by Tiki Barber
“Speak for yourself, yo,” Tiki said, grinning and poking Ronde in the arm.
“Come on, you know you were shaking in your shoes,” Ronde shot back.
Suddenly, all of them stopped talking at once. Mrs. Pendergast was coming down the street toward them.
Mrs. Pendergast was a lady who dressed in clothes from the distant past. At least, they looked that way. Her wild gray hair was piled up on top of her head, and some of it kept trying to escape in all directions.
Mrs. Pendergast talked to herself a lot. All the kids on the block were scared of her, even though she was nice to them, always giving them a smile and a big “Hello!”
Tiki and Ronde both thought she was one of the weirdest people they’d ever met. But their mother always said, “She’s a little different from most people, but she has a heart of gold.”
“Hello, boys!” Mrs. Pendergast said as she passed by.
“Hi, Mrs. Pendergast,” Tiki and Ronde said.
Their friends said nothing—they just watched as Mrs. Pendergast continued down the street, mumbling to herself. Then she made a sharp left turn—and headed straight for the Barbers’ front door!
Tiki and Ronde looked at each other, wide-eyed. Mrs. Pendergast was ringing their doorbell—and their mom was letting her in!
Mrs. Pendergast loved to talk. Whenever they met her on the street, Tiki and Ronde had to wait forever while she talked to their mom about this and that.
Still, she had never been inside their house before. Tiki wondered what she wanted, and why it was so important that she had to come over to talk about it.
Paco showed up, having finished his homework too. The boys played some more football, and spent some time going back over what they’d done well or poorly at tryouts. More than anything, they wanted to get it right.
After about half an hour Mrs. Pendergast came out of the Barber house and headed home, just down the block.
“Hello again!” she chirped as she passed the boys.
“Hi,” Tiki and Ronde said, while their friends just stared.
They played ball for another few minutes. It was still light out, but now the other boys had to go home and get their homework done. “If you would have done it first, like Paco and us, we could still be playing!” Tiki pointed out to them—but none of them wanted to hear it.
“Save it, Tiki,” Jason said. “You sound just like a grown-up.”
• • •
Later Tiki noticed that his mom seemed distracted, staring into space a lot. “What did Mrs. Pendergast want, Ma?” he asked her.
“I’m glad you asked, Tiki,” she said. “It’s so disturbing, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“What is it?” Tiki asked.
“Mrs. Pendergast is weird,” Ronde said.
“Well, thank goodness for people like her, is all I can say,” their mom said. “And you two should be grateful she lives around here. Do you know what she told me today? There’s a big corporation that wants to build a factory right at the end of Mews Hill Drive—that’s only six blocks from here!”
“So?” Ronde said. “What’s wrong with that? Won’t it give people jobs?”
“Well, yes,” their mom said. “But this factory will also pollute the air and water in our neighborhood. The corporation says it’ll be within safe levels, but Mrs. Pendergast showed me articles that say it isn’t going to be safe at all!”
“Ma,” said Tiki, “they wouldn’t let them build a factory around here if it was going to hurt people.”
“Tiki,” she said, “I wish that were always true. Sometimes, money becomes more important than people. But people don’t have to let things happen to them—it’s a free country, and we can always speak our minds.”
“What are you going to do, Ma?” Ronde asked.
“Mrs. Pendergast told me that the district council has to approve the factory. She’s going to go to the open council meeting and complain. And I’m going with her!”
“Ma, don’t!” Tiki said. “People will think you’re weird.”
“Why? Because I’m with Mrs. Pendergast?”
“Yes!” Ronde said. “And because . . . because . . .”
“Because why, Ronde?”
“Because if you stand up and say stuff in front of all those people, they’ll all know what you think.”
“Yeah,” Tiki agreed. “Let Mrs. Pendergast do it. Everybody already thinks she’s weird.”
“Boys,” said their mom, “sometimes we all have to stand up and be counted, even speak our minds. I hope that when you’re older, you’ll do the same. I’m going to stand up and speak my mind. And you’re both coming with me.”
