by Alex Morgan
I thought about the trip I wanted to take to Connecticut. But Mom hadn’t said anything about it in days, and I’d stopped asking her so that “maybe” didn’t become “no.”
“I don’t know about that, Frida,” I said.
She stared at me, and then she wiggled her fingers in a spooky way. “Flash Fortune never lies, Devin,” she said. “You’ll see!”
Chapter Thirteen
“Ice cream! Ice cream! Can we get ice cream?”
Maisie was bouncing up and down and pulling on my mother’s hand. After I’d come home from helping at the animal shelter, Dad had suggested that we go to the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon, not too hot, and a nice breeze was blowing.
When we lived in Connecticut, going to the beach was a big deal. We had to pack the car with all our gear and drive for an hour and a half to get there, and sit in traffic. Now that we lived in California, we could walk to the beach if we wanted to.
Since it was a nice day, we decided to do just that. We set up a blanket and an umbrella, and Mom sprayed sunscreen on both me and Maisie. Just after that, the ice cream guy came by, pushing his cart on the sand.
“Now, Maisie,” Mom said. “We’re going to eat dinner tonight at Captain Jack’s Seafood Shack. You don’t want to spoil your appetite.”
“Captain Jack’s?” Maisie asked. “With the free pirate hats?”
“That’s right,” Mom said.
“Yay!” Maisie cheered. Then she ran off toward the water, forgetting the ice cream entirely.
“Keep an eye on your sister, please,” Mom said, settling into her beach chair and opening up a book.
“Sure,” I said. I joined Maisie, shivering at first as the cold water hit my legs.
Maisie ran up to me. “Let’s go deeper.”
I held her hand and we walked forward. She giggled as a wave crashed into us.
“Hold your nose!” I told her, and together we dove under the next wave that hit us.
We swam for a while and then walked back onshore. A girl streaked by us, kicking a beach ball with her bare foot. She passed it to a group of girls who were playing what looked like a pickup game in the sand.
“Beach soccer!” Maisie yelled. She ran toward the girls, and I chased after her.
It turns out the girls were playing with a beach ball and beach chairs that marked out the goal space. They were happy to let Maisie and me join them. We must have played with them for an hour, laughing as we kicked the ball up and down the beach.
When we got back to our umbrella, Mom was shaking her head.
“You girls really love soccer,” she said. “Devin, you just had a game yesterday, and you’ve got practice tomorrow, and here you are playing it again on your day off!”
“I do love soccer,” I admitted. It had been so fun, I’d never even hesitated or thought I should take a break.
Mom held up the sunscreen can. “More sunscreen,” she said. “If you want to swim some more, do it now. We’re going to Captain Jack’s in an hour.”
Maisie couldn’t stop talking as we walked all the way to the restaurant a little later. “I’m going to get a free pirate hat,” she said. “And order the shrimp. And you need to take my picture with the talking parrot. And then I’m going to ask the waitress for an extra piece of pirate bread, because they only ever give you one, and it’s sooooo delicious. . . .”
When we got to Captain Jack’s, a plaster pirate statue greeted us at the doorway. A red robotic parrot was perched on his shoulder. The parrot’s head swiveled from side to side when we approached.
“All aboard for delicious food!” The parrot squawked.
Maisie ran up to the parrot. “Take my picture!” she demanded.
Mom snapped a picture with her phone. “Okay, but I want this to be a phone-free dinner. I don’t want to be one of those families who stare at their screens instead of at one another.”
The restaurant was packed, and we had to wait for our table. Maisie demanded her free cardboard pirate hat while we were waiting, and she put it on right away. I got out my phone since we weren’t seated yet and took a photo of the pirate ship on the hostess stand and texted it to Frida.
This is the closest I’ll get to a trip! I told her.
Unbeliever! she texted back with a dozen pirate emojis.
Fifteen minutes later, the hostess told us our table was ready. As we were sitting down, Mom’s phone pinged.
“Let me just check this,” Mom said.
“I thought you said no phones!” Maisie protested.
“I’ll put it away right after this,” Mom promised. She read the screen. “Devin, it’s Ashanta. She’s got a job for you on Wednesday.”
“Wednesday?” I asked. “But I have practice.”
“I know,” Mom said. “It’s up to you, Devin.”
The next words came out of my mouth before I even thought about saying them. “I don’t think I want to model anymore,” I said, and as soon as I did, I felt relieved.
“Are you sure, Devin?” Mom asked, but she looked relieved too.
I nodded. “I am really glad I tried modeling. I learned a lot, and it definitely got me out of my comfort zone. I was really surprised to learn that there are a lot of similarities between soccer and modeling. I wasn’t expecting that!” I laughed. “But where I feel most important, and most valuable, is on the soccer field. I can’t imagine not being part of a soccer team, and I also can’t imagine being part of a soccer team and not being able to give myself one-hundred-percent to it. Something has to come first, and for me, that something is definitely soccer.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I won’t be saving money for college. Maybe I’ll try to get soccer scholarships. Maybe I’ll try to go pro. And that will take a lot of work.”
