Sabotage Season (17 page)

“This is so exciting!” Emma whispered as we made our way across the parking lot early Saturday morning.

Frida looked around. “Any sign of the Rams yet? I keep worrying that they'll get here early.”

“No, but I see Cody and Steven,” Jessi said, pointing. The two boys were over by the equipment shed next to the school field.

We all jogged up to meet them.

“Hey,” Cody said, nodding.

“So what's the plan?” Steven asked.

I looked at Jessi. So far she'd had a plan for everything, and she didn't disappoint.

“Here's what I'm thinking,” she said. “Cody, you know where the sprinkler shut-off is, right? So you and Steven should be stationed there. We'll hide by the bleachers. As
soon as the Rams are on the field, we'll text you, and then you turn the sprinklers on.”

Steven took out his phone and looked at me. “Give me your number, and I'll send you a text,” he said.

“Sure,” I replied, and I think I blushed a little when I gave it to him. Sure, we were doing this for a serious reason, but I had never given a boy my cell number before.

“And I've got yours, Cody,” Jessi said. “We'll text both of you; in case one doesn't go through, the other can be backup.”

I looked at the time on my phone. “We'd better take our places. The Rams could be here any minute.”

The boys headed to the back of the shed, and Emma, Zoe, Frida, Jessi, and I raced to get under the bleachers. We ducked under the metal supports and crouched down. Now we had a view of the entire field.

“I still can't believe that the Rams would actually paint our field to make us forfeit,” Zoe remarked. “That is so mean.”

“There are mean people in the world,” Frida said solemnly.

“I don't think they're mean, exactly,” Jessi said. “I think they're just obsessed with winning.”

Obsessed with winning.
Was I one of those people? That was basically what everyone had been saying about me lately. But I could never imagine taking it as far as the Rams had. I wanted to win because we were the best team.

Emma gasped, interrupting my thoughts. “There they are!” she hissed.

I almost couldn't believe it. Four girls carrying spray cans were walking onto the field, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. They all wore hoodies and shorts. Then one girl pulled down her hoodie, and long, blond hair spilled out.

“That's Jamie,” Jessi whispered.

“Text the boys!” Emma whispered.

“Not yet,” Jessi said. “The sprinklers are built-in, and yesterday I came and checked out where they are. We need to turn them on when the Rams are in range. Devin, get the message ready, and hit send when I tell you.”

I clicked on Steven's number in my phone and typed “NOW.” My finger hovered over the green button, ready to send.

We could see (but not hear) Jamie talking to the other girls. She started pointing to different spots on the field, and the group of them began to move toward the center.

Jessi grinned. “Now!”

We both hit send. Nothing happened for a few seconds. And then . . .

Whoosh!
The sprinklers kicked on in high gear. The four Rams began to shriek as the cold water rained down on them. Confused, they started to run off the field toward the parking lot.

Jessi ducked under the railing and took off after them like a shot. Was she going to confront them? I chased
after her, and Emma, Frida, and Zoe followed me.

Jessi cut the girls off before they could reach the parking lot. She stood there with her hands on her hips, grinning.

“Hi, Jamie,” she said as the Rams skidded to a stop. “What are you guys doing here so early?”

Jamie's mouth dropped open as the rest of us ran up to Jessi. Behind Jamie's blue eyes you could practically see the gears of her brain whirring as she tried to think of what to say. Water dripped from her long hair, and her hoodie was soaked. The three girls with her all looked like drowned rats too.

“We were just . . . I mean . . .”

“We know what you were going to do,” Jessi said.

The other girls looked terrified, and Jamie's face turned bright red. But she tried to keep up a tough act. “Oh, yeah? So what? Go ahead and tell on us.”

I stepped forward. “We're not going to do that,” I said. “We can settle this on the field.”

Relief flickered in Jamie's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. “Fine,” she said.

She motioned for the Rams to follow her, and they started to walk away, but I had a question for them.

“Why us?” I called out.

Jamie turned around. “Why should I tell you?”

I thought quickly. “Well, I just might change my mind about turning you in.”

Jamie scowled. “Fine,” she said. “Listen, it's not personal.
Last year we came so close to winning the league. We lost two of our best players this year, and after a couple of games, it looked like we might have a hard time getting into the play-offs. Then you guys starting winning. . . . We just wanted some insurance, that's all.”

Then I realized something. “Wait a second,” I said. “If you guys lose to us today, you'll lose your play-off spot, won't you?”

“It's totally not fair,” Jamie said, and I noticed a coldness in her blue eyes. She wasn't angry, or mean, or spiteful . . . just determined to win, no matter what it took. “We're a good team. We deserve that slot. I haven't been playing soccer since I was three to lose now.”

Jessi stepped up. “We know you framed Mirabelle for it.”

Jamie grinned like a snake. “Yeah, that was pretty smart, wasn't it? Everybody in the league knows how Mirabelle ditched you guys for the Panthers. It was obvious. I was hoping that the Panthers would get in trouble for it, but it doesn't matter. We'll take care of them in the play-offs.”

“If you get to the play-offs,” I said. “You have to beat us first.”

“Right. Good luck with that,” Jamie said, and her friends giggled.

“We are
not
losing today,” Jessi said, her eyes flashing with anger.

Jamie shrugged. “I guess we'll find out. See you later.”

The other Rams started giggling as they turned and
walked away, and I saw Jessi's mouth open. I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Leave it,” I warned. “It's not worth it. We'll show them.”

I took out my phone and quickly checked the online stats for our division. I was right—if the Rams lost the game against us, they would lose the play-off spot. But if we won, we'd be in!

