Fake Out

by Rich Wallace

  Ben wiped his mouth with a napkin and got out of his seat. “I’m sorry,” he said. He glanced at his plate again; he’d eaten everything except the carrots. He turned and went up to his room.

  He felt better on Sunday and practiced dribbling and faking in the yard. Then he walked over to Erin’s house. She’d taught him how to play chess recently. He’d never beaten her, but lately the games had been lasting longer.

  “Tough game yesterday, huh?” she said as they set up the chessboard.

  Ben let out his breath hard. “It sure was. It was embarrassing.”

  “We played well,” she said. “I had fun anyway.”

  Ben nodded slowly. “Most of it was fun,” he admitted. “I just wish we had another game today instead of having to wait until next weekend. I’d like to wipe that game right out of my mind. Instead, I’ll be thinking about it all week.”

  “Don’t think too hard,” Erin said with a smile. “You’ll sprain your brain.”

  Ben moved one of his chess pieces forward. “What I’m really not looking forward to is seeing Loop tomorrow at school. He’ll be rubbing it in about the game for sure.”

  “Let him talk,” Erin said, making a move of her own. “Besides, he did play a great game.”

  They made a few more moves before Ben responded. “Loop’s a good athlete, but he has a big ego, too.”

  Erin laughed gently. “Just like somebody else I know.”

  “Who? Me?”

  She nodded. Then she picked up her knight and brought it into the square where Ben’s bishop was sitting. She tipped the bishop over and picked it up.

  “Never saw that coming,” Ben said quietly, shaking his head.

  Erin sat back in her chair. She tapped the side of her head. “Now’s the time to think,” she said. “It never hurts in chess.”

  Ben bit down on his lip. “I’ll try to remember that,” he said. “But it isn’t easy.”

  “So when Loop starts teasing you on the playground, just be patient,” Erin said. “Maybe he’s the bishop for now. But we’ve got some pretty good horses on our team. We might get another shot at him in the play-offs.”

  Ben nodded. The Bobcats were a long way from making the play-offs. But there was still time. They would start climbing back into the race if they could just win a few more games.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Duking and Juking

  Monday at recess, Ben walked over to the swings and took a seat. He slowly pumped his legs and began to glide back and forth.

  He looked over and saw the players in his four-square group starting their regular game. Ben played every day, but today he wasn’t in the mood. Loop was in the group, and he didn’t feel like talking to him. But Loop was staring at him. He caught Ben’s eye and smiled. Ben looked away with a frown.

  All of the fourth graders had recess at the same time, so most of Ben’s soccer teammates were out on the playground, too. Mark and Erin were playing four square, and Shayna and Kim were jumping rope on the basketball court. Omar and Darren were with a group shooting baskets at the other end of the court.

  “I bet I can swing higher.”

  Ben looked over and saw Jordan walking toward him, pointing at the swing next to Ben. He grinned and sat down.

  Ben hadn’t known Jordan before the soccer season, and they’d hardly spoken. But they’d made some good passes to each other lately in practice and in the games. They were both quick and played hard.

  “Why no four square today?” Jordan asked.

  Ben shrugged. He pumped his legs harder. “Just didn’t feel like it.”

  “I know what you mean,” Jordan said. “Still thinking about Saturday’s game?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Me too.” Jordan stopped swinging and braked with both feet. “All weekend, I kept thinking about how we got burned. I was so sure we would beat those guys.”

  “So was I.”

  “It’s like we’re right on the edge of being good,” Jordan said. “You know what I mean? Just one or two steps forward and we’ll be as good as anyone in the league.”

  “We seemed about a thousand steps behind on Saturday,” Ben said.

  “Yeah, but we weren’t. Just a couple of plays could have made all the difference.”

  “That’s what Erin said. But I played pretty badly.”

  “No, you didn’t. Erin’s right.”

  Ben stopped swinging, too. He looked around the playground. “Seen any soccer balls?”

