World Class

by Dan Freedman

  He looked down at his swollen, bruised, punctured knee and wondered how long it would keep going for. Yes, he’d be able to come back from this latest injury. The scans showed that he’d probably be back playing for Hawkstone in a month. But how much damage had all those injections done? How long would his knee be able to hold out for before it gave up on him? Again.

  Somewhere deep down, Jamie felt the cold chill of knowledge freeze around him. He might not have much longer left in his career.

  Jamie heard cheers for his teammates and breathed a little sigh of relief. He was happy; they deserved it. They should have been coming back with the World Cup in their hands. They had been good enough. For a second, he allowed his mind to imagine he and his teammates walking off the plane with the famous trophy in their hands…

  Finally, a minute after everyone else had got off, Jamie hauled his way to the open door.

  The reaction was instant as soon as Jamie appeared. There was an explosion of noise and camera flashes. The cheers were louder than for any goal he had ever scored.

  He looked up, astonished. He was speechless. There were at least twenty-thousand people there. And they were all singing his name.

  One Jamie Johnson, there’s only one Jamie Johhhhnson,

  There’s only one Jamie Johnsooon.

  Almost every single person had a banner.

  But there was one banner which stood out above all the others.

  Jamie stared at it and instantly knew who’d brought it. He closed his eyes and felt a rush of such emotion that it almost overpowered him. Then he opened them and gave his mum a massive smile and wave. Sometimes, just sometimes, she knew exactly what to say.

  Never in all his life had Jamie felt such warmth and appreciation from so many people. He raised one of his crutches into the air to salute the fans and then, slow and hesitant at first, he began to descend the stairs in front of the plane.

  With each step, the noise seemed to get louder and louder. Jamie could feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to stand on end.

  And there waiting for him at the bottom of the steps, with a camera crew in tow, was Jack Marshall.

  “This is all just amazing,” said Jamie, shaking his head in disbelief. “But I don’t understand it. We could have done it – we were good enough, but we lost. And … I’m sorry.”

  “But this was a historic tournament for the country,” said Jack, putting on her best TV voice. “And not only were you the inspiration for this incredible team, but, if we’re to believe what we read in the newspapers, you were prepared to sacrifice a potential move to Barcelona just so you could play on for your country.”

  “Oh,” said Jamie. “I didn’t realize people knew about that.”

  “Well, they do,” said Jack. “That was a big call to make.”

  “Not really,” said Jamie. “Yeah, it would have been great to play for Barcelona. A proper dream and all that. But it’s gone now and I don’t regret it at all. Because who knows how long my career’s going to last? This might be the only World Cup I ever get to play in, so I wanted to play in every minute that I could – no matter what the risks were. I wanted to do it for my teammates and for my country and that was all that I cared about. I’ll never regret what I did.”

  The fans roared their approval.

  “And that’s why everyone is mad about Jamie Johnson,” said Jack.

  Jamie and Jack looked at each other and, just for a small moment in time, it was as though the cameras and the crowds weren’t there…

  “I’m just getting some breaking news from the tournament,” said Jack suddenly, putting her hand next to her ear to hear the information that was being fed through to her.

  “Jamie!” she exclaimed, looking really excited. She was sounding more and more like the old Jack, Jamie’s Jack, rather than the television reporter Jack.

  “Congratulations!” she said. “You’ve just been voted Player of the Tournament!”

  “Oh, right,” said Jamie, not quite sure how to react. “That’s … cool.”

  “Cool?” laughed Jack. “It’s a bit more than that! Your whole life is going to change now, Jamie. You are a … phenomenon.”

  This time it was Jamie’s turn to blush.

  “Nah,” said the young superstar, shaking his head and thinking right back to where his journey had begun – all those afternoons spent kicking a ball around the park with his best mate. “Nothing’s changed.” He smiled. “I’m still the same guy I always was. Just a kid who loves playing football.”

  Jamie looked at the gleaming ring and its inscription. He had honestly thought that he’d never see it again.

  “So, go on, you’ve got to tell me everything!” he grinned. “How did you even know I’d lost it? And where was it? I looked everywhere for this,” he said. Jamie slid the ring back onto his finger and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Where was it and how did you get it back?”

  “Did you look on that girl’s hand?” said Jack.

  “Which girl? Who do you— What? Not Loretta?”

  Jack nodded. “She was in our studios doing an interview and she walked past me, bold as brass, and she was actually wearing it. I recognized it straightaway and I asked her where she’d got it from. She told me that you’d given it to her. And she kept a straight face! So it was pretty clear to me that every word that had come out of her mouth was a complete lie. You’d never give that ring to anyone, JJ. I know how important it is to you.”

  “See,” said Jamie. “I told you… Wow! She’s actually even worse than I thought. She must have nicked it the night I met her. I must have been spinning it. That little… So … but anyway … how did you get it off her? Did she just give it back to you?”

  “I did what I had to do,” replied Jack, more than a little mischievously. “That’s all you need to know.”

  “Oh – you didn’t, did you?” asked Jamie laughing now. “Tell me you didn’t?!”

  Jack flashed him her special smile.

  “You did! You did your tae kwon do on her! I can’t believe it! Oh, I wish I’d been there to see it!”

  “Like I said: I did what I had to.”

  “Oh, that’s brilliant!” said Jamie. “Thank you so much, Jack! Wait – so once you had the ring and realized that she’d made the whole thing up – that’s when you started calling me, right?”

  “Yup, but you kept ignoring my calls!”

  “I did not,” Jamie lied. “I was just busy!”

  “Yeah, right. You put me on silent and you know it!”

  Jamie smiled. What a piece of work Lorretta Martin was – she was the fakest person he’d ever met! But, on the other hand, if she hadn’t have taken the ring, then Jack might never have realized that she’d been lying about everything all along and she and Jamie wouldn’t be about to go on holiday together.