“What?” the boys both jumped up from the table at the same instant.
“Bring your homework along in case it goes long,” she added, smiling slyly.
“Aw, Ma!”
The last thing Tiki wanted was to be shown off with his twin to a room full of grown-ups. He and Ronde were way too old for that—they were in junior high school now!
But he also knew that when his mom made up her mind about something, nothing could change it. If she wanted them to attend some boring council meeting, the boys would just have to grit their teeth and go.
• • •
Tiki barely slept, but when the alarm went off, he was out of bed and into his clothes and shoes in less than thirty seconds.
He couldn’t wait to see whether he’d made the team!
He didn’t even want to think about not being on that list—it would be a total disaster! And though he thought he’d done okay at tryouts, he certainly hadn’t shown them his best.
The list had been haunting his dreams all night. Three times, he’d woken up in a sweat when his name or Ronde’s wasn’t on it. He had looked over to see his brother tossing and turning too.
And now it was morning and they were on their way to school to read the list for real.
Neither Tiki nor Ronde said much as they walked slowly up the steps to the main entrance. They might as well have been walking to final exams.
Tiki was practically shaking with fear. He knew Ronde was going through the same thing. That should have made things easier, but instead it made it twice as hard.
There it was! Tiki saw the list posted on the wall in front of the main office, just as Coach Spangler had promised. A crowd of boys was already stationed in front of it, each one looking frantically for his own name. Some yelled “Yes!” and jumped in the air when they found they were on the list. Others muttered angrily, or just looked down at the floor and walked away, their hearts broken.
Tiki and Ronde bulled their way to the front, using what felt like every ounce of their strength to break through the crowd. Tiki could see Jason, Adam, Paco, and Chris, all grouped in the front row, staring upward.
“Hey, Jason, there you are!” Paco shouted, pointing.
“Yeah, baby!” Jason said, pumping his fist and high-fiving Paco. “You and me, dude! I knew we’d make it!”
Tiki panicked for a second. Why hadn’t they mentioned him or Ronde?
At that moment, Paco saw them. “Yo, dudes, we’re in!” he said, his hands raised for high-fiving.
Tiki felt a huge weight fall from his shoulders. He could breathe again! Still, he looked up and down the list, just to make sure Paco was right.
Yes, there he and Ronde were—whew!
“I made it too, and so did Jason!” Paco said, throwing his arms around the Barbers. “Man, we are gonna rock this conference!”
“Did you guys make it?” Tiki asked Adam and Chris.
Jason replied for them. “Adam’s in—check this out!” He pointed to the bottom right corner of the list, where Adam was listed under “kicker.”
“Incredible, man!” Tiki said, giving Adam the Mews Hill handshake. “I saw you out there, kicking the hide off that ball. That’s awesome!”
“Yeah,” Adam said with a shy grin. “Coach told me to concentrate on special teams. He said I had a golden leg.” He
laughed softly. “He even asked me if it was bionic!”
“And what about you?” Ronde asked Chris.
Chris shook his head. “Nah.”
“Aw, man, that really hurts,” Paco said. “I mean, all of us makin’ it, but not you? Sorry, man.”
“It’s okay,” Chris said, shrugging. “I really don’t care about it that much.”
“Yeah, right,” Jason said. “It’s okay to feel bad, dude. Sometimes things just don’t go the right way.”
“No, I’m serious,” said Chris. He pulled a bunch of flyers out of his book bag. “I’m already joining the debating team, and Model U.N., and I’m in Scouts, too. Tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I was going to have time for this anyway.”
Tiki felt better knowing Chris wasn’t too down about not making the team. All the rest of that day, he was floating on a cloud, and he knew the others must be feeling the same way. He couldn’t wait for practice that afternoon!
A couple of times Mr. Wheeler called on him when he wasn’t paying attention, and the whole class laughed when he got drilled with the crumpled paper ball again. Tiki winced, knowing he was probably getting a reputation as a space cadet.