  “No, but I was thinking of bringing one tomorrow,” Jordan said. “Get in some extra passing. Sound good?”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Ben replied. “Maybe we’ll spend half of recess kicking the ball around, then switch over to four square.”

  Jordan jutted his chin toward Loop’s group. “Speaking of four square, they could use a few players.”

  Ben stepped off the swing. “Let’s go.”

  They walked across the playground and stood next to Mark, who was waiting to get back into the game. Loop and three others were smacking a pink rubber ball back and forth, trying to hold their positions in the square. After each round, one player had to leave the square and a new player would take his place.

  “Look who’s back,” Loop said as the point ended, nodding toward Ben, then Jordan. “Ready to join the elite, huh?”

  “Ready and able,” Jordan said.

  Loop smiled broadly. “Just watch how the pros do it,” he said, serving the ball toward Mark. He kept his eyes on the game, shifting back and forth and skillfully returning the ball, but he kept chattering, too.

  “See, the best players are always in motion,” Loop said, swatting at the ball. He kept his hands up and shifted from foot to foot. “Duking, juking … it’s all about speed and positioning.” He took his eye off the ball for a split second, glancing at Ben. “Leaving your opponent flat-footed.”

  Ben blushed. But in that split second Mark lined the ball hard into Loop’s square. It took a sharp bounce and Loop had no chance to reach it.

  Ben clapped his hands. “Great demonstration,” he said. “I see exactly what you mean. Flat-footed and burnt.”

  Loop scowled. He put his hands in his pockets and stepped out of the square. The other players shifted to new spots and Ben stepped in to take Loop’s place.

  Ben and Loop were friends, but they were rivals when it came to sports and games. Ben knew that Loop had the upper hand now, after his team had clobbered the Bobcats in soccer.

  As they headed back toward class a few minutes later, Loop walked next to Ben. “So, who do you guys play this weekend?” he asked.

  “The Eagles,” Ben said. “I don’t know much about them.”

  “They beat us the first week of the season,” Loop said. “But that was when nobody on my team knew what we were doing. We just ran around the field like turkeys or something.”

  “Who do you play?” Ben asked.

  “The Sharks,” Loop replied. “What do you know about them?”

  “We beat ’em a few weeks back,” Ben said.

  “Then we should bash them,” Loop said. “Just like we did to you.”

  Ben gave Loop a light shove. “You got a lot of breaks.”

  “Like I said, we made our breaks.” He shoved Ben back, but he didn’t seem angry. “As far as I can tell, there isn’t any team better than we are anymore. And we’ll prove that over the next few weeks.”

  Ben just looked away. He and his teammates had to prove that they could succeed, too. Mostly they had to prove it to themselves.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Another Stumble

  Ben hit the ground hard, but he rolled and stood up. He ran toward the ball, wiping his hands on his blue game shirt.

  The weather had turned much cooler, and the field was damp from an overnight rain. Still, Ben was sweating and panting hard.

  The Eagles had the ball and they were in a frenzy. Mark had scored an early goal for the Bobcats, but neither team had managed to score since then.

 
; Not much time was left in the game, so all of the black-shirted Eagles except the goalie were at the Bobcats’ end of the field, frantic to tie the score.

  “Defense!” Ben shouted. “Let’s hang on.”

  One of the Eagles had the ball in the corner, and three of his teammates were near the goal, shouting for a pass. Ben moved into the goal area, too, as Mark and Jordan raced toward the ball.

  Ben took a quick glance toward Erin, who was playing goalie for the Bobcats. She’d made four good saves since halftime.

  Here came the ball, soaring through the air on a path that would put it directly in front of the goal. Ben firmed up his stance, bracing to jump. There were Eagles on both sides of him, ready to do the same.

  Ben got there first. He brought his head back slightly, then poked it forward, meeting the ball with his forehead and knocking it away from the goal.

  That worked, Ben thought, a bit surprised. He’d seen older players “head” the ball, but he’d never tried it in a game.

