Saving the Team by Alex Morgan Read Free Book Online

caughtstaring. “I love his little tie.” Oh, she was talking about Cody.
    It wasn’t until after the pep rally, as we all walked back to class, that I realized nobody onstage had mentioned that our first game was that day too. So correction: Kentville didn’t just care about soccer—it cared about boys’ soccer.
    The girls’ team? Not so much.

CHAPTER SIX

    â€œKicks, Kicks!” everyone on the bus chanted. We were about to leave for our first game. The pep rally, even though it had been for the boys, had gotten us fired up too. Or maybe it was the sugar from the candy they’d handed out. Either way we were pumped.
    â€œAren’t you excited?” Emma was practically yelling in our faces. As soon as the bus pulled away from the school, Emma broke open a big bag of M&M’s. She managed to spill half of them all over the floor. Her face turned bright red.
    â€œClean up in aisle four!” Zoe yelled.
    We all laughed hysterically, surprised at Zoe’s uncharacteristic zinger. When I smiled at Jessi, I noticed she looked upset.
    â€œWhat’s up?” I asked her, concerned.
    â€œI left my notebook at the pep rally,” she said. “I didn’thave my homework for math class. Which means I got a big fat zero.”
    â€œIt’s just one zero,” I said, trying to cheer her up. “You’ll make up for it.”
    Jessi sighed. “Never mind about me. How are you feeling, Co-captain?”
    I dropped my voice. Mirabelle was sitting in the back of the bus with her friends, but I didn’t want her to overhear me. “So why did you nominate me for co-captain? You’d be great at it.”
    â€œToo much responsibility,” Jessi replied. “Besides, you’re an awesome player, and we need somebody strong to stand up to Princess Mirabelle.”
    She smiled and I felt relieved to see her happy again. It had seemed weird to see her worried, since she was usually so upbeat.
    â€œSo, this is your favorite part about soccer, right?” I asked.
    Jessi looked confused.
    â€œGetting to leave school early!” I joked.
    She agreed. “Those are the best kind of school days!” She called across the aisle to Emma. “Hey, Emma, give me one of those M&Ms.” She opened her mouth wide as Emma took aim.
    We spent the ride to Victorton laughing while trying to toss M&M’s into one another’s mouths from across the aisle. Jessi was right—I liked school and all, but this was way better than being in class.

    When we got to Victorton, just a short ride away, I looked for my mom, dad, and Maisie in the stands. I finally spotted them.
    â€œDevin!” My dad called, waving with his free hand. In his other he was holding his video camera, just like always. Dad actually knew very little about soccer, but he tried to understand it. And he never missed a game, or the chance to record it on video. Last year, at the end of the season, he’d made the highlight video for our team. It had had slo-mo and been set to music and everything. It had been a hit at our team banquet.
    I waved to my family and pointed them out to Jessi, who waved too. When she spotted the camera, she did a silly little dance. Maisie started cracking up. Jessi never missed an opportunity to ham it up. Then we headed to the visitors’ bench to gear up.
    Jessi reached into her bag and pulled out a colorful set of blue-and-orange plaid socks.
    â€œThese are so cool! Here’s one of mine,” I said, handing her one of my pink floral socks.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Zoe asked curiously.
    â€œWe’re switching one sock, for luck,” I explained. “Coach said we didn’t have to wear uniform matching socks, so we’re having some fun with it.”
    â€œI could use some luck too. Who wants to swap a sock with me?” Zoe asked. Of course, even Zoe’s knee socks were totally fashionable: red, orange, purple, and