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  To my great-granddaughter Tiffany Marie Howell

  Copyright

  Text copyright © 2000 by Catherine M. Christopher

  Illustrations copyright © 2000 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.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Matt Christopher® is a registered trademark of Catherine M. Christopher.

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue

  New York, NY 10017

  Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

  First eBook Edition: December 2009

  ISBN: 978-0-316-09432-0

  Contents

  Copyright

  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 Team Roster

  Lou Barnes Striker

  Jerry Dinh Striker

  Stookie Norris Striker

  Dewey London Halfback

  Bundy Neel Halfback

  Amanda Caler Halfback

  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

  “Here!” a familiar voice yelled from Amanda Caler’s right side.

  Amanda, left halfback for the Soccer ’Cats soccer team, glanced up to see Stookie Norris waving to her. He was in the clear so she kicked the ball to him. It was a perfect shot to the striker. Stookie stopped the ball, dribbled half a dozen feet toward the goal, then gave it a hard kick at the net.

  Goal!

  “Good shot, Stookie!” several ’Cats yelled. The fans yelled, too. The score narrowed the gap. Now instead of Panthers 3, ’Cats 0, it was Panthers 3, ’Cats 1.

  But the game was in its final minutes and the chances of the ’Cats scoring again were slim. That dismal thought raced through Amanda’s mind as she watched the Panthers move the ball down the field with short, surefooted passes.

  The ball crossed the center line before Amanda could reach it. Three Panthers were passing the ball among them, eluding their attackers like mice eluding cats.

  For a couple of seconds Amanda studied their pattern. When she sensed an opportunity to steal the ball, she raced in. With a lightning-quick move, she trapped the ball with the instep of her right foot, spun, and dribbled the ball out of the attacking zone.

  The Panthers were caught by surprise. That gave Amanda enough time to move the ball deeper into the Panthers’ territory. Jerry Dinh came up alongside her, but Amanda kept control of the ball until she saw an attacker sweeping up from her other side.

  “Jerry!” she called and passed the ball to him.

  Jerry, a striker, slowed it down with the instep of his foot. Two Panthers were on him in an instant.

  Amanda followed, ready to receive a pass if Jerry got into trouble.

  Jerry did get in trouble. Usually as cool as a cucumber, he looked flustered as both Panthers stabbed at the ball with their feet.

  Stookie Norris swooped in to try to help, but the Panthers boxed him out. “Get rid of it!” Stookie cried.

  Jerry didn’t hesitate. He walloped the ball as hard as he could — right at Amanda.

  Blam! Amanda was hit full force in the face!

  The contact was so solid, she saw stars. Then she saw something else. Blood, and lots of it. It was spilling from her nose onto her shirt. One look was all she got. Dizziness swept over her. The last thing she remembered was hitting the turf.

  Chapter 2

  When Amanda came to, she found herself being carried. Something cold was pressed against her nose.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” she cried, struggling to get free.

  “Whoa, hold on a minute,” came a deep voice. It was Coach Bradley, the person who was carrying her. He removed the ice pack from her nose and sat her down gently on the bench.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, looking at her with concern. “That was some nosebleed you got.”

  She touched her nose gingerly. The bleeding had stopped. “Guess I passed out,” she mumbled.

  The coach smiled. “Guess you did. Are you in much pain?”

  She wiggled her nose from side to side. “No, it’s not too bad,” she said. “I think I can keep playing.”

  The coach shook his head. “I don’t think so. You’re sitting out the rest of the game, Amanda.” He pulled a cell phone out of his team duffel bag. “In fact, I’m calling your mother to come get you right now.”

  Amanda’s heart sank. Her mother turned white at the sight of a skinned knee. She usually stayed away from Amanda’s soccer games because she didn’t want to see anyone get hurt. What would she do when she heard Amanda had had a bloody nose? And what about her T-shirt? There was enough blood on it to equal a dozen skinned knees!

  Well, she couldn’t stop the coach from calling her mom. But maybe he could help with the T-shirt.

  “Uh, Coach, do you have any extra Soccer ’Cats shirts in that bag? I think mine is ruined.”

  Coach Bradley nodded. “Go ahead and look. You can change in the rest room.”

  Amanda searched the bag and found what she was looking for. As she started toward the bathroom, Coach Bradley called, “Take Eddie with you, just in case.”

  Edith “Eddie” Sweeny looked up, surprised. But she slid off the bench and joined Amanda.

  “What does he think is going to happen to you?” Eddie grumbled, shaking her head of fiery red hair. “Now I’ll miss the end of the game. Not that I was going to get in again anyway. He always subs Dale in for you instead of me. I don’t know why. I think I’d make a pretty good halfback, don’t you?”

  Amanda didn’t know what to say. Eddie was a good player, but she was hot-tempered sometimes. That could come in handy on defense, when the team needed someone to battle hard for possession of the ball. But on offense, one needed a cool head. A big part of the halfback’s job was helping set up offensive plays. Amanda wasn’t sure Eddie would be any good at that.

