Benched (6 page)

“You’re on offense now!” Ben shouted.

Erin was past midfield before any of the players reached her. She passed the ball to Jordan, who kicked it to Kim, near the corner.

Kim lofted the ball into the air and it fell directly in front of the goal. Shayna shot, then Mark, but the goalie blocked them both. When a Rabbit defender kicked the ball back across midfield, the referee blew the final whistle.

The Rabbits had held on to win, 3–2.

“Best effort so far this season,” Coach said as the exhausted Bobcats flopped onto the grass and the bench. “Awesome work.”

Jordan was staring at the turf. Mark had his eyes shut with his face toward the sky. Kim was pacing and gazing at the Rabbits’ goal. None
of the Bobcats looked happy about the effort. They’d lost.

So close
, Ben thought.
So close to the best team in the league
.

He slowly removed the headband with the bobcat ears. He stared at it for a few seconds. If they’d been that close with only seven players, how would they have done with eight?

—————

At dinner that night, Mom kept talking about what a great mascot Ben had been. “So enthusiastic,” she said. “You guys should have seen him.”

“Too bad we missed it,” Dad said. “But Larry had a race, and I was too busy catching up on some reports for work.”

Ben swirled his spaghetti with his fork. “Are you too busy to go trick-or-treating with me tonight?” he asked.

Dad laughed. “Not too busy, but maybe too old.”

“I’ll take you,” Larry said. “Maybe we could go for a trick-or-treating
run
.”

“Nah. I’d spill all my candy.”

“That’s okay,” Larry said. “I’ve run enough
for one week … We won the race this morning, by the way.”

Mom cleared her throat. “Speaking of being busy …”

Ben set down his fork.

“I’ve decided to start working full-time at the bank,” Mom said. “That means you’ll get home before I do every day after school, Ben. And I’ll have to work some Saturday mornings, too.”

“How come?” Ben asked. She’d been working three days a week since he’d started school.

“We need the money,” she said. “I’m sure you’ve noticed some tension between me and Dad lately. I think it’s part of the reason you’ve been getting yourself into trouble at school and at soccer.”

Ben nodded. “Maybe,” he said.

“Money doesn’t make anyone happy,” Mom said, “but it can make you tense. We need for
me to earn more of it. So that’s why I’ll be working more.”

“Sounds okay,” Ben said. “Hey, does that mean we can start going to the Ming Castle again?”

Mom smiled. “Are you getting tired of spaghetti and hamburgers?”

“A little.”

“We’ll go next Saturday night,” Dad said. “That’ll be a day to celebrate. Larry has the county cross-country championships in the morning, and it’ll be the end of Mom’s first full-time week at the bank.”

“Big day for me, too,” Ben said. “I finally get to play soccer again. I’ve missed a game and a half because of that stupid red card.”

“We’re all glad that’s over,” Mom said. “I think you earned your way back onto the field with that cheering display this morning.”

“Yeah, that was fun,” Ben said. “But not nearly as much fun as playing.”

The evening was cool and breezy, so Ben put an extra sweatshirt under his bobcat costume and added a pair of brown mittens. Larry put on an old Wolfman mask, and they headed out to the street.

They trick-or-treated at several houses in the neighborhood, then reached Erin’s. She answered the door in a rabbit costume.

“Hey,” Ben said. “How come you’re dressed like our enemies?”

“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Erin said. “Besides, that game is done. Our new rivals are the Sharks.”

“Yeah,” Ben replied. “It’s going to be like a championship game. Whoever wins goes to
the play-offs. The loser is finished for the season.”

Erin joined them for another half hour of trick-or-treating. All Ben wanted to talk about was next week’s game.

“We beat the Sharks last time,” he said. “And we’re a lot better now.”

“Every team in the league is better,” Erin said. “Remember, the Sharks tied the Rabbits last week.”

“But they lost to the Tigers today. The Tigers are in last place.”

“It just shows you that any team can win any game,” Erin said. “We’ll have to play better than ever to beat the Sharks.”

Ben was ready to do that. Watching today’s game had been hard. Every time the Bobcats had the ball, he wanted to run onto the field and set up for a shot. It had been frustrating to do nothing but cheer.

But he’d also noticed some things that he might not have seen if he’d been in the game. Players still tended to bunch up near the ball instead of getting to an open area for a pass. Both teams moved in a swarm sometimes. And many of the players tried to do too much when they had the ball, forcing their way through a pack and usually losing control of the play. Ben had seen lots of missed chances for passes.

