All Keyed Up

Text copyright © 2002 by Catherine M. Christopher

Illustrations copyright © 2002 by Daniel Vasconcellos

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review.

Matt Christopher® is a registered trademark of Catherine M. Christopher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.

Hachette Book Group

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First eBook Edition: December 2009

ISBN: 978-0-316-09468-9

Contents

Copyright

Soccer ’Cats

Soccer ’Cats Team Roster

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

#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

Subs:

Jason Shearer

Dale Tuget

Roy Boswick

Edith “Eddie” Sweeny

H
ere! Send it here!” Jerry Dinh called. He pounded down the field, looking for a pass from his fellow striker and Soccer ’Cats
teammate Stookie Norris.

Stookie glanced up. With a quick jab, he sent the ball bouncing to Jerry.

Jerry and a Panther halfback ran to meet it. Jerry beat the halfback by a step. He controlled the ball and started dribbling
as fast as he could toward the Panther goal.

The halfback didn’t give up, however. She chased Jerry, determined to steal the ball.

Jerry did his best to protect the ball. But the Panther was all over him. Jerry had to pass the ball back to Stookie.

Stookie caught it on his chest and let it drop to the ground at his feet. Then he paused.

The Panther defense moved in.

Oh, no!
Jerry groaned to himself.
Stookie’s going to get slaughtered!

But Stookie didn’t. Just as the first Panther reached him, he darted to the left, bringing the ball with him. The Panther
ran by him, a surprised look on his face. As the second Panther lunged forward, Stookie moved right. The second Panther ended
up on the ground.

“Go, Stookie, go!” Jerry and his teammates shouted. Stookie dodged the last defender. He had a clear shot at the goal! The
goalie rushed out to meet him. Stookie faked left. When the goalie moved to block the shot, Stookie darted right and slammed
the ball into the net.

Jerry bounced on his toes, grinning with glee. “All right, Stookie!” he shouted.

Two minutes later the game ended. The final score was ’Cats 2, Panthers 1.

Jerry was grabbing his sweatshirt off the bench when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Stookie.

Jerry’s family had moved in to the house next to Stookie’s a month ago. Jerry had hoped that he and Stookie would get to know
each other better. But it hadn’t happened, at least not yet. In fact, sometimes Stookie made Jerry nervous. Stookie could
be prickly and hot-tempered.

Now, however, he looked happy. “Great pass you made at the end,” Stookie said.

“Thanks,” Jerry replied, grinning at Stookie. “Great goal you made at the end!”

Stookie laughed. “You want to walk home together?” he asked.

“Sure,” Jerry answered. The two boys headed off the field toward their neighborhood.

They chatted about the game, then Stookie said, “Did Coach Bradley tell you that you’re taking my position at center next
game?”

Jerry was surprised. “I am? Why?”

“My family is going away for three days, so I’m going to miss the game.” Stookie stopped. “Can I ask you a favor? Could you
take care of my gerbils while we’re gone?”

Jerry nodded. “Just tell me what I have to do.”

“It’d be easier if I showed you. Can you sleep over tonight?”

Jerry agreed to ask his folks.

Cool!
Jerry thought.
Maybe Stookie wants to be better friends with me, too!

M
rs. Dinh helped Jerry pack his pajamas, his toothbrush, and a change of clothes for the next day.

“Don’t forget Otter,” she reminded him.

Otter was a puppet Jerry’s dad had brought him all the way from California. He was big and soft and had a hole in the back
where you stuck your hand to make the arms move. Jerry slept with him every night.

But should he bring him to Stookie’s house? What if Stookie made fun of him?

“Uh, I don’t know, Mom,” Jerry said.

“Why don’t you pack him, just in case?” his mother suggested. “You know what I always say: Better to have him and not need
him than to need him and not have him.”

Jerry smiled. “Okay,” he said, sticking Otter into his knapsack. He shut off his bedroom light, and together they walked downstairs.

“Have fun!” Mrs. Dinh called as Jerry walked the short way to Stookie’s house.

“Come on in!” Stookie said when he answered the door. Jerry said hello to Stookie’s parents, then the two boys hurried upstairs
to Stookie’s room.

Stookie pushed open the door with a grand gesture. “What do you think?”

“Cool!” Jerry cried. And he meant it. Stookie’s room was covered with sports posters and banners. One bed had sheets with
soccer balls on it, the other had basketballs. But the neatest thing was the structure in the corner. It was three levels
high and enclosed with clear plastic. Plastic tubes led up to each level where there were wheels, platforms, and other things to climb on.

“What is that?” he asked.

“That’s where my gerbils live,” Stookie said proudly. Jerry looked closer. Sure enough, one gerbil was scurrying up a tube.
The other was buried in the wood shavings that lined the bottom.

“Gerbils are pretty easy to take care of, and they’re really fun to watch,” Stookie continued. “All you have to do is make
sure they have enough water in their bottles and food in their trays. I usually fill the water at night and the food in the
morning.”

He lifted the mesh top of the cage and pulled out a bottle. He showed Jerry how to fill it, then returned it to its holder.
“Just make sure you close this top,” Stookie warned as he lowered the mesh cover. “If these guys get out, they can make a
mess.”

“Gotcha,” Jerry said. “What are their names?”

“That’s Peanut Butter,” Stookie said, pointing to the climbing gerbil. “Marshmallow is the one sleeping.”

“Are they boys or girls?”

“Boys. Mom made sure when we bought them.” Stookie grinned. “She didn’t want any baby gerbils in the house, she said.”

“That’s right.” Jerry and Stookie looked up to see Mrs. Norris in the doorway. “You boys ready to come have some popcorn and
watch a movie?”

“You betcha!” the boys chorused. They left the room, Jerry taking one last look at the gerbil habitat.

I’ll take good care of you guys,
he promised the animals silently.