I was hopping mad. I looked at the grass and yelled, “If you want Danny and Kevin, go get them yourself! But if they come back, I go!”
With that, I collected my stuff and marched out of the Devil’s Pit. I only looked at Zoe, and maybe it was that quick glance that caused everything else to happen.
When I got to the top of the hill, I turned around one last time. Down in the Devil’s Pit, Larry sat down among the Wild Soccer Bunch. They seemed devastated. Well, so was I. Now I couldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t go home. I’d just blown off another team and disappointed my mom and dad. And I couldn’t go back to the Devil’s Pit because, well, I would have to be on a team with two guys who hated me.
I have to admit, I was at the end of my rope. So I sat down on my pro soccer bag. And I’d still be sitting there if Roger and Zoe hadn’t shown up. They sat down next to me and didn’t say a word. They just waited.
Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Okay, what?” I said, jumping to me feet and staring them down. “Why are you here?”
Roger glared back at me and then the glare turned to a grin. Zoe just shook her head.
I should have thrown away my glasses, but it was too late.
“What are we going to do with you, Max?” Zoe asked and flashed me this amazing smile.
I thought about it long and hard. I knew why they were here. Finally, I couldn’t fight anymore, so I blurted it out: “Fine! I’ll go get them!” I gave them one more look, then marched off on my journey to get Kevin and Danny back.
Zoe and Roger watched me go. I imagined Zoe’s smile morphing into a happy grin, and then I could hear the loud high-five they exchanged just before they charged after me.
The Soccer Sailboat
We crisscrossed the neighborhood, and finally found Danny and Kevin on the lawn near the bridge that spanned the pond. There they sat, skipping stones in the water. What else did they have to do? And despite all the competition and animosity, I knew exactly how they felt.
What kind of life is it for a wild guy without soccer? There was nothing else in the world. Nothing.
They had given up their soccer cleats. I saw them dangling from a branch, high up in a tall maple tree. Their soccer ball was deflated and had morphed into a sailboat, drifting on the pond. The mast was a twig stuck in the middle of the airless ball and Kevin’s shin guards were the sails. On the shore, I found out later, they had buried a shoebox with their jerseys inside.
This was truly sad. I would have loved to just sit down and howl at the moon with them. But I wasn’t alone. Roger and Zoe had come with me, and they were not as forgiving.
“You WIMPS!” Roger yelled at them. “You are pathetic!”
Danny and Kevin didn’t say a word. They didn’t even turn around. They just took a few more rocks and threw them into the pond, trying to make waves so their soccer sailboat would finally drift off into the sunset.
“Earth to losers! It’s me, Zoe,” said Zoe as she tried to get their attention. “You looked totally depressed. You’ll be pleased to know we are here to bring some happiness into your pitifully miserable lives!”
Danny and Kevin couldn’t care less. I could barely tell they were breathing.
It was confusing to me, though. On the one hand, I didn’t want to deal with them. On the other hand, I felt for them. I knew how it felt to be so down and out that nothing mattered. Even your most precious things look dull and sad. Like soccer. I mean, really, who sails a soccer ball?
“Okay, that’s enough!” I said, as if the devil had spurned me on. “It’s p-payday and I’m collecting. You and I, Kevin, we still have a score to settle.”
“You don’t say,” the former leader of the Wild Bunch said, deadpan.
“Y-yes. Remember? At practice, you d-didn’t have the guts to play me?
“Oh no, you don’t,” Kevin said. At least he didn’t seem bored any more. “I didn’t have to play you. Your memory stinks. You lost. Boo hoo.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t lose to you. I lost to Zoe. Of course, if you want to hide behind her back, be my guest. Consider the score settled.”
Kevin scrambled to his feet. “Say that again.”
Aha. I had him.
“Say it again, I dare you,” he said.
I just chuckled. “I already said it. Of course, if you disagree with me, then show me what you got! Show me you’re not afraid to face me down on the field.”
“Bring it,” Kevin spat fire. “Let’s do this. Now. The Devil’s Pit.”