  So instead of answering, Amanda ducked into a bathroom stall and pulled off her old shirt. As she struggled into the new shirt, she said, “We better hurry and get back to the team to shake hands.”

  When Amanda emerged from the bathroom holding the old shirt, Eddie was frowning. She looked like she was about to say something, but didn’t. Instead, she looked at the shirt in Amanda’s hand.

  “Boy, I bet it hurt when you got hit,” she said finally. “Sure hope it doesn’t make you afraid of the ball.”

  Chapter 3

  The girls walked back to the bench in silence. Amanda felt guilty for not having answered Eddie’s question.

  But then again, she told herself, my mother always says if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.

  Amanda’s mother arrived shortly after the girls returned. As Amanda expected, her mother looked like she was about to faint.

  “Oh, my poor little girl,” she cried as she crushed Amanda in a bear hug. “I knew this game was dangerous. Why, oh why, won’t you take up ballet like
your sister?”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “Because I don’t like wearing tights and toe shoes, Mom. I like wearing shorts and sneakers. Now let go, you’re squeezing the stuffing out of me!”

  “The coach said you collapsed on the field!”

  “I fainted when I saw the blood,” Amanda admitted and instantly wished that she hadn’t.

  “Blood! What blood? Oh, my, there was blood?” Mrs. Caler was getting more and more upset.

  Coach Bradley stepped in.

  “Now, now, Amanda’s fine. She took a hit in the nose, so naturally she got a nosebleed. But the nose stopped bleeding right away, and she’s been perfectly fine ever since. Right, Amanda?”

  Mrs. Caler looked from her daughter to the coach and back again. She seemed to be calming down. Then Eddie stepped forward.

  “Here, Amanda, don’t forget your old shirt. Though I don’t guess you’ll be wanting to wear it again on account of how it looks.” She shook the shirt out right under Mrs. Caler’s nose.

  Mrs. Caler took one look, made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, and crumpled to the ground.

  “What did you do that for?” Amanda yelled, rushing forward to her mother. She patted her mother’s face gently, like she’d seen people do in movies.

  Eddie widened her eyes. “Gee, sorry. Boy, talk about ‘like mother, like daughter’! She passed out even quicker than you did when you saw the blood!”

  When Mrs. Caler came to, Coach Bradley insisted on driving her and Amanda home. “Your husband can come back for your car later,” he said when Mrs. Caler tried to protest. “Besides, it will give me a chance to convince you that soccer is just as safe as ballet.”

  “Hmph,” sniffed Mrs. Caler. She waved a hand at the bloody T-shirt Eddie was still holding. “You’ll never find a ballerina wearing something like that!” She wobbled unsteadily to the car.

  Eddie came alongside Amanda. “Your mom seems pretty upset. You don’t think she’d make you quit the team, do you?”

  Amanda looked at Eddie with surprise. “No, she wouldn’t do that. I mean, it was only one little nosebleed, after all.”

  Eddie gazed after Mrs. Caler. “Right. One little nosebleed wouldn’t be enough.” She tossed Amanda’s old T-shirt into the trash can and dusted her hands clean. “Well, see you at practice tomorrow!”

  Chapter 4

  The next day shone bright and clear, perfect for playing soccer. Amanda was looking forward to practice from the moment she got out of bed.

  An hour after breakfast she hurried to join her teammates.

  “Hi, Amanda,” Jason Shearer said, popping his gum. “Didn’t think we’d see you here today.”

  “Why not?” Amanda replied.

  “Oh, I don’t... don’t... know—ooh, oooh!” Jason pretended to faint.

  Amanda made a face. “Very funny,” she said. She balled her hand up into a fist and waved it under Jason’s nose. “Maybe I should show you up close and personal what it’s like to get a bloody nose.”

  “All right, that’s enough,” said Bundy Neel, captain of the Soccer ’Cats. “Jason, don’t you ever stop clowning around?”

  “Only when I’m in the goal!” Jason danced away.

  Bundy turned to Amanda. “Seriously, how are you feeling today?”

  Amanda shrugged. “Fine,” she said.

  But suddenly she wasn’t so sure. Jason’s little joke had reminded her of how painful being hit had been. And fainting hadn’t been any picnic either, if the truth were to be told.

  But getting hit was a fluke, a one-time thing, she tried to reassure herself. The odds against it happening again are a million to one.

  Coach Bradley appeared a minute later. The ’Cats did their usual warm-up drills, then the coach called them together.

  “I had a call last night asking if we could practice heading the ball today,” he announced. “So unless there are any objections, let’s start the drill.”

  No one said anything, though they glanced at each other. Amanda could guess what they were thinking, because she was thinking the same thing: Who had made the call to the coach? No one seemed to know.

  Just then, Eddie appeared.