“We’ll support you, Devin,” Dad said. “I think you’re making a good decision as long as soccer is what you really love.”
“So do I,” Mom agreed.
“Me too!” Maisie said. “Modeling is sooooo boring!”
“I’ll let Ashanta know,” Mom said. “And then I’ll put away my phone.”
“I’ve also been thinking that I’d like to volunteer at the animal shelter,” I said. “Modeling was so unpredictable, it left no time for anything else but soccer and school.”
My mom and dad exchanged nervous glances.
“That’s very kind of you, Devin,” Mom said slowly. “But we need to make it clear that you can’t bring any animals home. Your dad’s allergies would make that impossible.”
“Don’t worry, I know,” I told them. “Being at the shelter with the dogs is the next best thing to having a pet. I promise I won’t bring any home.”
Maisie pouted. “Awwww, come on! I want a dog! Don’t they make medicine for allergies? I saw a commercial the other day, and this guy was playing with a puppy and he was sneezing, but then he took this pill and he was fine. And the puppy was jumping all over him and licking his face! It was sooooo cute!”
Mom sighed. “Maisie, we’ve talked about this. Dad’s allergies are more severe than that.”
I was in such a good mood, now that I didn’t feel torn between soccer and modeling, that it made me feel very generous with Maisie. “Maybe you can come with me and help out at the shelter too? That way you can get your puppy time in.”
“Yay!” Maisie cheered.
“Hey, maybe we could even take pictures of the dogs to give them really nice photos for their adoption website? I think I might have learned a thing or two on the photo shoots!” I said.
Mom beamed. “I think that’s a great idea, Devin.”
Just then, Dad’s phone pinged. He glanced at his screen. This dinner was becoming nothing but phones.
“It’s the office,” he said. “Just one sec.”
He scrolled through his screen. Then he looked at my mom. “Looks like they definitely want me in Connecticut for that sales presentation,” he said. “Should we tell her?”
“Tell me what?” Maisie
and I both asked.
Dad looked at me. “Devin, I’ll be going to Connecticut for a few days for work. And those days happen to be at the same time as your friend Charlotte’s party. So if you don’t mind using some of your modeling money . . .”
I squealed. “You mean I can go?”
“Yes, you can go,” Mom said.
Maisie frowned and folded her arms across her chest. “It’s not fair! Devin gets to go on a plane and I don’t!”
“How about I give you my piece of pirate bread?” I offered.
“That’s a start,” Maisie said.
I held up my phone. “Mom, can I text Kara? Please?”
Mom nodded. “Fine. But then all phones away! I mean it!”
I quickly texted. Good news! I can go to Charlotte’s party!
Kara replied with a string of emojis.
I grinned—and then I realized I had one more text to send. I quickly sent it before Mom could object. This one went to Frida.
I’m a believer, I typed, and then I quickly stashed my phone away before the barrage of replies came from her. I’d tell her everything later.
The server came to our table.
“May I take your order?” she asked.
“I will please have the Junior Pirate Shrimp Platter,” Maisie said. Then she pointed to me. “And she is giving me her pirate bread.”
I didn’t mind. I was so happy and excited that I could barely eat.
I had a goal I was ready to really work for, and I was going back to Connecticut to see my friends. I couldn’t wait!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALEX MORGAN became the youngest member of the US Women’s National Team in 2009 and competed in the 2011 FIFA World Cup. She was the first overall pick in the 2011 Women’s Professional Soccer draft and landed a spot on the US Olympic women’s soccer team in 2012. At the 2012 Olympic Games, held in London, Morgan won her first Olympic medal, a gold, with the American team. In 2015 she achieved her lifelong goal of winning the FIFA World Cup, in the most watched soccer match in US history. Morgan now plays for the Orlando Pride of Orlando, Florida, and for the Olympique Lyonnais in France.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Alex-Morgan
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
Also by Alex Morgan
The Kicks Series
Saving the Team
Sabotage Season
Win or Lose
Hat Trick
Shaken Up
Settle the Score
Under Pressure
In the Zone
Choosing Sides
Breakaway
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2019 by Full Fathom Five and Alex Morgan
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2019 by Paula Franco
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Book design by Krista Vossen
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Jacket illustration copyright © 2019 by Paula Franco
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Morgan, Alex (Alexandra Patricia), 1989- author.
Title: Switching goals / Alex Morgan.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2019] | Series: The Kicks | Summary: Devin is spotted by an agent who wants her to model athletic wear, and soon she is juggling photo shoots, soccer games and practice, family time, and other activities.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018059667| ISBN 9781534427952 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781534427976 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Models (Persons)—Fiction. | Soccer—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Middle schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Family life—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Soccer. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship. | JUVENILE FICTION / Girls & Women.
Classification: LCC PZ7.M818 Sw 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018059667