All Keyed Up Read online

  He walked back home in a gloom. Up in his room, he pulled the beach towel and bathing suit out of his knapsack and looked through it again, just in case. No key. Then, as he stared at the towel and suit, he had a thought.

  He shoved the suit and towel back into the knapsack and rushed downstairs.

  “Mom! I’m going to the pool!” he shouted.

  “Did you find the key?”

  “No, not yet! But maybe one of my friends did! And they’re all going to be at the pool!”

  “Okay, let’s go,” his mother said, emerging from the basement. “I made you a sandwich. You can eat it while I drive you there.”

  Jerry smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”

  Jerry wolfed his sandwich down in the car. He didn’t even care that he wasn’t allowed in the pool for an hour after eating. He just wanted to get there to question his friends!

  Most of them were already there. Jerry hurried over to them.

  “Hi, guys! Listen, did any of you find a key on a ring with a name tag at the soccer field today?”

  “A key?” Lisa said. “Not me. How about you, Ted?” Ted shook his head. One by one, the rest of the ’Cats did the same. Jerry’s heart sank.

  “Wait a minute,” Bundy said. “Jason’s not here yet. Maybe — “

  He was cut off by a loud whoop. Seconds later, a huge wave of water crashed down over them all.

  “Hi guys,” Jason said, popping up with a grin. “Pretty decent cannonball, huh?” He ducked back under before anyone could answer.

  Jerry followed him along the edge of the pool. When Jason came up for air, Jerry tapped him on the head.

  “I hear you knocking, but you can’t come in!” Jason said, and he dove back under again. Jerry groaned and gave chase. After his third try, he finally got to ask Jason if he’d found a key.

  “Nope!” was all Jason said before disappearing beneath the surface again.

  Amanda sat down next to Jerry. “What’s so important about this key?” she asked.

  Jerry explained about the gerbils. Amanda chewed her lip.

  “You know, those gerbils may be the least of your worries,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Jerry asked.

  “I mean, what if someone dishonest found that key? With that name tag on it, he could easily figure out what house it opened. And then ...” Amanda shook her head.

  Jerry swallowed hard. Amanda could be right, he realized. If a thief found the key, he could help himself to anything in the Norrises’ house!

  Chapter 7

  The first thing Jerry did when he got home was search his house from top to bottom. Maybe he’d dropped the key somewhere. But no key showed up.

  Then he went to Stookie’s house. He stared at the outside, wondering if the key was lying on the floor inside. Maybe he should try prying open one of the windows. But no, he couldn’t do that. He’d be no better than a thief himself if he sneaked into someone’s house without permission.

  But I do have their permission, he tried to reason with himself. Still, he knew using a key to get in the front door was a lot different from breaking in through a window. He walked back to his house.

  Dinner was a quiet affair that night. Mr. Dinh was away on business, and Jerry didn’t feel much like talking. He turned on the TV after dinner, but didn’t really pay attention to what was on. After a while, he decided he’d just go to bed.

  If only I could be sure the gerbils were okay, he thought as he climbed the stairs. He slumped at his desk and stared out the window into Stookie’s bedroom. He could see the gerbil habitat, but not the gerbils. They were too small.

  Suddenly he sat up. He went to his other window, where his telescope was pointed at the sky. Carefully, he lifted the telescope off its stand and carried it to the window by his desk. He grabbed a pillow from his bed, laid it on the desk, and put the telescope on top of it. Then he leaned forward and looked through the eyepiece.

  “Bingo!” he shouted. He could see everything in the gerbil habitat plain as day! There were the water bottles and the food trays. Both were nearly full still. Jerry breathed a sigh of relief.

  Then he looked for the gerbils. Peanut Butter was running on a wheel. Jerry searched some more, but he couldn’t find Marshmallow.

  I’m sure he’s sleeping in the wood shavings, Jerry thought hopefully. Where else would he be?

  He was so happy the gerbils had enough food and water that he’d forgotten what Amanda had said at the pool. Her words came crashing back to him as he started to bring the telescope back to its stand.

  Slowly, he laid the telescope back on the pillow.

  I’ll just have to stay awake tonight and keep an eye on their house, he said to himself. He changed into his pajamas and sat down at the desk again. He moved the telescope so that it was fixed on the Norrises’ front door. Now, if anybody tried to go in, he’d be ready to catch him in the act.

