said, âand watch the game.â
âIâm starving,â Emma said. âLetâs sit near the snack stand.â
We quickly found seats in the away section, right next to the snack stand. Emma got some fries, and Frida ordered the cheese nachos, but I wasnât hungry. I slumped over as I sat down and put my chin in my hands, my elbows resting on my knees.
Emma and Jessi immediately began stomping their feet on the metal bleachers. âThe Rams are the ones that weâre gonna defeat! So come on, everybody, get the Kangaroo beat!â they yelled in unison.
âUm, guys,â Zoe said, her eyes round as she pointed to a bunch of kids standing at the snack stand. They were all wearing red and yellow, Riverdale colors, and were giving us annoyed looks.
Emma and Jessi just looked at each other and burst out laughing. âWe are on Riverdaleâs field. What did we expect?â Emma asked between giggles.
âIs that Jamie?â I poked Jessi in the ribs before pointing to a girl with long blond hair. She was wearing a Riverdale jersey and scowling at us.
âIt sure is.â Jessiâs eyes narrowed. âI guess sheâs still madabout us beating out the Rams for a spot in the play-offs. Tough!â Jessi raised her voice loud enough for Jamie to hear her. âGet over it!â
Jamie turned toward us. âLetâs go,â she said to her teammates as she wrinkled her nose slightly. âSomething suddenly stinks around here.â
âYeah, and itâs you!â Jessi said. Then she stuck her tongue out at Jamie. Emma started laughing hysterically again, but Zoe tapped Jessi on the arm. âHey! Donât stoop to their level.â
âYouâre right. We are heading to the league championship. No need to hold a grudge,â Jessi said with a shrug. But the damage was done.
âCome on,â Jamie said tersely to her friends before they stomped angrily away.
âWhat a sore loser,â I said. âAnd after everything she did to us! Weâre the ones who should be mad at her.â
Jamie had pulled a lot of mean pranks to make sure the Rams would beat the Kicks in the last game before play-offs. But it hadnât worked. In the end the Kicks had faced the Rams on the field and beat them fair and square.
âWhatever.â Jessi rolled her eyes. âItâs about the boysâ team today. Howâs Cody doing?â she asked as she sat forward, her eyes on the field.
Since it had taken us so long to get settled, weâd ended up missing a lot of the game.
âThe score is zeroâzero,â Frida said. âIt looks like this is going to be a close one. No one is giving an inch!â
The Rams offense was putting a ton of pressure on the Kangaroos defense, but the Kangaroos were holding their own. But as the game wore on, our defense began to get tired out. At the game half we could hear Coach Valentine talking to the boys. Loudly.
âGet it together, men!â he barked. He sat out some of the players and put in some new, fresh players.
Then he paced back and forth in front of the benched players, telling them in detail where theyâd gone wrong.
âDylan! I told you to shoot wide, not high! Adam, you know that a player misses all of the shots that he doesnât take. Look for openings!â He kept going on and on.
âIâm so glad heâs not our coach,â Zoe said with a shudder.
âI feel so bad for them,â Frida said. She cupped her hands over her mouth. âGo, Kangaroos!â
We all joined in shouting encouragement, hoping to give the boys a boost. At first it seemed like it might have worked. The Kangaroos definitely had some more pep in their step, but unfortunately so did the Rams. The Kangaroosâ attacks seemed stronger now, and one of the Kangaroos got a good shot, but the Rams goalie shot straight into the air to make a spectacular save, catching the ball with
Learning to Kill: Stories