  The ball drifted to the side, and Mark reached it. He turned toward the goal, then spun and dribbled quickly toward the sideline. Ben angled over and shouted, “Here!”

  It would be a dangerous pass, but Mark had no choice. Two Eagles players were blocking his path, so he passed back to Ben. Ben took control and sliced past two more opponents. He had a clear field ahead.

  The gap closed quickly, but Ben had time to send a crisp pass over to Jordan, who was running in the same direction. Mark made a smart move and circled behind Jordan, and the three Bobcats sprinted up the field toward the Eagles’ goal.

  A series of sharp passes kept the ball moving upfield. First Jordan, then Ben, and then Mark dribbled and passed.

  As they reached the goal area, Ben had the ball, with one defender at his side.

  Do that fake, he told himself.

  Step over the ball!

  Ben dodged to his right, then stepped over the ball and brought it back to his left.

  Now run with it.

  The move almost worked, but Ben slipped on the wet grass and the defender knocked the ball away.

  I stink at this!

  The ball flew on a line drive, right at Jordan’s chest. But Jordan leaned back and let the ball roll off his chest to the ground. He was in perfect position for a shot, and he drove the ball into the goal.

  Ben felt a huge rush of energy as he watched the ball whoosh into the net. Jordan had given the Bobcats a 2–0 lead.

  “Awesome!” Jordan shouted.

  Ben looked at his parents, who were on the sideline clapping. He raised his fist. But he was embarrassed about tripping over the ball.

  “Everybody get back!” Mark called. “Tough defense now! Don’t let up for a second.”

  Even the Eagles’ goalie came down on offense now, but the Bobcats were ready. Any time the Eagles made a charge, either Ben or Jordan or Shayna seemed to be there to stop it.

  Erin had to make one more save, but it was on a soft shot from a long distance away. She caught it easily and punted it far up the field.

  The whistle blew soon after, and the Bobcats had their second win of the season.

  Ben smacked hands with Jordan and ran off the field. The Bobcats gathered around Coach Patty. Everybody was jumping and shouting, but Ben couldn’t help but feel that he almost cost his team the victory. The Eagles could have scored when Ben lost the ball. He was lucky Jordan had stepped up.

  “Great effort,” Coach said. “That’s what I like to see.”

  “We were rolling,” said Kim. “This was our day.”

  They all put their hands into the center of the circle and yelled, “Bobcats!”

  Ben scooped up his sweatshirt and joined Erin and Jordan as they walked toward the bleachers.

  “Great recovery after I messed up that fake,” Ben said.

  “You almost made it,” Jordan said.

  “I know. I don’t know what happened. I thought through every part of the fake, but then I messed it up at the end.”

  Jordan grinned. “Don’t think so hard,” he said. “Just let it happen.”

  “That’s easy for you to say.”

  Jordan laughed. “Sooner or later it’ll be natural for us. Thinking about it just leads to trouble.”

  Loop and Alex from the Falcons were standing nearby. Their legs were covered with mud from the field. They’d played the game before Ben’s and had routed another opponent.

  “You guys looked pretty good,” Alex said as Ben walked past.

  “Pretty good is right,” Loop said. “Better than last week, that’s for sure.”

  Ben stopped. He gave Loop a hard look, but Loop was smiling and didn’t sound too smug.

  “Not bad for a couple of last-place teams,” Ben said. He wanted to remind Alex and Loop that both of their teams still had a long way to go, but he didn’t want to be mean either. The two teams had the exact same records.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but we aren’t in last place anymore,” Loop said. “Things are getting much tighter in this league. It’s still anybody’s championship to win.”

  And it could be ours, Ben thought.

  All of that hard work was certainly paying off now. He knew he’d played the best game of his life except for that stumble. Every member of the Bobcats had improved so much since the start of the season.

  Ben pulled his sweatshirt on over his head. He stood with Alex, Loop, and Erin and watched the next two teams warming up on the field. He knew that the Rabbits had the best record in the league, but he wanted to get a look at the Wolves. They were the Bobcats’ next opponent.

