by Danny Scott
But Castle Rock’s star had other ideas.
Brandon tapped his opponent’s heel. It wasn’t much but it was enough to send him flying through the air.
“ARGHHHH!” the Burvie player screamed as he landed. “My arm… I think… it’s broken!”
Calum looked around. Surely the referee or someone else had seen Brandon’s foul? But even the Burvie players weren’t challenging the ref.
“Did you see that?” Calum hissed at Erika and Leo. “He tripped him on purpose!”
“I was watching the ball, Cal,” Erika said. “But I don’t doubt it.”
Someone with ‘St John’s Ambulance’ written on their back helped the injured player off the pitch and the game restarted. As usual, the ball found its way to Brandon Cramond like a magnet. He took no notice of his teammates and set off on a dribble from just inside his own half.
He jumped over one Burvie tackler and nutmegged another. Then, when the keeper came rushing out to dive at his feet, he calmly chipped the ball over him as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. He didn’t even bother to celebrate his goal.
On the sideline, Calum looked down at his yellow boots for comfort.
10
Caleytown versus Minch
In Caleytown’s second match, Minch were proving to be tricky opponents.
It had started well with a quick goal from Leo. But after taking the lead so early, Caleytown relaxed too much. They soon found themselves on the wrong side of a 2–1 scoreline.
Minch kept possession so Calum’s new boots couldn’t make a difference. He was hardly getting a touch of the ball. The way the match was going, Caleytown would need a slice of luck or a corner to get a goal. Midway through the second half they got both.
Calum bounced on his toes in his springy new soles and tried to ignore Brandon Cramond, who was staring at him from behind Minch’s goal, with a can of juice in his hand.
“I’ll run to the back post; you go to the front,” Jordan whispered loudly to Calum, pushing him forward. “LEO, LEO!”
Leo surprised everyone by firing his corner low. Calum stuck a leg out and the ball pinged off his shin into the roof of the net to draw Caleytown level at 2–2.
As he ran back, Calum heard Brandon mutter, “…not as good as he thinks he is in those stupid yellow boots.”
***
The equaliser took the wind out of Minch’s sails. Calum, Leo and Lewis could sense that the Glasgow team were low on confidence. Ever alert, Lewis intercepted a sloppy Minch pass and put Calum through on goal. The keeper dived at Calum’s feet and he jumped, but not high enough.
Calum’s leg clipped the keeper and he spun through the cold Edinburgh air. It felt like forever before he crashed to the ground.
“Sorry mate, ye alright?” The Minch keeper was standing over Calum with his glove out to help him up.
The bits of his body that he’d landed on were smarting, but Calum was otherwise fine. He grabbed the keeper’s glove and pulled himself up.
“I’m afraid that’s a penalty,” the ref said, pointing to the spot.
“Aye, nae bother, sir. It’s my oan fault,” Minch’s keeper admitted in his strong Glaswegian accent.
Jordan had been substituted to give one of the subs a chance to play, so there was no one for Calum to argue with about taking the penalty.
He placed the ball and wiped his face with his strip. He looked up to see Brandon Cramond still standing by the goal drinking his juice. Cramond pointed at Calum’s boots, said something to a teammate and laughed.
“Just look at the goal, Cal,” Leo said from behind him. “Don’t worry about Brandumb Cramhead.”
Calum breathed out slowly and smiled to himself as he picked his spot – the top corner, right next to Brandon Cramond’s face.
The referee’s whistle cut through the silence.
PEEP!
Calum ran up…
…struck the ball, and…
OOFT!
Brandon Cramond winced as the ball missed the goal and thumped into his stomach, sending dark juice all over his green tracksuit. “What the—” Brandon shouted. “HEY! He meant that!”
Calum was sure he could see steam rising off Brandon’s red-hot, angry face. He was worried for a second that he might even storm onto the pitch.
“You’ll pay for this, Calum Ferguson!” Brandon said, juice dripping off his tracksuit. Even without his shades on, his eyes looked black.
