All Keyed Up (3 page)

J
erry set off at a trot for the soccer field. He scanned the sidewalks, streets, and grass along the way. Once he saw something
gleaming in the grass, but it turned out to be a bottle cap.

“Nuts!” he said, winging the cap into a nearby trash can. When he reached the field, he was relieved to see it was empty.
At least he could look around without having to wait for people to clear off.

Not that it would have mattered. Twenty minutes of careful searching turned up nothing
but one of the wrappers from Jason’s gum and the dime they’d used for the coin toss.

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!

T
he 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.

S
unlight 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.