Goal Line
Authors: Tiki Barber
GOAL LINE
ALSO BY TIKI BARBER AND RONDE BARBER
Kickoff!
Go Long!
Wild Card
Red Zone
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
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www.simonandschuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors' imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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CHUSTER
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OOKS FOR
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EADERS
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Book design by Krista Vossen
The text for this book is set in Melior.
Manufactured in the United States of America
0711 FFG
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barber, Tiki, 1975â
Goal line / Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber with Paul Mantell.â1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Paula Wiseman Book.”
Summary: When identical twin brothers Ronde and Tiki Barber grow at different rates the summer before their last year at Hidden Valley Junior High, their relationship both on and off the football field changes.
ISBN 978-1-4169-9095-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4424-3124-9 (eBook)
[1. Barber, Tiki, 1975â âFiction. 2. Barber, Ronde, 1975â âFiction. 3. TwinsâFiction. 4. BrothersâFiction. 5. GrowthâFiction. 6. FootballâFiction.] I. Barber, Ronde, 1975â
II. Mantell, Paul. III. Title.
PZ7.B23328Gog 2011
[Fic]âdc23
2011013222
For AJ, Chason, Riley, and EllaâT. B.
For my three rosesâR. B.
Chapter One: A “Little” Problem
Chapter Two: Big Man On Campus
Chapter Seven: The Captain Speaks
Chapter Eight: The Weight of the World
Chapter Eleven: Answering the Call
Chapter Twelve: The Ultimate Goal
The authors and publisher gratefully acknowledge Mark Lepselter for his help in making this book.
EAGLES' ROSTER 9TH GRADE HIDDEN VALLEY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
HEAD COACHâSAM WHEELER
DEFENSIVE COACHâPETE PELLUGI
OFFENSIVE COACHâSTEVE ONTKOS
QB | WR |
MANNY ALVARO, GRADE 8 | FRANK AMADOU, GRADE 7 |
JONAH JAMES, GRADE 8 | FELIX AMADOU, GRADE 7 |
RB | CB |
TIKI BARBER, GRADE 9 | RONDE BARBER, GRADE 9 |
LUKE FRAZIER, GRADE 8 | JUSTIN LANDZBERG, GRADE 8 |
TE | S |
HAYDEN BROOK, GRADE 7 | ALISTER EDWARDS, GRADE 8 |
OL | K |
PACO RIVERA, (C), GRADE 9 | ADAM COSTA, GRADE 9 |
DL | SPECIAL TEAMS |
ROB FIORILLA, GRADE 7 | RIO IKEDA, GRADE 7 |
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
EAST SIDE MOUNTAINEERS
NORTH SIDE ROCKETS
BLUE RIDGE BEARS
PULASKI WILDCATS
JEFFERSON PANTHERS
MARTINSVILLE COLTS
WILLIAM BYRD BADGERS
PATRICK HENRY PATRIOTS
MARTINSVILLE COLTS
NORTH SIDE ROCKETS
BLUE RIDGE BEARS
PULASKI WILDCATS
A “LITTLE” PROBLEM
“I'M OPEN, TIKI!”
Ronde Barber threw his hands up into the air as he ran. Way back down the street his twin brother hauled off and threw a perfect spiral, high and long. Ronde, in full stride, reached out to grab it. He could feel his fingertips brush the ballâ
HOONNNKKK!!!
The car horn made Ronde wince, pull his hands in, and dodge to the left, all in the same instant. Ronde leaned against Mr. Evans's parked Oldsmobile, while the speeding car swerved to avoid the bouncing football, then continued on down the block, its horn blaring.
The driver yelled something out the window about “⦠kids! Playing in the middle of the street!” But Ronde couldn't make it out, and he didn't care to. He knew it was nothing he wanted to hear.
“Man!” he said breathlessly as he retrieved the ball, then trotted back to where Tiki was standing, shaking his head. “Why'd you throw the ball, dude? Didn't you see him coming?”
Tiki shook his head. “That guy was bustin' it! He wasn't even
there
when I let it loose.”
“He must think this is the highway,” said Ronde. Amherst Street was a dead end, and kids were always playing in the middle of the road. That was one of the great things about living here, in his opinion. Cars came by only every ten minutes or so.
“Come on,” Tiki said. “Let's play that down over.”
The twins were in the middle of one of their favorite pastimesâa kind of fantasy football that was the perfect way to spend a late summer afternoon. It had been eight whole months since they'd played in a real football game.
Eight months!
Every year by the end of August they were totally football-crazy.
Luckily, today was Labor Dayâonly a few days until
real
football started back at Hidden Valley Junior High!
“I would have had that ball, easy,” Ronde pointed out as they walked back to the manhole cover that served as the line of scrimmage. “Stupid cars.”
“Man, I can't wait till we're playing again for
real
.”
Ronde had to laugh. “I never thought I'd see the day when we couldn't wait for school to start.”
The next day school would be back in session, and they would be ninth graders at lastânot to mention that they'd be team co-captains of the Hidden Valley Eagles, reigning champions of the entire state of Virginia!
“This year's going to be awesome,” Tiki said. “Our last year, and we're gonna go out with a bang!”
“A
big
bang,” Ronde said, a huge smile on his face. “Can you say âall-star'?”
“Can you say âtwo-time state champs'?”
“Can you say âundefeated'?”
“Can you say ârecord books'?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Uh-huh.”
They exchanged their special handshakeânot the one everybody on the team used to celebrate big moments, but the one known to just the two of them, that they brought out only for very special occasions.
“Can you say âNFL'?” Ronde said, voicing their deepest wish, the one they both dreamed about at night.