With that, he jumped into the water and swam towards the soccer sailboat as if his life depended on it.
I only had one thought at that moment—what had I gotten myself into?
The Duel
Fifteen minutes later, Kevin and Danny showed up at the Devil’s Pit. They were wearing their soccer uniforms to show me that they were ready for a fight.
The field had already been staked by Larry. Seven by twelve yards, and four cones, at the center line. Without a word, Kevin walked past us, stepped onto the field, and faced me.
“I play under one condition,” he said loud and clear. “If I win, we come back. But Max goes.”
“And if you lose?” I asked.
“Then things stay the way they are,” he responded without hesitation.
I looked at him and nodded.
“Okay. You have a deal. As long as you believe there is no chance we can all play on the same team.”
“Of course we can’t play together!” Kevin said. “Why are you even saying that? Are you scared?”
“Yes,” I said. I couldn’t believe I had just said that. It was true. “Yes, I’m afraid. But I’m not sure of what.”
“Well, I’m going to show you!” Kevin laughed. “What are you waiting for, Larry? Blow the whistle.”
Larry looked at both of us and shrugged. “Play fair,” he said and waited until we both nodded. “All right. If you forget good sportsmanship for even a second, you’ll never play in the Devil’s Pit again.”
Kevin and I swallowed. Larry was dead serious.
Then it began. Larry whistled and threw the ball into the air. Both of us jumped toward it immediately, not even waiting for it to hit the ground. Our shoulders crashed into each other. We didn’t hold back and after 15 minutes, people started to plop down on the grass along the sidelines to watch.
After half an hour, everyone was already stretched out on the grass, and ten minutes later, Larry sent Fabio and Tyler to the hot dog stand to get lemonade for everyone. He wanted to know if we wanted a break, but we weren’t listening. There was only one thing going on in both our heads: beat the other guy.
After an hour, we wished we had taken the break. Our tongues felt like sandpaper. The entire Wild Soccer Bunch was asleep—or just plain bored. I think they lost interest in the whole thing 45 minutes ago. I got the feeling they had forgotten why we were fighting. Finally, Larry said we were going to play without a referee. He had had it.
So we took a 10-minute break.
I guzzled some water, and poured the rest of the bottle over my head. Nobody wanted to talk to me or Kevin. They hated us. They wanted this to end. Yesterday. When it got dark, both of us limped off the field because we needed to turn on the floodlights. Everyone else was asleep so I helped Kevin turn them on. Needless to say, we didn’t speak. I don’t even know if either of us could. Once the lights were on, we kept playing on our feet, then after a while, on our knees, and finally on all fours, until even that was no longer possible. We looked like a couple of junkyard dogs, shuffling around the field. When we regained our senses, we looked around. The Devil’s Pit was empty. Everyone was long gone.
Exhausted and half dead we flopped out on the grass next to each other.
“Tom-tom I will you,” Kevin slurred.
“What d’you ssss?” I asked.
We were much too tired to speak.
“Tomorrow, I’ll kill you!” hissed Kevin.
“Bring it,” I murmured.<
br />
“And we’ll play together. Forever. Into eternity!” Kevin laughed and put his head on my arm and we laughed together. I got the feeling this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Man to Man
It was way past 10:30 that night when I finally got home. Quietly, I put the key in the lock and unlocked the door. I wanted to go to bed immediately, hoping that by morning, everybody would have forgotten about my late arrival and focus on the early morning let’s-get-out-the-door rush. But on the way to the room I shared with Mike and Spence, I had to go by the kitchen, and that’s where my father was standing opposite the open refrigerator door.
I could tell he was agitated, and I was afraid of those times when his look was distant and cold. On these kinds of night, it always occurred to me how little I knew about him. I knew he suffered from insomnia. He had long nights where he just couldn’t fall asleep. So he would watch TV all night, or restlessly pace around the house. My mom tried to explain to me once why he was so short-tempered. “Your father is a really good man, but all those sleepless nights would drive anyone crazy.”
“Why can’t he just fall asleep?” I asked. She just shrugged and the conversation ended there.