  Chapter 8

  Sunlight spilled across Jerry’s face, waking him with its warm brightness. He blinked. He’d fallen asleep in the chair!

  “Oh, no!” he cried. Quickly, he looked through the telescope. Nothing seemed different from the night before. Everything seemed fine in Stookie’s room, too. The gerbils’ water bottles were half empty now, but the food trays were still full.

  Jerry stood up and groaned. He was stiff all over from sleeping at the desk. He couldn’t remember when he’d fallen asleep, but it must have been after two in the morning. That was the last time he’d looked at the clock.

  Now it was nine o’clock. His stomach rumbled for breakfast. Jerry shook himself to get the last kinks out, then padded downstairs.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead!” said his mother. “Still in your pajamas? Say, don’t you have a soccer game this morning?”

  Jerry slapped his forehead. He’d totally forgotten about the game —the game he was supposed to play center striker, the game that was going to start in half an hour! He wolfed down his cereal and toast, gulped a big glass of orange juice, and dashed upstairs to get into his uniform.

  His mother drove him to the field. On the way, she gave him a piece of advice.

  “Try to put the missing key out of your mind,” she said. “Sometimes answers come more easily when you stop thinking about the problem.”

  “I’ll try,” Jerry said dismally.

  The rest of the Soccer ’Cats were finishing their warm-ups when Jerry slid out of the car.

  “Jerry, glad you could make it,” Coach Bradley drawled. “Ready to play some ball?”

  Jerry nodded weakly. Truth was, he’d never felt less ready.

  “Great,” the coach said. “We’re counting on you to fill Stookie’s shoes today!”

  Hoo boy, Jerry thought. He ran out onto the field.

  The ’Cats were playing against the Torpedoes, a tough team to beat. The ’Cats had won the coin toss and had the ball first.

  The referee blew the whistle, signaling the start of the game. Jerry took a deep breath, then gave the ball a soft kick. Lou Barnes, the ’Cats’ right striker, caught the pass and started downfield.

  Jerry jogged along parallel to him. He tried to follow his mother’s advice, but he just couldn’t get his mind off the missing key.

  Where could it be? he asked himself over and over. Just then, he saw something gleaming in the grass in the field. Hopeful, he steered toward it —

  — and missed the return pass from Lou! The ball bounced a few feet away from Jerry, right onto the waiting sneaker of a Torpedo halfback.

  “Thanks a lot, pal!” the Torpedo said with a grin. Then she shot the ball skyward. It landed deep in ‘Cat territory. The Torpedoes front line swarmed it, as did the ’Cats’ four fullbacks. For a moment, no one could see who had possession.

  Then it became all too clear. Goalie Bucky Pinter made a dive to the left, but he was too late. The Torpedoes had made the first goal.

  As the teams lined up again, Jerry wanted to kick himself. The first play of
the game, and he’d botched it! And all for nothing, too. The gleaming thing was just a pop-top from a soda can. He could just imagine what Stookie would have said if he’d been there to see it.

  Chapter 9

  The rest of the first half was a disaster for the ’Cats. Jerry couldn’t seem to get his head into the game. Time after time, he flubbed a pass, had the ball stolen, or missed a chance to score. By the time the ref blew the whistle, the score was Torpedoes 3, ’Cats 0.

  Coach Bradley tried to cheer up the ’Cats.

  “Okay,” he said, “so we’ve missed a few shots we shouldn’t have and let a few go by we should have stopped.” He spread his hands wide. “No big deal! Just keep trying your hardest out there. Plug up the holes on defense and find the holes on offense. These guys aren’t so tough.” He jerked a thumb toward the water cooler. “Now get something to drink and get ready to blast those Torpedoes out of the water!”

  The team gave a shout and headed for the water.

  “Jerry, wait a sec,” Coach Bradley said.

  Jerry hung his head but didn’t say anything.

  “You know, everyone has off days,” Coach Bradley said kindly. “But it seems to me there’s something bothering you. You’re dragging around out there like a puppet without any strings.”

  “I’m sorry, Coach,” Jerry whispered. He hesitated a moment, then started to explain about the missing key. “Stookie’s going to hate me!” he finished with a wail.

  “Well, I doubt that,” the coach said. “I’m not saying he won’t be upset. But it seems you’ve done all you could to find the key. You’ve also done your best to keep an eye on his house and his gerbils. You can’t do any more than your best, right?”

  “I guess so,” Jerry said, suddenly feeling a little better.

