Game-Day Jitters (5 page)

Loop was squatting near the penalty line, his hands crossed behind his head, his eyes on the ground. The Bobcats were running toward Ben, leaping and shouting. He’d punched the ball over the goal. He’d made the save!

The next few minutes were wild, with players smacking him on the back, his parents and his brother giving him giant hugs, and his coach telling him he’d played the best game of his life.

The Bobcats crossed the field together and
shook hands with the Falcons. Alex smiled slightly as Ben took his hand. “Great save,” he said.

Loop swung his hand and hit Ben’s, but he kept walking away and didn’t say a word. Ben let him go. He didn’t need to speak to Loop. His play on the field had said it all.

Ben couldn’t wait until recess the next day. Not because he wanted to burn off energy, but because he had a nice surprise for Loop.

He’d saved that paper with Loop’s predictions on it. He planned to march over to Loop’s four-square game and show it around.

Loop had been quiet all morning. Ben hadn’t had a chance to talk to him before class. He did look over a couple of times and mimic
Loop’s favorite gesture, patting himself on the chest and then pointing. Loop just frowned and looked away.

He knows I’ve got him now
, Ben thought.
He’ll never get even for that thrashing we gave them yesterday
.

So Ben was feeling pretty good as he made his way across the playground. Loop was smacking a ball around with a couple of classmates, waiting for the rest of the four-square players to arrive.

“Did you guys see the paper this morning?” Ben asked.

“What paper?” Nigel replied.

“You know, with the soccer scores,” Ben said.

Loop scowled. “The newspaper doesn’t print the results of the Kickers League,” he said.

Ben took the paper out of his pocket and
held it up. “I meant
this
paper,” he said. “Let’s see. The Rabbits won. But uh-oh, this Falcons score is way off. I think they got their butts kicked.”

Loop rolled his eyes. Nigel grabbed the edge of the paper and looked at it, then grinned at Loop. “Guess you were a little off, huh?”

Loop shrugged. “Things didn’t go our way.”

Because of us
, Ben thought. He laughed and started to walk away.

“Are you playing four square with us or not?” Loop asked.

“Nah,” Ben said. “Not till Monday. I’ve got another big soccer game to get ready for. But I guess you already heard about that.”

Ben held on to that good feeling throughout the day. He wasn’t bothered that he only got a B on a math test. And he didn’t mind that he’d forgotten to bring an extra quarter to buy a cookie at lunch. Having the upper hand on Loop for a change was all he needed right now.

He watched the clock for most of the afternoon. Larry’s cross-country race was scheduled to begin at four. That would be almost as exciting as playing soccer.

*   *   *

Ben could hear a lot of yelling as he approached the park. He knew he was late, but he’d been so hungry after school that he’d run home first and eaten a peanut butter sandwich. So the race was beginning as Ben reached the park entrance.

“Go, Lincoln!” Ben yelled. He could see several green-shirted runners from Larry’s team near the front of the pack as they raced across the field.

Ben had been to a couple of Larry’s races here, so he knew the two-mile course. He could get a great view of the runners from the top of a hill partway through the race, then cut across this field and see them again a half mile later. From there, he’d run toward the finish line.

He saw his parents approaching, too. With
his mother working more at the bank, they were only able to get to the major sports events—like the soccer play-offs and Larry’s championship races. Ben gave them a wave and scampered up the grassy hill, then made his way through the woods for about fifty yards. The runners would be coming along this trail any minute.

There were eight teams in the race, including Lincoln’s biggest rival, Brookfield. The Brookfield runners were easy to spot in their red-and-black uniforms.

A small crowd of spectators was nearby. A shout went up as the lead pack of runners came into view. Larry’s teammate Devin was at the front, but the group tucked tightly behind him included four runners from Brookfield and none from Lincoln.

“Come on, Devin!” Ben yelled. “You look good.”

Larry was in view now, running second for Lincoln. He was usually the third or fourth runner on the team. Two of his teammates were right behind him. A steady stream of runners raced past Ben’s post.

“Hold that pace!” Ben called. “Gotta catch some of those Brookfield guys.”

They’d run less than a half mile, so Ben knew things would change a lot before the race was over. Larry always said it didn’t matter how fast you started. The object was to
finish
strong.

Ben sprinted down the side of the hill and across the field toward a cluster of spectators who were waiting for the runners to exit the woods.

As he approached, a cheer went up. “All right, Devin!” someone yelled. “You’re pulling away.”