  “Sorry I’m late!” was all she said.

  The coach nodded, then organized the drill.

  “Count off A-B, A-B.” The ’Cats did. “Okay, I want the A players on the center line. Spread out so there’s plenty of room between you.”

  The A’s moved to the center line.

  “Now the B’s form a line about five feet away from them.” Amanda joined the rest of the B’s. The coach started rolling a soccer ball to each of the A’s and explained the rest of the drill.

  “The B’s are going to kneel down. The A’s are going to lob the balls to the B’s and the B’s are going to head them back as best they can. Kneeling down teaches you not to lunge or jump for the ball. Lunging and jumping could lead to injury.”

  He rolled the last of the balls to the A’s. “Use the part of your forehead that’s closest to your hairline. Heading with the top of your head can hurt — and yesterday we saw what happens when you head with your face,” he added with a smile.

  Amanda knew the coach hadn’t meant to embarrass her, yet she reddened anyway as she knelt down. Then she looked up to see who her partner was, and suddenly she was no longer embarrassed. Instead, for a reason she couldn’t explain, she was uneasy.

  Maybe it was the way Eddie was tossing the ball from hand to hand and grinning.

  Chapter 5

  “All set, partner?” Eddie asked.

  Amanda gulped, then nodded.

  “Well, then, here it comes.” Eddie tossed the ball high into the air. So high that Amanda lost sight of it in the sun. She squinted, then suddenly there it was.

  She couldn’t help herself. She gave a sharp cry, covered her head with her arms, and ducked.

  “Whoa!” Coach Bradley hurried up to them. “Everything okay here?”

  Amanda was about to answer but Eddie cut her off. “I don’t know what happened, Coach. It’s like Amanda’s afraid of the ball or something.”

  Amanda’s jaw dropped. “I am not!” she sputtered. “It’s just —just — “ She was so surprised at Eddie that she couldn’t get the words out.

  Coach Bradley patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Amanda. It’s natural to be afraid after getting hit. Just try not to flinch. Once you’ve headed the ball successfully a few times, you’ll be back in control.” He walked away to watch another pair.

  Amanda turned to glare at Eddie. “What did you say that for?” she demanded.

  “The coach asked a question. When someone asks a question, I answer it.”

  Amanda looked closely at Eddie, trying to figure out if there was a hidden message in her reply. Like, I asked you a question in the rest room yesterday and I’m still waiting for my answer. Amanda couldn’t be sure.

  With a sigh, she got back into the kneeling position. “Okay, let’s do this again. And this time, could you toss it up a little lower?”

  Eddie ran a hand through her hair. “Sure, whatever you say,” she said.

  But it didn’t seem to matter how Eddie tossed the ball. Whenever it came close to her head, Amanda shrank back. Only twice did she make good contact.

  Eddie, on the other hand, headed the ball with gusto. “Nice job,” commented the coach as he watched her send the ball rocketing back into the air. Eddie beamed.

  Amanda was relieved when the coach blew the whistle, ending the drill.

  Now maybe we’ll get to scrimmage, she thought. And I’ll be able to get back into the swing of things!

  Instead, to her dismay, the coach called, “On your feet! It’s time to practice heading the ball from the standing position. After all, you’ll be standing during the game!”

  “Well, the players on the field will be, anyway,” joked Jason, who usually started the games sitting on the bench.

  “Most of them will be, at least,” Eddie added. And she winked at Am
anda.

  Chapter 6

  The rest of practice was a disaster for Amanda. Nearly every time the ball came toward her, she flashed back to the day before and flinched. The few times the ball did make contact with her head hurt. When the drill ended, she felt frustrated.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it,” the coach reassured her. But Amanda wasn’t so sure. She was happy when the coach called for a scrimmage.

  At last! she thought. Now I can get into the groove.

  But she didn’t. It seemed like the other players were eager to try out their new heading skills in a game-like situation. The ball was constantly in the air instead of on the ground — and Amanda felt like a sitting duck waiting to be picked off.

  Coach Bradley finally ended the practice. Before everyone left, he reminded the team of the next day’s game against the Torpedoes.

  Amanda couldn’t wait to get home. All she wanted to do was lie in the hammock in her backyard and forget about soccer for the afternoon.

  When she pushed open the kitchen door, she found the mail lying on the floor under the mail slot. She picked it up. Along with the usual junk mail and bills was a plain envelope addressed to her mother. The envelope wasn’t sealed, and when she tossed it on the counter with the other mail, a piece of paper came fluttering out.

  Amanda stooped to retrieve the paper. It was a newspaper clipping. The headline read: IS YOUR SOCCER PLAYER SAFE?

  Amanda was dumbfounded. She grabbed the envelope and turned it over and over, looking for a sign of who had sent it. She found nothing.

  She hesitated. She was burning to know who had sent the clipping. But her mother had always told her not to read other people’s mail. Still, if the envelope was already open... ?