Ch8-Game of a Lifetime

EIGHT Game of a Lifetime "Seriously?" said Jack. "Yes!" said Annie. "But what about our mission? Getting into the banquet? Meeting the players?" said Jack. "Right now, this seems more important, don't you think?" said Annie.

Jack looked at Roberto's sad face. He thought about the boy's kindness and his happy excitement at the stadium. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, it does." He turned and yelled at Miguel, "We'll play! But all of us! Or none of us!" "Oh… okay," Miguel said reluctantly. Roberto shook his head. "No, Jack, no," he said. Diego's players laughed. "You'll lose now for sure, Miguel!" one of them yelled. "Big-time!" "Give us a minute!" Jack said to the soccer players. And he huddled with Annie and Roberto. "Jack, they are right. I'm not a good player," said Roberto. "Me neither," said Jack. "But together we will make a beautiful team. I promise." "Listen, Roberto," said Annie. "We'll use magic from Merlin the magician of Camelot and make a wish—" "To play like Pelé," finished Jack. "Magic?" said Roberto. "Yes. Mist gathered at first light on the first day of the new moon on the Isle of Avalon," Annie said.

Roberto shrugged. "Okay," he said. "Are you guys playing or not?" Miguel shouted. "We're playing!" Jack yelled over his shoulder. He pulled the cork from the bottle and breathed in Merlin's magic mist. He smelled oranges and cinnamon and cedar. "I wish to play like Pelé!" he whispered. Jack gave the tiny bottle to Annie. She breathed in the mist and said, "I wish to play like Pelé!" Annie gave the bottle to Roberto, and he breathed in the magic mist. Then he exclaimed with great enthusiasm, "I wish to play like Pelé!" "Come on!" Miguel shouted from the soccer field. "We're coming! One second!" said Jack. He put Merlin's magic mist away and glanced at his watch. "It's three-fifteen now. We have one hour of magic. At four-fifteen the magic ends. Let's go!" Jack confidently led Annie and Roberto toward the soccer game. When they got to the edge of the field, Jack stopped. "Off with the shoes," he said cheerfully. The three of them slipped off their shoes and socks to be like the other kids.

Jack left his backpack next to his shoes. Then he clapped his hands. "Okay!" he said. "Let's play ball!" As Jack, Annie, and Roberto walked onto the field, mud oozed between their toes. The rain had stopped, but the ground was soaked. They took forward positions on Miguel's team. "We're ahead by two goals," said Miguel. "Don't blow it, okay?" Jack just smiled and nodded. Buzzing with excitement, he was eager to play. The referee placed the soccer ball in the center of the muddy field. A kicker and another teammate from Diego's team stood near the ball. On the other side of the centerline, the opposite team glared at the three forwards. But Jack wasn't worried. He grinned back at them, eager for the game to start. The referee on the dusty sideline blew a whistle, and the second half of the match began. The kicker on Diego's team tapped the ball to her teammate, who passed it to Diego. As Diego and some other teammates knocked the ball around, Jack noticed that they were really good

soccer players. But then suddenly Annie slipped in and stole the ball from them. She whacked it with her instep, passing it to Jack, who slid it to Roberto. Roberto began moving the ball down the field. As Diego's defenders moved in, Roberto changed pace from slow to fast, slow to fast. The ball seemed glued to his feet, until he fired a shot and drove it like a missile into the net. "Score!" shouted the referee. "Gooooaaaallll!!!!" Jack, Annie, and Roberto shouted, pumping the air with their fists. All the other players gasped in amazement. "Who are you guys?" Carla shouted. The goalie kicked the ball back into play. Carla passed it to a girl, who tried to pass it to a boy. But like lightning, Jack moved in and shot the ball through the air to Roberto. Roberto used his thigh to pop the ball to Annie. Annie stopped the ball with her foot and dribbled it past two defenders down the field, then passed it to Jack. Jack moved the ball backward, forward, and sideways with short taps of his feet. He had never

had so much fun in his life! He felt as if his feet could do anything! He saw Roberto across the field and kicked the ball to him, passing it over the heads of the defenders. Roberto gave the ball a leaping header, sending it to Annie. Annie trapped the ball on the ground, then ran with it, keeping it close. She faked a move one way, then another, then kicked the ball backward to Roberto. Roberto delivered another perfect shot into the net. "Score!" "Gooooaaaallll!!!!" Jack, Annie, and Roberto shouted, pumping the air with their fists. The goalie kicked the ball back into play. The opposing side started the ball down the muddy field, but Jack moved faster—he intercepted it and passed it to Annie. Annie sent the ball back to Roberto, who scooped his foot under the ball and popped it over a group of players, right to Jack. Jack outjumped two defenders and hit the ball with his chest, sending it down the field. Roberto sped after the ball, stole it from two players, and gave it a swift kick—right into the net.