Kickoff! by Tiki Barber Read Free Book Online

“Yo, dudes, we’re in!” he said, his hands raised for high-fiving.
    Tiki felt a huge weight fall from his shoulders. He could breathe again! Still, he looked up and down the list, just to make sure Paco was right.
    Yes, there he and Ronde were— whew!
    â€œI made it too, and so did Jason!” Paco said, throwing his arms around the Barbers. “Man, we are gonna rock this conference!”
    â€œDid you guys make it?” Tiki asked Adam and Chris.
    Jason replied for them. “Adam’s in—check this out!” He pointed to the bottom right corner of the list, where Adam was listed under “kicker.”
    â€œIncredible, man!” Tiki said, giving Adam the Mews Hill handshake. “I saw you out there, kicking the hide off that ball. That’s awesome!”
    â€œYeah,” Adam said with a shy grin. “Coach told me to concentrate on special teams. He said I had a golden leg.” He laughed softly. “He even asked me if it was bionic!”
    â€œAnd what about you?” Ronde asked Chris.
    Chris shook his head. “Nah.”
    â€œAw, man, that really hurts,” Paco said. “I mean, all of us makin’ it, but not you? Sorry, man.”
    â€œIt’s okay,” Chris said, shrugging. “I really don’t care about it that much.”
    â€œYeah, right,” Jason said. “It’s okay to feel bad, dude. Sometimes things just don’t go the right way.”
    â€œNo, I’m serious,” said Chris. He pulled a bunch of flyers out of his book bag. “I’m already joining the debating team, and Model U.N., and I’m in Scouts, too. Tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I was going to have time for this anyway.”
    Tiki felt better knowing Chris wasn’t too down about not making the team. All the rest of that day, he was floating on a cloud, and he knew the others must be feeling the same way. He couldn’t wait for practice that afternoon!
    A couple of times Mr. Wheeler called on him when he wasn’t paying attention, and the whole class laughed when he got drilled with the crumpled paper ball again. Tiki winced, knowing he was probably getting a reputation as a space cadet.
    Still, the thought of football practice kept him happy and excited. When the final bell rang, he raced for the locker room, dodging kids in the hallway left and right.
    It was only when he sat down in front of his locker that he remembered—today was supposed to have been Beat the Seventh Graders Day! The whole day had gone by, and Tiki hadn’t even realized it! He couldn’t help laughing, to think how scared he’d been.
    Ronde showed up just then, and said, “What’s so funny?”
    Tiki told him, and both boys laughed together. When Paco arrived, they gave him a hard time about it, too. “Yo, man, what happened to the big, bad ninth graders?” Ronde asked him.
    Paco was steaming. “Man, I’m gonna beat James up so bad,” he said, his hands balling into fists.
    â€œYeah, right,” Ronde said. “Like that’ll ever happen.”
    â€œWhat, you think I couldn’t take him?” Paco challenged.
    â€œPaco,” said Tiki, “James is like fifty pounds heavier than you, and it’s all muscle. If I were you, I’d let it go.”
    Paco pounded his locker with his fist, but Tiki knew he’d never pick a fight with James. Paco wasn’t the brightest kid in the world, but he wasn’t that stupid.
    Matt Clayton limped into the locker room on his crutches. He was wearing his number twenty-one Eagles jersey, but without any padding. “Yo, wuzzup?” he called out. Everyone let out a whoop, welcoming last year’s hero back to the team.
    Bryce and Boomer walked in together. “Yo, rookies!” they called out, coming over to Tiki, Ronde, and the other seventh graders. “Give it up!” They high-fived and chest bumped everyone, making funny