  “Well, I know so,” the coach said. A whistle blasted, signaling the game was about to start again. “And your best is all I’m going to ask you to do. No more puppet, okay?”

  “Okay!” Jerry gave the coach a grin.

  “All right! Then let’s go! Go ’Cats!”

  Jerry ran onto the field with his teammates. He was determined not to let the coach down.

  “No more puppet,” he murmured to himself as he waited for the ref to place the ball in front of him. “No more puppet.”

  The ref blew the whistle. Jerry toed the ball to Roy Boswick, the left striker. Roy tried to dribble downfield, but he got into trouble right away. Two Torpedo halfbacks double-teamed him.

  Jerry was ready. He swooped in, calling for a pass. Roy shot him a grateful look and booted the ball in his direction.

  Jerry caught it cleanly on his instep. The Torpedo halfbacks moved in. Jerry looked up to see if Lou was in the clear. He was. Jerry fired the ball to him.

  Lou took off like a rocket. Jerry charged down the field alongside him. One Torpedo halfback covered Lou, the other stayed with Jerry.

  Jerry tried to outrun his opponent. But the halfback was quick and stuck to him. Meanwhile, Lou was starting to have trouble.

  What would Stookie do now? Jerry wondered. He thought back to the last game. He remembered how Stookie had fooled the defense when he’d stopped dead. Would that work now, too? It was worth a try.

  Jerry slammed on the brakes. The Torpedo halfback kept going. Suddenly, Jerry was wide open!

  “Here! Send it here, Lou!” he shouted.

  Chapter 10

  Lou didn’t hesitate. His defender was ahead of him, trying to stay between Lou and the goal. He wasn’t expecting Lou to pass backward. But that’s just what Lou did.

  Jerry trapped the ball neatly. Then he waited. Sure enough, the Torpedo halfback charged him. With a quick move, Jerry dodged her. He dribbled madly for the goal. The fullbacks tripped all over themselves to get to him. But Jerry remained calm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Roy streaking up the sideline.

  Jerry waited a beat, then sent the ball rocketing to Roy. Roy stopped it ten feet in front of the goal. He seemed surprised to have the ball, but only paused for a second. With a swift kick, he sent the ball flying into the net for the ’Cats’ first goal!

  “Wow! Great pass, Jerry!” Roy cried happily. Jerry grinned.

  But that was the only goal the ’Cats made. When the game ended, the final score was Torpedoes 3, ’Cats 1.

  Jerry was disappointed they hadn’t won. But he knew he’d done his best, at least in the second half. The coach thought so, too.

  “Glad to see you got rid of the puppet,” Coach Bradley said.

  “Yup, that puppet is ...” Jerry’s voice trailed off. His jaw dropped and he clapped a hand to his forehead. “That’s it!”

  Without another word, he grabbed his sweatshirt and ran off the field. He didn’t stop running until he reached home —and then it was only to open the door. He pounded up the stairs and into his bedroom.

  “Good gracious, where’s the fire?” his mother hollered. But Jerry didn’t answer. He had crossed the room to his bed, where Otter was sitting.

  Breathing hard, Jerry picked Otter up and turned him over. He stuck his hand inside the hole in Otter’s back and wiggled his fingers into Otter’s arms.

  He gave a whoop that brought his mother running. Slowly, he pulled his hand out. In his fingers he held the missing key!

  “It must have slipped inside Otter when I put it into the knapsack at Stookie’s house!” Jerry cried.

  His mother hugged him. “What made you think to look there?” she asked.

  Jerry dangled the key from his finger. “It was something the coach said about puppets,” he answered. “And in a way, you helped, too.”

  His mother raised an eyebrow.

  Jerry explained. “The one time I wasn’t thinking about the key was when I figured out where it might be. Just like you said: Sometimes the answers come to you when you stop thinking about the problem.”

  Mrs. Dinh ruffled his hair. “Glad to have helped. Now what do you say we go check on those gerbils?”

  “You bet!”

  SOCCER ’CATS

  #7

  All Keyed Up

  Matt Christopher

  Illustrated by Daniel Vasconcellos

  When Stookie Norris asks Jerry Dinh to take care of his gerbils while he’s away on vacation, Jerry is thrilled. He’s wanted to become better friends with Stookie ever since his family moved next to Stookie’s house. But then something terrible happens that ruins all of Jerry’s hopes. Will Stookie ever forgive him?

  Here is the seventh 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.