Saving the Team by Alex Morgan Read Free Book Online Page B

most decisive I’d seen Coach Flores yet.
    I headed onto the field to face off against the Victorton Eagles.
    With our pregame disorganization carrying onto the field, we quickly went down 2–0 before fifteen minutes had even gone by. Then Mirabelle managed to dance her way through the Victorton defense for an unassisted goal, but as a whole we looked terrible.
    By the time the rest of the other seventh graders gotinto the game, the score was 4–1 and we weren’t threatening to come back.
    Jessi came in to sub as striker for Mirabelle, and since she had been itching to play, she ran around like a wild horse set free. Using her insane speed, she had no trouble blowing by the slower Eagle players. I was up at striker too, and I was sure that if I could get her a good pass, a goal would be easy.
    I eventually got the ball, and I looked for Jessi, who was jetting up the field. Concentrating, I lofted a perfect pass to her. She easily sprinted to get underneath it, zooming past the last Eagles defender.
    The ref blew a sharp note on his whistle. “Offsides!” he yelled.
    â€œJessi!” Mirabelle barked from the sidelines. “Stop going offsides!”
    â€œI don’t need your help,” Jessi shot back. But the next time I got the ball and passed it to Jessi, she didn’t go offsides, and instead booted it right into the net.
    Finally it was my turn to come off the field. Zoe took my spot as striker.
    â€œZoe, get to the ball,” I encouraged her. “Don’t be nervous!” But Zoe, her eyes darting to the crowd in the bleachers, drifted away when the ball came toward her.
    â€œZoe, get it together!” Mirabelle shrieked in frustration. Screaming at Zoe didn’t help. It just made her more nervous.
    Frida, in goal, was even worse, not even paying attentionas the ball made its way toward her. She was daydreaming about Shakespeare, the school play, or whatever dramatic thoughts occupied her mind. Keeping watch over the goal was obviously not one of her priorities. To make matters worse, Emma tripped over her own two feet, no ball anywhere near her, twice.
    â€œJeez, Emma, learn to walk, for crying out loud!” Mirabelle yelled. We had a lot of solid players, like seventh graders Jessi, Brianna, Sarah, and Anna, and eighth graders like Grace and Anjali, but they couldn’t overcome the sloppiness of the rest of the team.
    In the end, with only Jessi’s and Mirabelle’s scores, we lost to Victorton by three.
    Mom and Dad met up with me before our team got on the bus. My dad wrapped me in a big bear hug.
    â€œYou did great,” he said, ruffling my hair. “I’m so proud of you.”
    I frowned. “We were awful.”
    â€œIt’s a new team and only your first game,” my mom said in a soothing voice. “You’ll get better. Just be patient. Here, have some water,” she added, handing me a bottle.
    Maisie smiled up at me. “I like your socks!
    I gave her a quick hug before climbing onto the bus.
    On the ride home everyone was a little bummed out—except for Emma, that is, who was still full of positive energy.
    Emma leaned over the seat she was sitting in with Zoe to talk to me and Jessi. “Aw, don’t look so sad. It’s only a game! But I know just the thing to fix it.”
    â€œWhat’s that?” Jessi asked.
    â€œA sleepover!” Emma said. “Tomorrow night, my house. Zoe’s coming too!” Emma said.
    â€œAwesome!” I said. My first sleepover in my new town, with my new group of friends! Losing the game hurt, but this went a long way to make up for it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    Emma’s house was in a private gated community, and as Dad drove me slowly around early Saturday afternoon, looking for her exact house number, we gawked as each house we went by got bigger and bigger. A guard at the gatehouse had even given us a map of the place, in case we got lost.
    I was all smiles in the