With the light of the open refrigerator shining in his face, he looked at me suspiciously. He turned around with a carton of milk in one hand. He was about to pour some into a hot cup of coffee, steaming on the kitchen counter.
“Where have you been, son?” he asked and spilled a few drops of milk.
I didn’t say a word. I just wondered if it was good for him to have coffee in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep.
“Where have you been?” he asked again. “Anything to do with the team?”
I shook my head. I had to be careful.
“Come on. Tell me,” he demanded.
“Well, if you want to know the truth—t-today I faced the music,” I said.
My father raised one eyebrow. On nights like this, when he raised an eyebrow, I never knew what he’d do next.
“Faced the music! Ha, that’s a good one.” He had a short laugh.
Then he took his coffee and sat down at the kitchen table.
“Come here. Sit down with me,” he said. “I want to hear all about it.” He was curiously friendly now, and his eyes glistened like stars on a moonless night. This was the father I loved.
“Go on, tell me, Max. Who did you show it to?”
“Kevin!” I said.
“Kevin who?” he asked and seemed nervous again.
“Kevin, the star striker, slalom dribbler, and lightning-fast passer. The leader of the Wild Soccer Bunch. The guy who left the team because of me. The guy who didn’t want me on the team at all.”
“Did Kevin want to come back? Did he challenge you? Did he want to chase you away?” my father asked.
“No,” I answered. “I went to him. I asked him if he wanted to come back.”
“Are you nuts?” my father frowned. “Why did you do something like that? Don’t you understand, Max? You’re better than that. You don’t need him.”
“You’re wrong, Dad,” I said. “I do. I n-need Kevin. And I need D-Danny. And they need me. We’re a team. We need everyone. Otherwise, how are we going to beat Ashburn?” My father got up and paced around nervously.
“We want to win. Isn’t that w-what you want too?” I asked.
That stopped him in his tracks.
He looked at me, disheveled, but his eyes glistened again.
“Of course I want that, Max. Haven’t I always told you that?”
I balled my fists and buried my fingernails into my palms.
“But what if we lose?” I asked.
My father looked at me confused. “I don’t get it,” he said.
“I know you don’t, Dad. I l-learned a lot today,” I said. “I l-learned that there is something more important than winning.”
My father’s eyes darkened and he looked like he wanted to interrupt.
“Wait until I’m finished,” I hurried to say. “It’s not an excuse. I don’t want to lose. B-but it could happen. And that’s what I’m afraid of. I am afraid I’m not allowed to lose. Because of you.”
He looked at me and tried to figure out what I’d just told him. “But Max,” he said. “Grandpa wanted you to have that jacket. Don’t you want to be just like him? The best number 9 in the world?”
“Oh Dad, grandpa’s biker jacket is way too big for me. I’ll grow into it.”
“Well, what about the pro soccer bag? I gave that to you. I always want you to know how much I believe in you.”
“I know you do, Dad.” I was quiet for a moment and he looked at me, hanging on to what I would say next. “B-but can’t you believe in me even if I lose once in a while? That would make winning so much easier for me.”
My father looked at me. He looked deep into my eyes, deeper than ever before. And then, he took me in his arms and hugged me.
Ashburn Plays the Wild Soccer Bunch
On Saturday, we all drove to Ashburn in a van Larry had gotten. We felt like pros. Even Kevin and Danny behaved as if nothing had happened, as if they had never sat on the shore of that pond with every intention of leaving the Wild Soccer Bunch behind forever.
At kickoff we rolled right over our opponent. Fabio played back to Tyler, and he played a pass to me. We had practiced these runs over and over again. I ran forward on the flank, and right at the corner flag, I crossed a nice curled ball to the penalty box, where Kevin who was making a parallel run through the center arrived in time to hit the ball at the tip of his cleat. Everyone jumped up, and Larry ripped his cap from his head, but Kevin’s shot bounced off the post. From there it rolled back into the right side where I was still recovering from my run and landed right at my feet. I played back to Alex, and Alex the cannon Alexander pulled through. He shot an unstoppable bomb towards the goal. Their goalkeeper was just as good as Kyle. He fisted the ball and their center defender got it and started their attack with a long ball forward.