“Beating the Rams is our best revenge,” I said. “And when we do, we'll be in the play-offs!”

“Seriously?” Emma asked.

I nodded. “We're just one game away.”

“And don't forget, your secret weapon is back,” Zoe said. “Me! I'm cleared to play today.”

“Right! I totally forgot!” I shrieked. I hugged her. “The Kicks are back!”

The sprinklers on the field turned off, and Cody and Steven jogged up to us.

“That was awesome,” Cody said. “Those girls got drenched.”

“Just wait till the game,” I said. “We're going to wash them out with a tidal wave of teamwork!”

Jessi grinned. “That might be the dorkiest thing you've ever said. But I love it.”

I smiled back. “That's because it's true!”

Tweeeeeeeeeeet!

The ref's whistle blew, and one of the Rams' midfielders raced up to the ball to make the starting kick of the
game. Coach Flores had placed me, Zoe, and Megan on the forward line, and Jamie was on the Rams' forward line, facing me. With some satisfaction I saw that her hair was still damp from the sprinklers. She darted past me as the midfielder lobbed a short pass to her, and as she dribbled forward to set up a pass to another Rams striker, I made sure I stuck to her as closely as I could. Frustrated, she gave the ball a wild kick, which sent it flying out of bounds.

Getting caught by us must have gotten to Jamie, I thought, but even though I was right, the Rams still played a good game. When Zoe threw the ball from the sideline to Grace, one of the Rams midfielders swept in from out of nowhere and intercepted it. She sprinted down the right flank with the ball as Maya tried to catch up to her from the midfield. But Frida, on defense, got to her first, and stole the ball away with a short punt that landed in the middle of nowhere. The Rams and Kicks converged on it, but Jessi got to it first and shot it downfield.

Zoe jetted up to it, got control of the ball, and then did that beautiful thing she did best, zigzagging between the defenders as she made her way to the goal. I tore up to meet her, with Jamie right at my heels, but Jamie couldn't catch me.

Zoe floated a perfect pass to me right before two Rams defenders nearly collided in front of her. I stopped the ball with my foot and then followed up quickly with a kick. The world turned to slow motion as the ball sailed over the head of a Rams defender. Had I overshot it?

No. The ball whizzed past the goalie and bounced into the back of the net.

“Goal!” the ref cried, and the Kicks' fans in the stands began to cheer. I jogged back to the other end of the field, grinning as I passed Jamie.

“I guess we Kangaroos can kick after all,” I told her, and she scowled at me.

That first goal set the tone for the rest of the game. The gray cloud that had hung over us when we'd played the Atoms had dissolved. Nobody was thinking about sabotage. We just played our best.

After that goal one of the Rams kicked a wild ball, and Jamie and I both went after it. As she ran past me, she pushed into me, hard, and I lost my balance.

Tweet!
The ref called a yellow card on her.

“Keep doing it,” I cheerfully told her. “You'll just be sitting out the rest of the game.”

That comment earned me another scowl, but I let it slide off me. Jamie was not going to get under my skin—not anymore.

We scored two more times in the first half—Zoe and Megan each got a goal. Jamie scored for the Rams, so we ended the half 3–1. Coach Flores put Brianna in for me at the start of the second half, so I got to watch the game from the sideline for a little while.

The Rams came back strong in the second half, and for a little while I got worried. I realized that when they were focused, they played like a well-oiled machine, moving
the ball down the field with a series of controlled, orchestrated passes. And they were fast, so it was hard for our defense to anticipate their moves. Jamie ended up making two goals in the first ten minutes of the half, tying the game at 3–3.

After Jamie's third goal, Coach Flores sent me in to sub for Megan, and replaced two of the midfielders and one defender. With fresh energy on the field, we quickly gained momentum. Jamie charged down the field, but Frida stopped her cold, sweeping in front of her and intercepting the ball. She punted it to Grace in the midfield, who took it all the way up the left side and scored.

“Hey, I forgot—what character are you playing today?” I asked Frida as we jogged back downfield.

She grinned. “Today I'm a member of the Kicks who really wants to beat the Rams.”

I smiled back. “It's your best role yet!”

With time ticking on the clock, the Rams started to get desperate again. One of them—not Jamie—shoved Maya out of the way as she went for a ball. The ref threw a yellow card, but it didn't stop one of the Rams' forwards from gaining control of the ball on the next play and shooting it past Emma, who was so angry about the flag that she forgot to watch the goal. The score was tied again.

The refs threw two more yellow cards on the Rams as the half wound down, but at least they weren't scoring. We weren't having much luck either, until one of the Rams sent a crooked pass sailing over the sideline. Maya
threw it back in, and Jessi was right on top of it.

She charged down the field like she was on fire, blazing past the defending midfielders.

“Whoo! Go, Jessi!” yelled the Kicks on the sideline.

Alarmed, the Rams defense all zoomed toward her, but I had been keeping a parallel course with her all the way down the field. Before the defense got to her, she floated a pass right to me, and I got it. With Jamie right on my heels, I stormed the goal and slammed the ball toward it.

Once again the ball seemed to move in slow motion. The ball kissed the inside edge of the goalpost, and the Rams' goalie made a valiant dive for it, but she couldn't get to it in time.

“Goal!”

Jessi ran up and high-fived me. The ball went back in play, but the Rams didn't get far before the ref's whistle blew. Game over!

I knew what that meant, but I looked at the scoreboard to make sure.
HOME
: 5.
AWAY
: 4.

“We made the play-offs!” I shrieked. Jessi, Zoe, Brianna, and the other Kicks slammed into me, and we started jumping up and down.