It seemed that everyone trying out had been practising. Everyone seemed better: running hard, precision kicking, reading the play. After twenty minutes, neither team had scored.
‘Five more minutes,’ cried Ms Tenga. ‘Let’s see if we can get a result in this game.’
Isi had the ball. She passed it to Emma who kicked it to Hannah. Hannah started to run but Oskar was catching up. Hannah kicked the ball to Elle but Edvard was right behind her so she kicked it quickly on to Isi. Now it was Isi’s turn to run and she powered up the field. No one could catch her. Isi was in front of goal. She stopped for a moment then kicked. A big, beautiful strong kick into goal. She was going to score. At least she was until Oliver threw himself at the ball and deflected it out of the goal.
‘Bad luck, Isi,’ cried Ms Tenga. ‘Great kick but what a stop, Oliver! Two minutes of play.’
‘Don’t worry Is, that was a brilliant kick,’ Emma called to her friend.
‘Yeah, but Oliver’s stop was better,’ Isi yelled back as she returned to position. ‘Let’s go, Em. I know we can win this.’
Emma loved the way her friend just bounced back when things went wrong. Bounce back, just like the ball coming towards Emma. Oliver had thrown the ball in but Elle had intercepted it on its way to Edvard. She passed it quickly to Emma who kicked it on to Isi. This time Isi was being crowded. There was no way she could get clear to shoot for goal but she managed to kick it high, right up in front of goal. Right up in front of Emma.
Emma knew exactly what to do. She arched her back and stretched her neck, keeping her eye on the ball the whole time. The ball came down and Emma met it perfectly. She pounded it into goal. Oliver didn’t have a chance this time.
Girls 1, Boys 0. Girls uncontrollably happy.
‘Great game, everyone. The team will be on the board at lunchtime,’ said Ms Tenga.
Lunchtime seemed to take forever to come but when it finally did, the girls raced to the noticeboard.
‘Yes!’ cried Isi as she ran her finger down the list of names. ‘You, you, you and...’ Isi was about to burst, ‘and me! We’re all on the team. We’re all getting shirts with our names on them and we’re all awesome! And my number is 4, my lucky number, and that is incredibly awesome too!’
Emma wondered how they were going to calm Isi down for afternoon class. She also wondered what her number was. She looked at the list, found her name, then ran her finger across to look up her number. It was number 12.
Perfect! she thought to herself. After all, I made the team with a little help from CC, KM and EJ12!
Did you miss Books 1 and 2?
In Hot & Cold, EJ must work out who is melting the ice in Antarctica.
In Jump Start she needs to stop SHADOW building a new spy satellite and save the rainforest animals.
That’s the easy part...
Read the first chapters at www.ej12girlhero.com
Did you miss Books 3 and 4?
In In the Dark, EJ12 needs to save the SHINE solar energy station.
In Rocky Road, she has to find out how SHADOW is sending out its messages and what it has to do with a rock concert.
That’s the easy part...
Read the first chapters at www.ej12girlhero.com
Did you miss Book 5?
SHADOW is cooking up a new invention which could put SHINE in a real jam. It’s a recipe for disaster. Special Agent EJ12 needs to be patient and keep her eyes peeled. She must get inside the chocolate cake factory, find out what is going on and stop SHADOW’s plan.
That’s the easy part. As EJ12, Emma Jacks can do anything. So why is the school fund-raiser such a problem?
Perhaps it isn’t after all...
Back Cover Material
ON THE BALL
There is a spy at SHINE’S top-secret training camp. But who is it?
Special Agent EJ12 must not drop the ball. She must find the spy – and the missing invention.
That’s the easy part. As EJ12, Emma Jacks can do anything.
So why is she so worried about trying out for the soccer team?
Perhaps she isn’t after all...
On The Ball Page 6