the present I found!”

  Chapter 3

  Stookie looked up
and frowned. “Hold on. You already bought the present?” he asked.

  “No, no,” Bucky reassured him.

  “Good,” said Stookie, “because I think we should get him—”

  Bucky interrupted. “I’m sure your idea is good, Stookie, but let me tell you about mine!” He turned to the others. “I saw this wool-and-leather jacket in the window of Rocko’s Sporting Goods. It looked like the team jackets some professional athletes wear— you know, the kind that snap up the front?” A few of the kids nodded. “It comes in different colors, including yellow like our team T-shirt.”

  “You want to get him a yellow jacket?” Jason grinned. “Heck, why not go all out and get him a whole bees’ nest instead?”

  Bucky laughed with the others, then continued. “The jacket was pretty cool-looking, but the best part is, we can get words and stuff stitched on it. For free.”

  “What would we put on it?” Edith “Eddie” Sweeny wanted to know.

  “I was thinking something like ‘World’s Best Coach’ and our team logo.”

  “How much does it cost?” Amanda asked. Bucky told his teammates the price he’d seen on the tag. The twins, Ted and Lisa Gaddy, whistled at the same time.

  “That’s a lot!” Lisa said.

  “A real lot!” Ted echoed.

  “Well, I think Coach Bradley is worth it.” Bundy’s words stopped anyone else from commenting. “I say we try to earn the money for the jacket. If we raise enough, great! If not”— he shrugged—“I bet we can find something else just as good.”

  “Don’t we get to vote on it?” Stookie said. “Or is it whatever Bucky says goes?”

  “Sure, we can vote,” Bundy said. “All in favor?” Everyone but Stookie raised a hand. “Sorry, Stookie, looks like you’re the odd man out.” Stookie didn’t say a word. He just picked up his computer game and started playing again.

  Bundy said, “Today’s Monday. We have a practice tomorrow morning, and our last game is on Saturday. I think we should have the car wash on Wednesday. Okay?”

  Stookie was silent, but everyone else agreed. Bucky ran inside to call his mother to make sure it was okay to have the car wash at their house. When he returned, he gave the team the thumbs-up.

  “I’m going home right now to make the signs,” Amanda said. “I’ve got tons of art supplies and cardboard.”

  “I’ll help you,” Lisa offered. “Then we can put them up today!”

  “I’ll come, too,” Eddie said. The three girls hopped on their bikes and took off.

  “Anyone want to help me make the lemonade stand?” Dewey asked. Lou Barnes and Jerry Dinh volunteered.

  “C’mon, Alan.” Jason grabbed Alan Minter’s arm and pulled him along. “Let’s go find some lemons.” Alan followed him out of the yard. That left Bucky, Bundy, and Stookie.

  “Wanna start rounding up some buckets?” Bundy asked. Bucky nodded, but Stookie rolled his eyes.

  “I gotta get going,” he said, pocketing his game. “See you at practice tomorrow.” He threw a leg over his bike and disappeared around the corner.

  “That Stookie,” Bundy said. “He can be such a spoilsport.”

  “Yeah,” Bucky said. “He’s a really good player and all. But you know what? I sometimes hope we’re not on the same team next year.”

  Chapter 4

  That night, Bucky lay in bed listening to a light rain on the roof and imagining the coach taking the jacket out of the gift box and slipping it on.

  Suddenly, Bucky sat up. What if it doesn’t fit? he thought frantically. He flopped back down to think about the problem. As his head hit the pillow, the tag on his pajama top scratched his neck. His mother usually cut off the tags, but she had forgotten this time. The night was hot, so Bucky decided to sleep without his shirt. He struggled out of it and started to toss it on the floor. Then he stopped.

  The tag! he thought happily, staring at his pajama top. That’s it! He snuggled back into his bed. Tomorrow, if he was clever, he could find the answer he needed.

  After the night’s rain, the next morning turned out to be warm and sunny. Bucky showed up at the field a few minutes early. Coach Bradley was already there setting up two long lines of orange cones on the field. Bucky put his plan into action right away.

  “Hey, Coach!” Bucky called. “Phew, it sure is a hot one today! I might just practice without my shirt on! How about you?”

  The coach shrugged. “I’ll keep mine on. And unless you’re wearing sunscreen, don’t take yours off, okay? I can’t have my star goal-keeper getting a burn before our last game.”

  “Oh. Right,” Bucky said. Rats, he thought. The rest of the team slowly trickled in. Coach Bradley had them all do warm-up exercises, then he separated them into two groups and explained their first drill.

  “Bucky, you go in one goal, and Jason, you take the other. Group one, you’re with Bucky, and two, with Jason.” The kids followed the coach’s instructions. “Two people from each group, take up positions near the goals.” Dewey and Amanda trotted down near Bucky. Eddie and Lisa went to the opposite goal. “Now, everyone else line up behind the cones. First in line, dribble in and out of the cones. At the end, pass to one of the players near the goal. That player shoots on goal, then goes to the end of the line. The dribbler takes his or her place.” He clapped his hands. “We’re working on control and quickness. Ready? Go!”