On the counter attack, the opposing forwards got caught with the all-in-one defender. Julian Fort Knox took a bite out of him, fought for the ball, won, and passed it on to Kevin, who extended the pass to Fabio on the left. The son of the Brazilian soccer pro unwrapped his magic tricks. He couldn’t be stopped, zoomed directly towards the Ashburn goal, and finally passed the ball to the right. That’s where I was, covered by two players. I intercepted the ball in the middle of my run with my left foot. The defenders didn’t even notice and ran right past me. They only noticed my move when it was too late. They turned around to see me all alone running toward their goal. Their keeper came out for it, when our number 10, Tyler, appeared out of nowhere, and I passed to him quickly. He was a great finisher, but this goal didn’t require special skills. It was on a plate, and I did the service.
One zero for the Wild Soccer Bunch! But Ashburn didn’t give up. They were a force to be reckoned with. They attacked us like crazy, and it took a great effort from all of us supported by Kyle’s genius at goal to keep our advantage at half-time.
The opponents came to the second half determined to win the game. They were a year older than us and a few inches taller, and their strength and force wore us out. No matter what changes Larry made on the field in the second half—Zoe, Joey, Diego, Danny, Roger, and even Josh—we didn’t have enough air in our lungs and muscle in our bodies to withstand their blitz. Ashburn was simply too powerful. Twenty-five minutes into the second half, they had scored two goals and led two to one.
Larry asked me to go out. Fabio was in. It was hard for me to leave my losing team behind. I was sure I could make it. But I was so tired, I thanked Larry in my heart for letting me rest.
Five minutes before the end, the score hadn’t changed. Then Kevin had his first shot at goal. He dribbled his way through three opponents. He aimed but he was fouled at the penalty area. Larry jumped up and we were crazy happy when the referee pointed at the penalty spot.
Zoe took
the shot. I couldn’t believe my eyes when her ball went sky high.
The knot in my throat, that feeling of impending doom, was sinking in. We were going to lose. The championship was smoke. That’s when Larry put me back in for Fabio. Fabio was done; but I wasn’t. I was rested and energized. When I sat on the sideline, I promised myself not to give up. The game isn’t over until it is over.
I drove the others. I caught a bad Ashburn pass, and rushed the ball forward. That’s where Danny was lurking. My pass was high, but Danny jumped and touched it slightly with his head to Kevin.
Ashburn defenders closed in on Kevin. He got the ball with his back to the goal, turned around, and kicked to the frame. The ball went under the diving goalkeeper into the back of the net, as Kevin lost ground and fell on his back.
What a brilliant goal! We tied two two. Everyone went ballistic on the sidelines. Only one minute left on the clock. We could do it. I knew it. When Ashburn kicked off, I ran into their second pass, stole the ball, and stormed toward their goal. I saw their defender lurking toward me. I looked around while dribbling. Where were Kevin and Danny? Why didn’t Tyler and Alex run forward with me?
They were done, that’s why. Exhausted, they hung back, and all I could do was fall back on old habits. My eyes locked to my feet like I used to do before I got glasses.
I fought my way through my opponents like a freight train cannonballing down the tracks. I passed everyone, including their amazing goalkeeper, who dove on my feet, missing me by a hair. I didn’t stop until I crossed the goal line and fell into the net with the ball glued to my feet.
GOAL!
I could hear everyone cheering from the stands.
I fell like a sack of potatoes. We won! And even before I managed to untangle myself from the net, my teammates threw themselves on me.
We did it! And if we beat our next opponent, The Riders, we could become the champions!
And that’s why I asked Larry to stop the van at the top of the hill in front of the Devil’s Pit. I asked all my teammates to step out, and we lined up next to each other, arm in arm. There we stood like a mighty wall. A wall as black as night. We held our heads up high against the afternoon breeze. Then we all closed our eyes, and each one of us made a wish in silence.
Max the Golden Boot Page 7