“That’s quite enough drama for now,” the ref said and blew his whistle. The game had finished 2–2.
Calum avoided Brandon’s glare and looked up at Arthur’s Seat instead. The lion stared straight ahead like he’d seen it all before.
***
Once the shock of hitting Brandon Cramond with the ball had worn off, Calum was gutted about missing the penalty. It would have won Caleytown the match.
“I don’t know, Calum,” Leo grinned cheekily, “your penalty seemed right on target to me.”
“It was an… unfortunate miss, Mr Ferguson,” Mr McKlop said, wiping his glasses, “but a win wouldn’t have made a huge difference. We still need to beat Castle Rock to win the tournament.” Mr McKlop got out his phone and showed them a table that was being updated minute-by-minute by the reporter Reiss Robertson.
Caleytown had won and drawn and Castle Rock had two wins. “A win is worth three points, but a draw is only worth one.” Mr McKlop pointed at the screen. “Basically, if we beat Castle Rock next and get three points, we win the tournament. But if they win or we draw, the tournament is theirs.”
“No bother, Mr McKlop!” said Leo, full of confidence.
Calum wasn’t so sure. Facing Brandon Cramond was always going to be difficult and dangerous; now he had accidentally rattled the leopard’s cage, who knew what Cramond would do?
11
The Disappearance
The thought of facing Brandon Cramond in the final match had Calum feeling nervous. So nervous, in fact, that he was desperate for the toilet.
Mr McKlop preferred that the players go in pairs at this new venue, so Lewis chummed him over to the portaloos.
“My dad is keen for me to play rugby like he did, but I like fitba,” Lewis was saying. “He even put rugby posts up on our farm.”
“I’ve never played rug—” Calum said but got distracted by a green blur at the corner of his eye. Am I imagining things?
“Rugby skills might come in handy if you’re up against Brandon Cramond next,” Lewis laughed. Calum forced a laugh too.
It least I’ve got my new boots, Calum thought. He did a little sprint on the spot in them to make himself feel better.
A sign on one of the two toilets said:
PLAYERZ MUST REMOVE BOOTS BEFORE ENTERING.
Calum kicked his boots off. He was so desperate for the loo he couldn’t see straight. “If I go in will you look after my boots?” Calum asked Lewis.
“Sure Cal.” Lewis nodded.
***
Calum could see clearly again when he came back out. Clearly enough to notice that there was no sign of Lewis – and no sign of his new yellow boots!
He heard some muffled whistling coming from the other cabin. Lewis must have my boots in the other toilet, Calum sighed with relief.
That’s when he spotted Lewis’s boots on the ground. Why would he leave his and not mine? Calum’s mind raced. He heard a flush coming from Lewis’ cabin. Moments later the red-haired midfielder appeared in the doorway, wiping his hands on his shorts.
Calum started to panic. “Have you got my boots?” he asked, quietly.
“Eh… no,” Lewis replied looking around. “I’m still no’ feeling right after that bus ride. I had to go. Sorry.”
“Where are my boots then?” Calum almost shouted.
The boys looked right around the portaloos. Nothing. Lewis even gave Calum a leg up to search the roof of the toilets.
“Do I even want to know what’s going on here?” Mr McKlop was looking up at Calum scrabblin
g on the toilet roof.
“Argh!” Lewis shouted as he dropped Calum and spun round to face their coach. Calum fell backwards on top of Lewis and they both tumbled to the ground. Mr McKlop just stared at them.
“I think someone’s taken my boots, sir,” Calum said from the ground. “I’m pretty sure I know who it was too.”
“What did I say about tell-tales, Mr Ferguson?” Mr McKlop sighed.
Calum untangled himself from Lewis and got back up. He could feel his socks getting cold and damp on the grass.
Mr McKlop’s face softened when he saw the panic on Calum’s face. “Ok gentlemen, I’m sure there’s been a mix up. I’ll ask Mrs Tait if any boots have been handed in and we’ll sort everything out after our final match.” He looked at his watch. “Calum, I’m sure you can borrow some boots in the meantime.”