  Ben heard his father calling from the parking lot. “Time to go!” he yelled.

  “I’ll see you guys at school,” Ben said. “And who knows? We might get another shot at your team in the play-offs.”

  Loop turned to Ben. “That would be fine by me,” he said. “But there’s a long way to go before anybody should be thinking about the play-offs. Or a championship.”

  “Guess you’re right,” Ben said. But after the Bobcats had played so well today, he could allow himself to think about it a little.

  KICKERS

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Working the Hill

  “Nice game,” Dad said, shaking Ben’s hand as he reached the car.

  “Best one yet,” Ben said. “What’s the hurry?”

  “We’re going to Larry’s race.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Larry was competing in an important cross-country race that afternoon. The meet was at a park just a few miles away.

  Mom leaned over the back seat and handed Ben a small paper bag with a peanut butter sandwich, a container of yogurt, and an apple.

  “Thanks,” he said. “You don’t even realize that you’re hungry when you’re running that hard. But as soon as you stop, you’re like, ‘I’m starving!’”

  When they reached the park, Ben spotted Larry’s team in their green sweatsuits jogging in a grassy field. The shirts said LINCOLN in big white letters. There were lots of other teams, too. Ben slammed the car door shut and ran over to his brother.

  “Hey, Larry!” Ben shouted as he got closer.

  Larry gave a quick wave, but he didn’t smile and he kept jogging.

  “We won,” Ben said, running next to his brother.

  “That’s good.” Larry was staring straight ahead and looked very serious.

  The team members all stopped running and began to stretch. They bent their knees a little and reached for the ground.

  “I almost scored,” Ben said. “But I made some pretty good passes.”

  Larry shut his eyes and nodded. He stood straight up and reached his arms overhead. Then he jogged away again.

  What’s his problem? Ben thought. He didn’t bother to follow Larry. He walked back across the field toward his parents.

  “Larry totally ignored me,” he said.

  “He’s concentrating,” Mom said.

  “This is a huge race for him,” Dad said. “
He’s bound to be nervous.”

  Ben hadn’t thought about that. “I guess he needs to focus,” he said.

  “He certainly does,” Dad said. “You know how it is. When you’re in a soccer game, you aren’t thinking about anything but that, right? It can be even harder in a race.”

  Ben agreed. If you messed up in a race, you didn’t have a teammate to help you out. When Ben had stumbled in the soccer game, Jordan had scored anyway. He could just imagine how it would be if things went wrong in a long race like this.

  Larry would be running 3,000 meters, just a little less than two miles. And this park was hilly. They’d be following paths through the woods, up and down short, steep hills and longer, more gradual ones. And they’d be running fast. No wonder Larry was being quiet.

  The runners were lining up at the start. Ben counted twelve teams on the line. Larry was usually the third- or fourth-fastest runner on his team, and the team was one of the best in the area.

  “He’s hoping to finish in the top ten overall,” Dad said. “His team has a good chance to win the meet.”

  Ben followed his parents as they walked toward the woods.

  “If you time it right, you can see nearly all of the race,” Dad said. “Cross-country is one of the only sports where the spectators have to move around, too.”

  The whistle blew to start the race and the pack of runners streamed across the grassy field. Several runners sprinted to the front.

  “They’ll never keep up that pace,” Dad said. “Larry’s playing it smart.”

  Larry was near the front of the pack, but he looked calm and relaxed.

  The runners circled around the grassy area and turned onto a dirt path that would lead them into the woods. After a few minutes, four runners had broken away from the others and opened a 20-meter lead. Larry’s teammate Devin was among them.

  Ben quickly counted the runners ahead of his brother. “He’s in sixteenth,” he said.

  “That’s good,” Dad replied. “The hills will make a big difference. Every athlete has to work hard, but staying in control is the key. Larry is pacing himself just fine.”