Still, the thought of football practice kept him happy and excited. When the final bell rang, he raced for the locker room, dodging kids in the hallway left and right.
It was only when he sat down in front of his locker that he remembered—today was supposed to have been Beat the Seventh Graders Day! The whole day had gone by, and Tiki hadn’t even realized it! He couldn’t help laughing, to think how scared he’d been.
Ronde showed up just then, and said, “What’s so funny?”
Tiki told him, and both boys laughed together. When Paco arrived, they gave him a hard time about it, too. “Yo, man, what happened to the big, bad ninth graders?” Ronde asked him.
Paco was steaming. “Man, I’m gonna beat James up so bad,” he said, his hands balling into fists.
“Yeah, right,” Ronde said. “Like that’ll ever happen.”
“What, you think I couldn’t take him?” Paco challenged.
“Paco,” said Tiki, “James is like fifty pounds heavier than you, and it’s all muscle. If I were you, I’d let it go.”
Paco pounded his locker with his fist, but Tiki knew he’d never pick a fight with James. Paco wasn’t the brightest kid in the world, but he wasn’t that stupid.
Matt Clayton limped into the locker room on his crutches. He was wearing his number twenty-one Eagles jersey, but without any padding. “Yo, wuzzup?” he called out. Everyone let out a whoop, welcoming last year’s hero back to the team.
Bryce and Boomer walked in together. “Yo, rookies!” they called out, coming over to Tiki, Ronde, and the other seventh graders. “Give it up!” They high-fived and chest bumped everyone, making funny comments as they went.
“Don’t worry, Shrimpy and Wimpy—we’ve got your backs.”
“Yo, you looked good on that long bomb yesterday, Ronde. You a wide receiver?” Boomer asked.
“I don’t know,” Ronde answered. “Maybe.”
“You’re James’s brother, right?” Bryce asked Paco. “What’s your name again?”
“Paco.”
“Paco? You’re some sack of cement, dude. Welcome to the offensive line.”
“Welcome to the once and future champions!” Boomer boomed, true to his name.
Tiki tried to chest bump Bryce, but he had to jump pretty high, because Bryce was six inches taller.
“Don’t worry, little dude,” Bryce told him. “You probably haven’t hit your growth spurt yet.”
It was the same kind of comment he’d made yesterday—but today, it sounded totally different. They were teammates now. Tiki felt a warm glow all over just thinking about it. They were all teammates!
Assistant coaches came around, giving out uniforms and helmets. Tiki was handed jersey number one. Ronde got number five.
When he was all dressed, Tiki trotted outside. Most of the others were already there, surrounding Head Coach Spangler.
“All right, welcome to the Eagles, all you new guys,” he said. “And welcome back, you upperclassmen. As most of you know, this is a team with a long and glorious history—including two championships in the past ten years. And I’m confident that this will be the year we make new history, and repeat as conference champs!”
A huge cheer went up from all the Eagles. When it died down, Coach Spangler continued.
“Now, the next two practices, today’s and tomorrow’s, are designed to help me and the other coaches figure out who plays where, and to firm up the starting lineups. So you new kids, this is your chance to show us everything you’ve got. On Monday, we’ll post the list of who’s starting, who’s second-string and third-string. Our season opener’s next week, so let’s not waste any more time, shall we?”
Once practice got started, Tiki found himself feeling tense. Normally, he was free and easy on the football field, sure of his talent and having fun playing the game. But today, he could feel his heart pounding, and hear it pounding in his ears.
He dropped easy passes he normally caught. He tried to make cuts that were too tight, and wound up slipping and falling on his face. On defense, he let a touchdown be completed right over his outstretched fingertips.
When practice was over, he found Ronde. “How’d you do?” he asked his twin.
“Not too good. You?”
“About the same.”
“I don’t know what happened to me,” Ronde said. “I stunk.”
“Me too. You think Coach might change his mind and kick us off the team?”