Calum slumped as he thought of Mr Aziz’s son’s old boots in his bag. “Yes sir.”
***
Calum almost tripped over his bottom lip as he made his way to the changing tent in his damp socks. He found his bag and pulled out the old, taped-up boots. The leather felt dry and they creaked when he put his feet into them.
Calum tried to loosen them up by jogging on the spot but they made him feel really slow. Having worn his new boots all day, this old pair felt more uncomfortable than ever. When he saw the big crowd that had gathered for the final girls’ and boys’ matches, they felt even worse.
Through the gaps in the crowd, Calum could see Caleytown’s girls running around the pitch. He didn’t know the score but he didn’t have time to find out.
“Mr Ferguson! Glad you could join us,” Mr McKlop said. He had laid the water bottles out in formation.
Leo and Lewis smiled and nodded at Calum.
Jordan looked down at Calum’s feet and snorted. “Why are you wearing your museum boots?”
“My new astros went missing when I was in the toilet,” Calum replied. His face told Jordan a different story.
Jordan clearly understood Calum – he turned to search for Brandon in the crowd. The Castle Rock captain was standing on the other side of the pitch, watching them with a crooked smile on his face.
Calum stood staring at him. He was too distracted to listen to any of Mr McKlop’s pep talk until he heard his name.
“…and Calum will have to be ready to double-mark Brandon Cramond in defence with Lewis,” Mr McKlop said. “It’ll mean a lot more running, Calum. Are you up for it?”
Calum looked at his boots.
“Come on, Cal,” Leo said, “you scored twice against Muckleton in those antiques.”
Calum sighed and nodded, but he didn’t think he could do anything in his old boots today.
On the pitch where the girls were still playing, the referee blew his whistle. Sally, Erika and the rest of Caleytown girls’ team started shouting and screaming. By the way Coach Brown was running about with her arms in the air, it looked like Caleytown’s girls had just won their tournament.
Mr McKlop started clapping. “Well done Caleytown!” He turned to his team, who were clapping too, though they were clearly all thinking about their own final. “Right lads, now it’s your turn to add a trophy to the school’s collection. Enjoy yourselves!”
12
The Winner Takes It All
The wind dropped and the clouds overhead knitted together to cut out the sun. The referee invited the two closest players, Calum and Brandon, to come forward for the coin toss.
Brandon had been glaring at Calum the whole time. The juice that Calum’s shot had sprayed all over him had stained his luminous green laces a murky brown colour.
“Where did you get those boots, Ferguson?” he asked. “Did you make them yourself?”
Anger fizzed through Calum’s veins but one look at Brandon’s dark eyes stopped the words in his throat.
“Come on, Cal, ignore Bran Flakes, let’s just enjoy this,” said Leo.
Brandon ignored Leo and kept his eyes fixed on Calum. “Looks like you can’t even tie your laces!”
“That’s enough now, lads,” the referee said cautiously before Calum or Leo could respond. Even he seemed a little wary of Brandon. “But your lace really is untied, number nine.”
Calum looked down at his old boots, sighed, and bent down to sort them out, but the dry old lace snapped in his hand. He only just managed to make a tiny, tight knot before the ref started the match.
***
Still, Caleytown began pretty well. Lewis kept finding Leo in space and only some last-ditch tackling from Castle Rock stopped Calum’s best friend from scoring.
Keeping to Mr McKlop’s strategy, Calum was doing his best to double up with Lewis against Brandon whenever Castle Rock had possession. It was hard work in his old boots, and if the pain in his feet wasn’t enough, Brandon kept jabbing at Calum’s ribs with his elbow, standing on his toes or pinching him whenever he got the chance.
After some hard running back and forth, Calum finally had the ball at his feet – but not for long. Brandon barged him off the ball and slunk up the pitch like a cat with its prey.
A pumped-up Jordan charged out to tackle but Brandon weaved past him as if he was just some minor nuisance.
Ravi’s quiff wobbled as he spread himself wide in goals…
THWOP!
