by Jonathan Eig
“Oh, that means you’re lucky, Grampa, because you have more books to explore now. Reading a new book is like making a new friend. When you finish a book you love, it’s like saying goodbye to your friend. But it’s not sad because you can see her again whenever you want! Oh, that gives me an idea, Grampa! Would you like to borrow my copy of Anne of Green Gables?”
“What’s it about?” Grampa Ed asked. “And don’t say it’s about 300 pages!”
Lola laughed. So did Grampa Ed. As they set the table for dinner, Lola told Grampa Ed all about the book. Lola’s mother walked in the front door just as the burbling pan of mac and cheese came out of the oven.
“Wow, it smells so good in here!” Lillian Jones said as she took off her jacket and hung it in the closet.
Lola ran down the hall and hugged her.
Her mother hugged her back. “How was school today, sweetie?”
“Don’t ask about school,” Grampa Ed said. “Ask about recess. That’s where all the exciting stuff happens.”
“Grampa’s right,” Lola said. “Recess has been exciting lately. And today was especially exciting. Today was transcendent. That means above the normal possibilities.”
“That’s a strong word,” Lillian Jones said. “So, what made it transcendent?”
“Our plan finally worked! The boys got tired of watching us play imaginary soccer and they started passing the ball to us. And I scored a goal!”
“That’s amazing, Lola!”
“Well,” said Grampa Ed, “if boys can pass the ball to girls, I guess that proves cavemen don’t have to be cavemen all their lives.”
“That reminds me of a riddle, Grampa,” Lola said. “Why was school easier for cavemen and cavewomen?”
Grampa Ed bit his lower lip. “I give up. Why?”
“Because they didn’t have to study history!”
Grampa Ed gave a little laugh. So did Lola’s mom.
After dinner, Lola and her mother cleared the table. Grampa Ed sat on the couch and read the newspaper.
“Soccer in the park tomorrow morning?” Lola’s mother asked.
“Definitely,” Lola said. “I’ll need to get used to kicking a real ball again.”
Lola hugged her mother and grandfather and said goodnight to both of them. After putting on her pajamas and brushing her teeth, she climbed into bed and opened Smarter Soccer to Chapter Nine, which was called “Scoring Goals.”
“Ironically,” the author wrote, “you’ll score more goals if you kick a little softer and keep the ball low. It takes twice as long for a goalie to bend down low than to reach up high.” Lola grabbed the pencil and notepad on her nightstand and jotted down the word ironically so she could look up its definition in the morning.
As she got under the covers and prepared for sleep, she closed her eyes and pictured a soccer game. In her mind she could see her friends—the boys and the girls—playing on a TV screen. They were big and strong and extremely talented. They had beautiful uniforms and played on real grass in a real stadium. All their passes were sharp, fast, and empathetic.
Lola thought about how lucky she was to have found the right words and the right books and the right friends to solve her problem, and how good it felt to go to sleep when your muscles—especially your legs—were tired from an exciting game of soccer and how much fun it would be to start the next day with rested legs and a new burst of morning sun and chocolate-chip pancakes for breakfast.
Jonathan Eig lives in Chicago, in a neighborhood a lot like Lola Jones’s. He lives with his wife, three children, and a hamster named Cheerio. Jonathan is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist whose most recent book was a biography of Muhammad Ali. He’s currently working on a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. and writing more books about Lola Jones.
Alicia Teba Godoy is from Barcelona where she studied cinema and illustration and was very influenced by storytelling and fairy tales. She is passionate about drawing, animals, and cinema. She has illustrated books, stationery, comics, children’s magazines, and even concept arts, but loves illustrating children’s literature most of all. Like Lola Jones, Alicia is determined and, also like Lola, who stole her heart, Alicia is always creating and coming up with new ideas. Visit @garbancita_alicia on Instagram to learn more.