“What if the game ends in a tie?” Erin asked. “We both have the same record. Who gets the play-off spot then?”

Ben shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’m not worried about it. We’ll win. A
big
win, and then we’ll get ready for the play-offs.”

At home, Ben took another look at the league standings. The Rabbits and Falcons were assured of making the play-offs, no matter what happened in their next games.

Watch out, Sharks
, Ben thought as he took off his bobcat costume and got ready for bed.
No more mascot. And no more red cards. Next week will be the best game of my life
.

He picked up a pen and added another tip to the list on his wall.
Getting angry or frustrated won’t help you play better
.

—————

Things went well for Ben over the next few days. He played four square at recess every day. He was rusty at first because he hadn’t been allowed to play for more than a week, but by Wednesday he was at the top of his game.

He got an A on a history test. And at soccer practice, he scored two goals during a scrimmage.

But every night in bed, he stared at the
ceiling for a long time, thinking about the upcoming game against the Sharks.

Finally, the day arrived. He was up early, so he walked to the field. He was one of the first players to get there, even though there were two games before the Bobcats would play.

He watched the Panthers beat the Wolves. Every few minutes, he ran the length of the field. Not too fast. He wanted to save his energy, but he seemed to have too much of it.

During the second game, Ben did jumping jacks and sit-ups. The Falcons were routing the Eagles. Ben could hear Loop’s voice throughout the game, shouting for the ball. Loop tended to be loud on the field, but he was a strong player. He and his teammate Alex had become the best combination in the league, setting each other up for many goals.

Ben’s teammates began arriving, so he stood
near the sideline with Jordan and Kim and Erin. None of them said much. They were all thinking hard about what they had at stake.

“Big one today,” Jordan finally said.

“The biggest,” Ben replied. He could see players from the Sharks gathering on the other side of the field. Their yellow soccer shirts were easy to spot.

Ben had scored the winning goal the first time the Bobcats played the Sharks. That seemed like a long time ago. With just seconds left in the game, the goalie had blocked Shayna’s shot. The ball rebounded onto the field and Ben reached it first. He turned and scored—his first goal ever.

That had been more than a month ago. Now Ben watched as Loop’s team ran off the field with another victory, their sixth straight. The rematch was about to begin.

Ben looked around and saw that his parents had arrived. He raised his fist and smiled. Mom shouted, “Go, Bobcats!”

Ben couldn’t contain his energy much longer. He bounced up and down as he and Jordan and Kim waited on the front line for the game to begin.
Calm down
, he thought.
Don’t be too aggressive
.

Coach had put Erin and Mark on defense, with Darren as goalie. Omar and Shayna waited near the bench.

The first time Ben touched the ball was after a short pass from Erin. He turned and looked for a place to run, but his path was blocked by two of the Sharks. He stepped over the ball and swept it toward the sideline, but a defender with yellow wristbands charged in and knocked it loose with his foot. The other Shark took possession and moved into the Bobcats’ end of the field.

Ben stumbled but caught himself before he fell. “He tripped me,” he muttered. He took a quick look at the referee, who did not blow his whistle. It was the same referee who had thrown him out of the game against the Tigers.

Ben glanced over at his parents. Dad shook his head and called, “Don’t let it bother you.”

A few minutes later, Ben got hit again. Jordan dribbled across midfield and sent a smooth pass a few yards in front of Ben. Ben ran to the ball and nudged it forward, picking up speed as he went.

Those same two Sharks moved into his path, one on either side. Ben gave a quick fake and dodged past the first one, but the second stepped closer. Their knees collided, and Ben felt a sharp pain. The ball squirted away.

Where’s the foul?
Ben thought. He glared at the referee, but again there was no whistle.

Ben stopped and rubbed his knee. These guys were playing rough.

“Are you all right?” Coach called.

Ben nodded and ran toward the ball.
Keep calm
, he thought.
Don’t let them get to you
.

The player he’d knocked knees with had the ball. With Mark approaching, the kid had slowed down and was looking for someone to pass to.

Ben could see the play developing as another Shark drifted back and called for the ball.

That’s mine!
Ben thought as the pass was made. He darted toward the ball and took control before it reached the other Shark. With room to work now, Ben raced up the field.