The voice sounded very familiar. Ben craned his neck to see the runners coming up
the dirt path. Devin had a twenty-yard lead, but the next runner was from Brookfield. Two runners from other schools were next, then three more from Brookfield. Larry and his two teammates were several yards behind the Brookfield pack.

In cross-country, a team’s first five runners score points. Unlike in most sports, the
lowest
score wins. The winner of the race scores one point for the team, second place gets two, and so on.

“Do it, Larry!” came that same voice, and this time Ben recognized it. Why was Loop at the race?

As Larry ran by, he appeared more comfortable than the runners around him. He was running very fast but pacing himself well. The race was only half over, so he had plenty of time to move up.

From the finish line, Ben would be able
to see the last half mile of the race. He started to run in that direction.

“Wait up!” called Loop.

Ben slowed a little. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“My cousin is on the girls’ team,” Loop said. “Your brother looks really good today.”

“He’s primed,” Ben said. “Very
focused
.”

“I hear you,” Loop said. “I guess it runs in the family.”

That sounded like a compliment. But Ben could think about that later. The Lincoln runners needed to pass a few people or they’d be sorry.

“Let’s go, Lincoln!” Ben yelled, although the runners were probably too far away to hear.

Ben ran toward the finish line, which was on the other side of the big grassy field.

“This way,” Loop said.

“Where?”

“We’ll catch them about two hundred yards from the finish,” Loop replied. “That’s where they need a boost, not at the finish line.”

“Good call,” Ben said. He followed Loop to where the runners would cut behind a baseball diamond. From there, it would be a straight sprint to the end.

They stood to the side, out of the runners’ path but close.

“Should be here any minute,” Loop said.

“Yeah. I didn’t know you liked cross-country.”

“I love to run.”

“You gonna switch to cross-country in junior high?”

Loop shrugged. “Who knows? Soccer, cross-country … I might even play football.”

“Yeah.” There were a lot of sports to choose from. But they wouldn’t be in junior high for three more years.

Loop was obviously in better spirits this afternoon. Ben wished he hadn’t made a big deal about the soccer game at recess. Ben had played a great game—why rub it in? Loop was a terrific athlete, but nobody could win all the time.

“Here’s Devin,” Loop said, pointing to a spot a hundred yards away.

It appeared that Devin would win the race. He had a big lead on the first Brookfield runner. Then came a runner in a blue jersey and one in orange. Those four were spread out.

A roar came from the spectators as the next group came into view. Three red jerseys and three green ones.

“That’s the whole race right there!” Loop said. “Whichever team toughs it out most will win.”

As they rounded the last turn, Larry moved slightly ahead of the others in his pack.

“Sprint!” Ben yelled.

“Don’t look back!” shouted Loop, jumping into the air.

As Larry passed them, Ben could barely speak from excitement. The five runners behind Larry were starting to sprint, too. Ben
could hear Larry’s breathing and see the pain on his face. But Larry kept going, and he was pulling away from the others.

“Think we’ll win it?” Ben asked.

“Too close to call,” Loop said. “But Larry looks great. They won’t catch him.… Quite a week for your family, huh?”

Ben and Loop ran to the finish area and found Larry walking slowly with two of his teammates.

“Way to be,” Loop said. “Real guts.”

Larry nodded. “Thanks,” he whispered.

“You all right?” Ben asked.

Larry forced a smile. “I’m wiped out. But fifth overall and second guy on the team. I’ll take it.”

They waited anxiously for the announcement of the team scores. Finally it came:

“Third place, with eighty-two points, Emerson.”

“In second place …”

Ben felt his fists tighten. Lincoln was either first or second.

“Brookfield, with forty.”

A big cheer went up from the Lincoln team. They’d won the title.

“The new team champion is Lincoln, with thirty-eight points.”

“Awesome,” Larry said, slapping hands with his teammates. He turned to Ben.

“Just another race?” Ben asked with a big grin.

Larry shook his head and beamed. “Best race I ever ran.” He picked up his sweat suit and wiped his forehead with the shirt. “Think you can make it two championships in one house tomorrow?”

Ben nodded confidently. He jutted his thumb toward Loop. “The hardest part was beating this guy’s team yesterday.”

“Don’t be too sure,” Loop said. “The Rabbits are very good.”

“Will you be there?” Ben asked.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Loop said. “And I’ll be pulling for you guys. Any team that can beat us like that deserves to win the title.”