“No way!” Ronde said quickly. “I mean . . . I don’t think so. Do you?”
“Nah,” said Tiki. But he had to wonder.
As the two boys passed the sidelines, Matt Clayton called them over.
“Hey, you two,” he said. “Don’t get down. There’s still tomorrow.”
“But we skunked it up,” Ronde said.
“We stunk,” Tiki agreed.
“Listen,” Matt said, “quit trying so hard to impress the coaches. Just do your thing, and trust them to notice. You guys are talented enough, okay? Don’t get down—just learn from your mistakes.”
“I don’t know,” Ronde said, shaking his head.
Matt gave them both a pat on the shoulder. “Just remember, you guys—it’s all about the team. Success starts with the right attitude.”
“What do you mean?” Tiki asked.
“Quit trying to be solo superstars, okay? Think about the team, and it will happen.”
The words stung, but deep down, Tiki knew Matt was right. The thing was, could he and Ronde go out on the field tomorrow and really do it?
CHAPTER FIVE
MOM RULES
* * *
“YES, YOU DO HAVE TO COME!” MRS. BARBER SAID. She stood in the open doorway, one hand on the doorknob, the other holding her purse—the fancy one she took with her when it was a special occasion.
“Aw, Ma!” Ronde stomped the carpet with his foot, but it didn’t impress her. Tantrums never did.
Ronde pulled at the starched collar that was itching his neck. It was hot to be wearing long-sleeved white shirts and ties, but their mom had insisted. They were coming with her to this stupid district council meeting whether they liked it or not, because she said it was important.
“If you don’t understand why,” she told them, “you will afterward.” That was all she would say about it.
Mrs. Pendergast was waiting for them, outside, in her rusty, crusty old car. “Hi!” she greeted them. “Hop in!’
Mrs. Pendergast sure seemed cheerful. Sure, thought Ronde. Why shouldn’t she be happy? She’s got my mom on her side.
Ronde and Tiki were not cheerful—not at all. Paco and Jason were sitting on the curb and saw them go. It was embarrassing to be seen by all the guys going out all dressed up with your mom and Mrs. Pendergast—the weirdest lady in town! Why couldn’t Mom have driven?
/> They pulled into the parking lot at the local library and went inside. Tiki and Ronde tried to stay a few feet in back of their mother and Mrs. Pendergast.
There were nine people sitting behind a big long desk. They had microphones and their names on plaques in front of them. Ronde knew that these were the men and women of the council—the ones his mom wanted to talk to.
There weren’t very many other people in the room when a man their mom said was the clerk banged his gavel down and started the meeting. A few more came in while the council dealt with other things. Then it was time to discuss the planned new factory.
“We will now have our public comment period. Would anyone like to speak?”
Mrs. Pendergast went first. Ronde didn’t listen too closely to what she said, but he could see she was very angry about the factory. She was almost yelling at the council, and Ronde could tell they didn’t like that. They were all frowning at her.
Two other people also spoke—more softly, thank goodness. Then Mrs. Barber stood up, and went to the public microphone in the center of the room.
“My name is Geraldine Barber,” she said. “I live on Mews Hill Drive, only six blocks away from the site. And I think it is a shame that there aren’t more people here—more people who are worried about this factory, and afraid of what will happen if it’s built. I have two boys myself,” she said, and put her hand out toward Tiki and Ronde.
Everyone in the room looked at them. A few people in the audience even applauded. Ronde looked down at the floor, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tiki doing the same thing.
“I want to hear more about this factory before you go and let them build it,” she said. “I think it’s a shame more people didn’t know about this meeting—but you didn’t let them know ahead of time!”
All at once, everyone in the audience got up and applauded. Ronde couldn’t believe it! The clerk banged his gavel, but nobody stopped clapping.
The clerk finally hammered the room into silence. Then the council president spoke. “Very well,” she said. “I move that we allow another public comment session before deciding on the application to build the factory. All in favor, say ‘aye.’”