But that had been the only bad part of the night. After dinner the whole family had taken Lucky for a walk. Then Lou and his dad made a bed out of a cardboard box and some old blankets. Mr. Barnes hesitated for only a moment before putting the bed in Lou’s room.
The last thing Lou saw that night before he turned off the light was Lucky looking up at him. A warm feeling had spread throughout Lou.
That warm feeling was gone now, though. Now all he could feel was loneliness at the thought of Lucky going home with his real owner.
Chapter 7
The next two days, each time the phone rang, Lou’s heart jumped into his throat. But no one ever called to claim Lucky. Lou continued to take care of him and play soccer with him. He even brought him to a soccer practice.
“Hey,” said Roy Boswick, coming up to Lou, “isn’t that the same dog that blocked your goal the other day?”
Lou nodded and explained. Roy whistled.
“Boy, too bad ‘finders keepers’ doesn’t work with animals,” he said. “That dog sure looks like fun.” He scratched Lucky behind the ears before joining the rest of the ’Cats.
Lou led Lucky to the bleachers. He’d bought him a collar and a leash the day before. Now he looped the leash around a pole. Lucky whined.
“Sorry, boy,” Lou said, giving the dog a pat. “But this practice is for kids only.” With one last glance over his shoulder, he ran to where the coach was outlining the first drill.
“This drill will help your reflexes and make you think about whether you’re offside or not,” Coach Bradley was saying. “Three lines, each line has a ball. Two offensive players dribble as fast as they can toward one defender and a goalie. When I blow the whistle, stop short. The player with the ball passes it to his partner. Then the partner dribbles fast again until the next whistle. The player without the ball must keep up with his partner but be sure to stay onside. Keep going all the way down the field. When you get to the end, make a goal if you can.”
The kids formed the lines, and the coach doled out the balls. Then he blew the whistle, and the drill started. For several minutes, the only sounds were the coach’s whistle blasting and the heavy breathing of the players who’d just finished their turns — and Lucky barking now and then.
Lou was in the line closest to the bleachers. He could see Lucky straining on his leash.
I wonder how strong that leash is? Lou thought as he and Bundy Neel took off for their turn.
He found out a moment later. The coach had just blown the whistle, and Lou had jammed to a stop. He was waiting for Bundy’s pass when suddenly he was attacked by a bouncing ball of fur! Lucky had broken free and was tugging Lou’s shirt!
“Down, Lucky, no!” Lou cried, trying to shake the dog off. Lucky finally stopped.
“What was that all about?” Lou asked, perplexed.
“I think I know!” replied Eddie Sweeny. She had been playing defense against Lou and Bundy’s attack. “I know it sounds impossible, but I think Lucky was trying to pull you back onside!”
“No way!”
Eddie shook her red hair. “All I know is, you were offside a second ago until Lucky pulled you back onside.”
The coach started laughing. “I’m afraid she’s right, Lou — about you being offside, at least. I was about to blow my whistle when Lucky interrupted.”
“I bet that’s what he was doing in the game the other day!” Lou cried.
“Oh, great,” groaned Jason Shearer. “That dog knows the rules of soccer better than the ’Cats!”
Chapter 8
No one could remember when they’d had more fun at a practice. With Lucky watching like a hawk from the sidelines, Lou and the others were much more careful about staying onside. At the end of practice, Lou even showed how Lucky could head the ball.
“He heads better than you do, Amanda!” Eddie said with a grin.
The ’Cats all headed for home tired but happy. No one was as happy as Lou, though. Everyone had treated Lucky as if he were Lou’s dog. He’d liked that a lot.
Lou was whistling as he turned the corner onto his street. Then he stopped short. There was a car in his driveway. He’d never seen it before, but he knew right away who it belonged to: Lucky’s real owner.
Lou wanted to run back to the field. Instead, he crossed the street and went into his house.
“Lou? Is that you?” his mother called from the kitchen. Lou hesitated, but Lucky didn’t. He barreled down the hall and right to his water dish on the kitchen floor. Lou followed much more slowly.
