You Lucky Dog (4 page)

Too soon, it was time for Mr. Wakefield to leave. Roger wheeled him out the door and helped him into his car. Lucky sat in
the back, his head hanging out the window. Lou tried not to cry as the car backed out and pulled away. He heard Lucky give
a bark — and then the car was gone.

Mrs. Barnes hugged him tight. “I know you’re sad now,” she said. “But your dad and I have agreed that if you want to get your
own dog, you can. You’ve proven you’re ready to take care of one.”

But Lou shook his head. “Thanks anyway, Mom,” he mumbled. “But the only dog I want is Lucky.” Choking back tears, he ran inside
and up to his room.

He flung himself onto his bed and cried. He wanted to hate Mr. Wakefield for taking Lucky away, but he couldn’t. Lucky belonged to Mr. Wakefield. There was nothing Lou could do about it.

The next morning Lou’s head hurt. The last thing he wanted to do was play soccer. Everybody would ask him why he hadn’t brought
Lucky with him. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to tell them without crying.

But his mother gently encouraged him to put his uniform on and go. “It’ll be a lot better than moping around the house all
day,” she said. “And your friends will understand, Lou.” So in the end, he’d tucked his lucky soccer ball under his arm and
trudged off to the field.

The game against the Tadpoles started out rocky. Lou messed up an easy play that should have resulted in a goal. That made
Stookie mad. He started yelling at everyone. When Bundy yelled at Stookie to stop yelling at everyone, Stookie got even madder.
He took his anger out on the soccer ball, kicking

it so hard that it was impossible for anyone to control. And that just made him madder still.

Finally, Coach Bradley subbed Roy in for Stookie. Stookie looked shocked, but knew better than to argue with the coach.

One look at Stookie on the beach reminded Lou that he, too, could wind up there if he didn’t start paying attention.

Better start thinking about the game,
he scolded himself,
instead of some stupid old dog who probably doesn’t even remember who you are.

R
oy did his best at Stookie’s position, but he just wasn’t as good a player as Stookie. He missed a couple of easy shots and
was beaten by the Tadpoles’ offense whenever he tried to help out on defense. Lou tried to do his part, but his heart wasn’t
really into it. That left Jerry as the sole offensive force — but he couldn’t win the game alone. When the ref blew his whistle
signaling halftime, the score was Tadpoles 2, ’Cats 1.

Stookie was red with frustration. He opened
his mouth to shout at them, but a hand on his shoulder from the coach closed it again.

“You ’Cats seem a little out of it today,” Coach Bradley observed. “What will it take for you to start playing better?”

“Luck!” shouted Jason Shearer.

The coach groaned. “Very funny. I was thinking more along the lines of concentration. Pay attention to where the ball is,
where you are, and where the Tadpoles are. I don’t expect you all to play like superstars, but I do hope you’ll at least focus
on the game.” He shot Lou a quick glance.

Lou kicked his toe in the dirt. A pebble bounced off his sneaker and ricocheted into his lucky soccer ball. The ball wobbled,
then started to roll down the hill.

Lou moved to go after it. Then he stopped short, unable to believe what he was seeing. There was Lucky, nosing his ball back
up the hill! Lou rushed to the dog and flung his arms around him.

The Soccer ’Cats crowded around them, cheering and laughing. Lou tried to look over them to see if Mr. Wakefield was there.

Finally, he spotted him. Roger was pushing him up the paved walkway that led to the field. Lou broke free of the ’Cats and
led Lucky over to the pair.

Roger was breathing hard and sweating. He excused himself to get a drink from the ’Cats’ watercooler. Mr. Wakefield looked
at Lou with a twinkle in his eye.

“Roger’s been chasing after that dog all morning,” he whispered. “I think he’s a little tired!”

Lou tried to hand Lucky’s leash to Mr. Wakefield. But Mr. Wakefield waved it away.

“That doesn’t belong to me,” he said, looking straight into Lou’s eyes.

Lou’s heart pounded. Was Mr. Wakefield talking about the leash — or — or Lucky?

Mr. Wakefield took hold of Lou’s right hand. He gave it a squeeze and said, “You heard me right. Lucky is yours.”

“Why —? How —?” Lou couldn’t seem to get his tongue to work.

“Roger’s tried his best to keep up with Lucky, but it’s hard when he’s got to care for me, too. So I talked with Jeff last
night,” Mr. Wakefield explained. “Jeff agreed with me that Lucky would be much better off with an active young boy than an
old man. There’s just one condition.”

“What’s that?” Lou asked anxiously. What if he couldn’t do it?

Mr. Wakefield laughed. “You have to play soccer with him every day. Think you can do that?”

Lou laughed and swept an arm toward the other ’Cats. “I think I — I mean we — can probably handle that!”

#1 The Captain Contest

#2 Operation Baby-Sitter

#3 Secret Weapon

#4 Hat Trick

#5 Master of Disaster

#6 Heads Up

#7 All Keyed Up

#8 You Lucky Dog

#8

You Lucky Dog

Matt Christopher

Illustrated by Daniel Vasconcellos

Lou Barnes has a little trouble remembering to watch his position on the soccer field. So sometimes he gets called offside—and
during a game, that can cost the Soccer ’Cats a chance at a goal. Then one game, Lou gets a reminder of the offside rule from
a very unlikely source: a dog! But where did the dog come from, and who taught him how to play soccer?

Here is the eighth entry in Matt Christopher’s Soccer ’Cats series, an exciting line of first chapter books perfect for sports
fans ready to start reading on their own.

Matt Christopher
is the name behind more than seventy-five bestselling sports novels for young readers. For a list of books in the Soccer
’Cats series, please refer to the last page of this book.