  Bucky crouched down, hands in the classic W goalkeeper’s pose, ready to stop the ball when it came toward him. Stookie Norris dribbled expertly through the cones, then passed to Amanda. Amanda fired a shot to the upper left corner of the goal. Bucky smacked the ball away and returned to his starting position. Amanda trotted to the end of the line, and Stookie took her place near the goal.

  Next in line was Lou Barnes. Lou dribbled around the cones and booted the ball to Dewey. Dewey kicked it hard toward Bucky’s feet. Bucky scooped up the ball and threw it to one side.

  Ten minutes later, when the coach blew his whistle, Bucky was breathing hard and his shirt was covered with mud and grass. Looking down at himself, he suddenly had an idea. While the others were busy getting cups of water, Bucky quietly rolled a soccer ball in a muddy patch of grass.

  “Hey, Coach!” he yelled. Coach Bradley turned—and Bucky fired the ball directly at his chest. “Catch!”

  Chapter 5

  What the—oof!” The mud-covered soccer ball bounced off the coach’s stomach and fell to the ground. Coach Bradley looked from his shirt to Bucky and back to his shirt. With a sigh, he picked up a towel and started wiping the mud off. “This shirt is as dirty as my van! If I don’t get them both clean, Mrs. Bradley will have my head!”

  “I know where you can get your van cleaned!” Stookie piped up.

  “You do? Where?” the coach asked. Stookie shot Bucky a sly grin.

  Bucky’s eyes widened. Was Stookie going to tell him about the car wash?

  He couldn’t still be angry that Bucky had come up with the idea for the present—could he? One glance at Stookie told Bucky he was. I’ve got to do something! Bucky thought desperately. He spied a cup of water in Dewey’s hands. Without thinking, he grabbed the cup and tossed it at the coach.

  “Bucky!” Coach Bradley sputtered. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “I—I was just trying to help clean your shirt,” Bucky said weakly.

  The coach mopped his dripping face with the towel. Then he peeled off his wet shirt, tossed it on the bench, and started rummaging around in his duffel bag for a spare.

  Quick as a wink, Bucky grabbed the muddy shirt. He pulled the tag out of the shirt’s collar, examined it, and grinned. “Got it!”

  “Yes, you do,” the coach said. He held out his hand. “Now, may I please have it?”

  With a sheepish grin, Bucky passed him the shirt. “Ready for that next drill whenever you are, Coach!”

  Coach Bradley shook his head, then stuffed his dirty shirt into the duffel bag and faced the rest of the team. “Okay then,” he barked. “Four-on-four s
crimmage with goalies. We’ve got eleven kids here today. Whoever’s left over, be ready to sub in. Let’s get to it!”

  Bucky jogged to his spot. Ted and Alan took up defensive positions near him, with Stookie and Eddie on offense. Playing offense for the other team were Lou and the other starting striker, Jerry Dinh. Jerry had the ball. At the coach’s whistle, he started dribbling down the field. Ted and Alan immediately moved to double-team him. Jerry passed to Lou, then spun to free himself from Ted and Alan. “Here!” he called to Lou. Lou jabbed a pass to him, but the ball took a crazy bounce and wound up right in front of Ted. Ted knocked it over the sideline.

  “Nice move, Jerry. Good ‘D,’ Ted,” the coach called. “Lou, try to make those passes a little sharper, okay?”

  Lou nodded and returned to his position. This time, he started with the ball. A fast runner, he streaked down the sideline and into firing range before Ted or Alan could reach him. One short shot later, the ball was in the net behind Bucky.

  “Hmm, that’s better, Lou!” Coach Bradley said with a smile. He tossed the ball to Stookie. “Do that during our last game, and we’re sure to give the other team a run for their money!”

  Just then, Stookie dribbled up next to the coach. “Speaking of money,” he said, “I hear a great way to make some extra cash is to hold a car—umph!”

  Bucky shot out of the goal and tackled him. “Bucky!” Coach Bradley yelled. “What are you doing?”

  Bucky stood up and helped Stookie to his feet. “Uh, sorry, Coach,” he apologized. “I thought Stookie was going to take a shot. I was going for the ball. Sorry, Stookie.”

  Stookie curled his hands into fists. “Oh, you’ll be sorry all right!”

  “That’s enough,” Coach Bradley said, standing between the two boys. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but let’s cool it. Stookie, back to your position.” Stookie glared at Bucky but did as the coach asked.

  “And Bucky, I don’t know what’s gotten into you today,” the coach continued. “But I will tell you that if you don’t settle down, I’m going to bench you at the start of the next game.”