Seated at the kitchen table were two men, one young and one old. The old one gave Lou a gentle smile.
“Hello, Lou,” he said. He pointed to the young man. “That’s Roger, and I’m Ben Wakefield.” He held out his hand for Lou to shake.
Lou hated shaking hands. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be friendly. But people always held out their right hands. Lou’s right hand was the paralyzed one. It was hard for him to shake hands with it. But if he held out his left hand instead, people always looked confused and embarrassed.
He was trying to decide what to do when, with a start, he saw that Mr. Wakefield was sitting in a wheelchair. Lou blinked. He knew how he liked to be treated when people saw he was a little different. He figured Mr. Wakefield would want to be treated that way, too. So Lou lifted his paralyzed arm and put his hand into Mr. Wakefield’s with a warm smile. Mr. Wakefield’s smile widened.
“Woof!”
Lou jumped. For a moment, he’d forgotten all about Lucky. Now he couldn’t help but remember why Mr. Wakefield was there.
“Come here, boy,” Mr. Wakefield called softly. Lucky padded over and put his head in Mr. Wakefield’s lap. Mr. Wakefield stroked Lucky’s head.
“You’ve taken fine care of him, Lou,” he said. “I hope I’ll be able to do the same.”
Lou was confused. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Weren’t you the one taking care of him before me?”
Mr. Wakefield shook his head. “Lucky is my son Jeff’s dog,” he said. “But Jeff was just transferred overseas. So Lucky’s come to live with me until Jeff returns home in a few months.”
“Oh,” said Lou. He felt as if his whole world had just collapsed.
Chapter 9
Mr. Wakefield explained how he’d lost Lucky the week before.
“I’d taken him to the park next to the soccer field so he could run around,” he said. “He’s usually very good about staying close by. But Jeff had taught him how to play soccer, and now whenever Lucky is near a soccer game he just wants to join in. I’d forgotten about that until it was too late. By the time I’d wheeled myself around the park, the game was over and Lucky was nowhere in sight.”
Lou told Mr. Wakefield how Lucky had followed him home and saved him from the truck. Mrs. Barnes raised her eyebrows when she heard that, but she didn’t say anything.
Too soon, it was time for Mr. Wakefield to leave. Roger wheeled him out the door and helped him into his car. Lucky sat in the back, his head hanging out the window. Lou tried not to cry as the car backed out and pulled away. He heard Lucky give a bark — and then the car was gone.
Mrs. Barnes hugged him tight. “I know you’re sad now,” she said. “But your dad and I have agreed that if you want to get your own dog, you can. You’ve proven you’re ready to take care of one.”
But Lou shook his head. “Thanks anyway, Mom,” he mumbled. “But the only dog I want is Lucky.” Choking back tears, he ran inside and up to his room.
He flung himself onto his bed and cried. He wanted to hate Mr. Wakefield for taking Lucky away, but he couldn’t. Lucky belonged to Mr. Wakefield. There was nothing Lou could do about it.
The next morning Lou’s head hurt. The last thing he wanted to do was play soccer. Everybody would ask him why he hadn’t brought Lucky with him. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to tell them without crying.
But his mother gently encouraged him to put his uniform on and go. “It’ll be a lot better than moping a
round the house all day,” she said. “And your friends will understand, Lou.” So in the end, he’d tucked his lucky soccer ball under his arm and trudged off to the field.
The game against the Tadpoles started out rocky. Lou messed up an easy play that should have resulted in a goal. That made Stookie mad. He started yelling at everyone. When Bundy yelled at Stookie to stop yelling at everyone, Stookie got even madder. He took his anger out on the soccer ball, kicking
it so hard that it was impossible for anyone to control. And that just made him madder still.
Finally, Coach Bradley subbed Roy in for Stookie. Stookie looked shocked, but knew better than to argue with the coach.
One look at Stookie on the beach reminded Lou that he, too, could wind up there if he didn’t start paying attention.