Brandon bulleted the ball into the bottom corner. The big crowd cheered and this time Castle Rock’s star did celebrate. He made sure to run right past Calum on his way back to his half.
Feeling hopeless, Calum buried his face in his strip.
“Cheer up,” an unfamiliar voice murmured. “At least you don’t have to play with him every week.”
Calum pulled his shirt back down so he could see who had spoken. A Castle Rock player shrugged and gave him a weak smile.
Even his teammates hate him, thought Calum.
Leo slapped Calum on the shoulder. “Don’t give up yet, Cal! We can still win this!”
As if to prove his point Leo ran straight forward from the restart. Calum ran as fast as his old boots would let him, just to keep up. Leo drifted out wide before squaring the ball back to Lewis, who picked out Calum in the box with a first-time pass.
The crowd held its breath.
Calum took an extra touch in his old boots to control the ball, drew his leg back to shoot and…
BANG!
A bump on his shoulder sent him spinning to the ground.
“Penalty, ref!” Calum heard Lewis shout as he pushed himself up onto all fours.
The referee blew his whistle.
Yes! Calum thought. I’ll show you, Brandon!
“That’s half-time, lads,” the referee said.
Calum shook his head in disbelief, got up and made his way over to Mr McKlop. He looked over his shoulder and caught Brandon’s eye. He was laughing.
“Did you see that foul, Mr McKlop?” Calum complained to his coach. “He totally took me out! That should have been a penalty!”
“Now, now, Calum. You’ve got to respect the ref’s decision – even if you disagree with it,” said Mr McKlop with a frown.
Calum angrily shook his head. “It’s not right though. The ref’s scared of a nine year old!”
Mr McKlop scratched his chin. “Hey, Calum, why don’t you take some time out.”
The fire that was burning in Calum’s stomach went out as Mr McKlop handed him a bib.
13
How to Beat a Player Like Brandon Cramond
Calum sat on the sideline pulling blades of grass out of the ground while his teammates tried to get an equaliser.
During a pause in the action, Brandon gave Calum a sarcastic wave. Calum felt sick.
“Whatcha doin’ Cal?” Erika appeared over him. “Digging for treasure?”
Calum didn’t say anything.
Erika sat down next to him. She’d changed out of her strip and already had her bag packed.
“Aren’t you going to say congratulations?” she asked.
“What? Oh… sorry, cong
ratulations! You were great.” Calum tried to smile.
“I thought we might win too, but…” Calum pointed at Brandon just as Lewis tried to wrestle the ball off him.
“WAY TO GO, LEWIS!” Erika shouted towards the pitch, then turned back to Calum. “Did you let Brandon the Bully get the better of you?”
“Well, no, but, yes, but… I lost my new astros!” Calum whined.
“So what?” said Erika, to Calum’s surprise. “You were man of the match against Muckleton before you had fancy new astros. Boots don’t matter Cal, not really.”
Calum didn’t want to argue with Erika. He stared out at the pitch instead, where he saw Lewis play a lovely, curling pass round Brandon to Leo on the wing. Brandon’s fists were clenched at his sides.
“It’s easy, Cal,” Erika said, pulling her book out of her bag. “Like the dragon-fighting guy in my book, you’ve just gotta find your enemy’s weakness.”
“That’s the point: Brandon doesn’t have one,” Calum moaned.
“Umm… yeah he does,” Erika said. “My mom always says ‘pride comes before a fall’.”
Calum looked blank.
“Well, dummy, Brandon is too proud. His game is all about being the best. All you gotta do is show him you’re better,” Erika said, getting excited. “And you are better Cal. I’ve overheard loads of people around here talking about your amazing hat-trick in the first match.”
“Really?” Calum asked. He hadn’t read Erika’s book about dragons but he could feel fire beginning to burn in his belly again.
“Really.” Erika nodded.
***
On the pitch Janek played the ball to Lewis. Lewis looked for Leo again but before he could send the ball anywhere, Brandon’s knee found Lewis’s thigh.