  Jamie couldn’t think of anything better. Just him and Jack – finally they were going to get to spend some time with each other. He was already off the crutches so he would be free to make the absolute most of the trip. They were going to have some serious fun.

  Jamie felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. It was a strange time to ring. All Jamie’s mates knew where he was going. But when he saw who it was, he had to take the call…

  “Archie,” said Jamie. “How you doing? Listen, I’m just in a taxi on my way to the airport. I’m with Jack and we’re going to Ameri— What? Now? Why? … Oh … right … OK… But what about the injury? I probably won’t even be able to train for another couple of weeks. Yeah, no I understand… OK, thanks, Archie… Yup, I’ll see you there in a couple of hours.”

  Jamie put down the phone and stared at Jack. His eyes were glazed, trying to comprehend what he’d just been told.

  “What? What is it? What’s happened?” she asked. “What’s wrong, JJ?”

  “No… Nothing’s wrong,
” said Jamie. He couldn’t move any of the muscles in his face. He was in a complete state of shock. The words could barely come out of his mouth.

  “It’s not bad news, but … we have to turn the car around.”

  “But we take off in four hours! What about the holiday?”

  “Sorry, Jack, but we have to go back now. Straightaway,” said Jamie, nervously rubbing his ring. The excitement was rapidly building and he was giving himself goosepimples as he contemplated the magnitude of what was happening.

  “It’s Barcelona,” he said, finally, loving the sound of that magical name coming out of his mouth. “They still want to sign me, Jack! They’re flying in to start talks. They arrive tonight!”

  Interview with Dan Freedman

  You’ve been to the World Cup twice, what was it like?

  Before becoming an author, I worked as a journalist with the England Football Team. That meant living in the team hotel, having breakfast with players like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard and then going to watch them train and play in the World Cup Finals. They were some of the greatest experiences of my life. I realize how lucky I was and I thought about those times a lot when I was writing this book.

  Can you do the Rainbow Flick?

  Of course I can – I’m a phenomenal footballer, one of the best in the world. See, that’s the good thing about being an author: you can just make stuff up.

  Who are your favourite footballers at the moment?

  You can’t ignore Messi’s majestic talent and I absolutely love the way that Xavi never ever loses the ball. Gerrard for his passion and loyalty to his club and, for the future, Jack Wilshire. So young but soooo good!

  You visit lots of schools – what’s the funniest question you’ve been asked?

  Lots of kids seem fascinated to know what car I drive (a Golf, if you must know). Some ask me if I ever get bored of football (no). And one boy asked me which footballer had the biggest appetite when it came to meal times! The school visits are great fun because they are a chance for me to meet the people that I write the books for.

  Who is the most famous person you’ve interviewed?

  Take your pick: David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson. At the time, I had to pretend that it was no big deal and that I was all cool about it but inside I was thinking: “Oh my God! I can’t believe I’m interviewing him!”

  So have you ever had a kick around with Wayne Rooney?

  No – I think I would be too worried about injuring him if I timed a tackle wrong! That would be a disaster! I did once get to play against Demetrio Albertini though. He was one of the best midfielders in the world when I was growing up – he won the Champions League with AC Milan. I played against him in midfield in a friendly game. Would you believe me if I told you we won?!

  What inspires you to write these books?

  When I was younger I wasn’t a massive reader. People used to tell me to read all the time but there were no books out there that excited me. They all seemed boring. The Jamie Johnson series is for people out there who are like I was. I try to write the kind of books that I would have been desperate to read.

  What’s the best game you’ve ever been to?

  In 2002, I was in Japan for the World Cup quarter-final: Brazil v England. It doesn’t get much bigger than that!

  Jamie Johnson books are often about triumphing over the odds. Can you give us any tips on how to become a professional footballer?

  I think it’s about your physical and mental dedication. Are you training as hard as you can? Are you working on your weaker foot? Do you believe in yourself? Are you trying to improve every time you play? And, if you get knocked back, how will you react? If you come back stronger, you’ve got half a chance.

  And the other thing to remember is that even if you don’t make it as a professional footballer, there are so many other jobs that you can get which involve football. Doctor, physiotherapist, coach, architect... The possibilities are all there, it’s a case of going for your goals.

  Want more thrilling footballing action? Catch up on Jamie Johnson’s journey to the top.

  Jamie Johnson’s desperate to become his school’s star football player (and in his dreams, a top professional too). He’s got so much to prove, and not just on the pitch – so why aren’t his mum, teachers and best mate on his side?

  Jamie Johnson can’t believe his luck. He’s playing for Kingfield School in a Cup semi-final and scouts from his favourite club, Hawkstone United, are coming to watch!

  But Jamie’s hopes of a professional career still have a long way to go…

  There’s a huge buzz around Jamie Johnson. He’s being talked about as one of the country’s most talented young players. But just when he’s set for stardom, a shocking event threatens to end his career for ever.

  Can Jamie cope with his toughest challenge yet?

  Jamie Johnson is playing the best football of his life for his beloved Hawkstone. But surviving at the top of the league isn’t easy. After Hawkstone splash out on a big new signing, Jamie suddenly has a serious rival on the team. And when a series of dramatic events threaten his game, Jamie fears it could all be over…

  This was the team of teams. The club of clubs. And now they wanted him to join them. A transfer to the best club in the world beckons for Jamie Johnson. This is big. This is huge!

  However, a time bomb is already ticking within Jamie. . . Is the final whistle about to blow?

  Scholastic Children’s Books

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  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2011

  This electronic edition published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2013

  Text copyright © Dan Freedman, 2011

  The right of Dan Freedman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him.

  eISBN 978 1407 14393 4

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Scholastic Limited.

  Produced in India by Quadrum

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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