Better start thinking about the game, he scolded himself, instead of some stupid old dog who probably doesn’t even remember who you are.
Chapter 10
Roy did his best at Stookie’s position, but he just wasn’t as good a player as Stookie. He missed a couple of easy shots and was beaten by the Tadpoles’ offense whenever he tried to help out on defense. Lou tried to do his part, but his heart wasn’t really into it. That left Jerry as the sole offensive force — but he couldn’t win the game alone. When the ref blew his whistle signaling halftime, the score was Tadpoles 2, ’Cats 1.
Stookie was red with frustration. He opened his mouth to shout at them, but a hand on his shoulder from the coach closed it again.
“You ’Cats seem a little out of it today,” Coach Bradley observed. “What will it take for you to start playing better?”
“Luck!” shouted Jason Shearer.
The coach groaned. “Very funny. I was thinking more along the lines of concentration. Pay attention to where the ball is, where you are, and where the Tadpoles are. I don’t expect you all to play like superstars, but I do hope you’ll at least focus on the game.” He shot Lou a quick glance.
Lou kicked his toe in the dirt. A pebble bounced off his sneaker and ricocheted into his lucky soccer ball. The ball wobbled, then started to roll down the hill.
Lou moved to go after it. Then he stopped short, unable to believe what he was seeing. There was Lucky, nosing his ball back up the hill! Lou rushed to the dog and flung his arms around him.
The Soccer ’Cats crowded around them, cheering and laughing. Lou tried to look over them to see if Mr. Wakefield was there.
Finally, he spotted him. Roger was pushing him up the paved walkway that led to the field. Lou broke free of the ’Cats and led Lucky over to the pair.
Roger was breathing hard and sweating. He excused himself to get a drink from the ’Cats’ watercooler. Mr. Wakefield looked at Lou with a twinkle in his eye.
“Roger’s been chasing after that dog all morning,” he whispered. “I think he’s a little tired!”
Lou tried to hand Lucky’s leash to Mr. Wakefield. But Mr. Wakefield waved it away.
“That doesn’t belong to me,” he said, looking straight into Lou’s eyes.
Lou’s heart pounded. Was Mr. Wakefield talking about the leash — or — or Lucky?
Mr. Wakefield took hold of Lou’s right hand. He gave it a squeeze and said, “You heard me right. Lucky is yours.”
“Why —? How —?” Lou couldn’t seem to get his tongue to work.
“Roger’s tried his best to keep up with Lucky, but it’s hard when he’s got to care for me, too. So I talked with Jeff last night,” Mr. Wakefield explained. “Jeff agreed with me that Lucky would be much better off with an active young boy than an old man. There’s just one condition.”
“What’s that?” Lou asked anxiously. What if he couldn’t do it?
Mr. Wakefield laughed. “You have to play soccer with him every day. Think you can do that?”
Lou laughed and swept an arm toward the other ’Cats. “I think I — I mean we — can probably handle that!”
SOCCER ’Cats
#1 The Captain Contest
#2 Operation Baby-Sitter
#3 Secret Weapon
#4 Hat Trick
#5 Master of Disaster
#6 Heads Up
#7 All Keyed Up
#8 You Lucky Dog
SOCCER ’Cats
#8
You Lucky Dog
Matt Christopher
Illustrated by Daniel Vasconcellos
Lou Barnes has a little trouble remembering to watch his position on the soccer field. So sometimes he gets called offside—and during a game, that can cost the Soccer ’Cats a chance at a goal. Then one game, Lou gets a reminder of the offside rule from a very unlikely source: a dog! But where did the dog come from, and who taught him how to play soccer?
Here is the eighth entry in Matt Christopher’s Soccer ’Cats series, an exciting line of first chapter books perfect for sports fans ready to start reading on their own.
Matt Christopher is the name behind more than seventy-five bestselling sports novels for young readers. For a list of books in the Soccer ’Cats series, please refer to the last page of this book.
You Lucky Dog Page 2
