Making the Save
Text copyright © 2004 by Matt Christopher Royalties, Inc. Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Daniel Vasconcellos
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ISBN: 978-0-316-02581-2
Contents
| Lou Barnes | Striker |
| Jerry Dinh | Striker |
| Stookie Norris | Striker |
| Dewey London | Half back |
| Bundy Neel | Half back |
| Amanda Caler | Half back |
| Brant Davis | Fullback |
| Lisa Gaddy | Fullback |
| Ted Gaddy | Fullback |
| Alan Minter | Fullback |
| Bucky Pinter | Goalie |
Subs:
Jason Shearer
Dale Tuget
Roy Boswick
Edith “Eddie” Sweeny
T
hwap!
Bucky Pinter slapped down the soccer ball Dewey London kicked at him. He sent the ball rolling back to Dewey. Dewey trapped it with his foot, lined up behind it, and kicked again. This time, Bucky jumped high to tap the ball up and over the goal.
“Another great save, Bucky!” Dewey cried enthusiastically.
Bucky retrieved the ball. “Thanks for practicing with me today,” he said. “I want to be sure I’m ready for our last game!” Bucky was the starting goalkeeper for the Soccer ’Cats. Dewey played halfback.
“It’d be awesome to end the season with a win,” Dewey agreed. He punted the ball at Bucky.
It was a soft kick, and Bucky caught it easily. This time, instead of sending the ball back to Dewey, he started bouncing it from knee to knee. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Maybe we should get Coach Bradley a thank-you present for all he’s done for our team. What do you think?”
Dewey nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let’s talk to Bundy and see what he thinks. He is the captain of the team, after all.” He checked his watch. “Bundy had a dentist appointment earlier, but he should be home by now. Want to head over to his house?”
Bucky gave the ball one last bounce. “Sure. Think his mom will feed us lunch? I’m starving!”
Several minutes later, the two boys were sitting with Bundy at his kitchen table. Bucky and Dewey were eating sandwiches and chips. Bundy had a bowl of applesauce.
“Is that all you’re having for lunch?” Dewey asked, his mouth full of peanut butter and jelly.
“I can’t chew. My lips and tongue are numb,” Bundy replied. At least that’s what Bucky thought he said. It sounded more like, “Ah cad tsew. By libs ad tug ah nub.”
Mrs. Neel explained, “Bundy had a cavity. The dentist gave him a shot to numb the area around the tooth so he could drill out the cavity without hurting Bundy. The numb feeling will wear off in a while.”
Dewey looked horrified. “A shot? Did it hurt?” Bundy nodded miserably.
His mother kissed the top of his head. “It’ll feel better soon. And maybe now you’ll stay away from sugary snacks and drinks!”
Bucky watched Bundy scoop up a spoonful of applesauce and carefully put it in his mouth. He decided to follow Mrs. Neel’s advice. He sure didn’t want to have to get a shot in his mouth!
As the three boys ate their lunches, Bucky brought up his idea. “So, what do you think, Captain Bundy? Should we get the coach a thank-you present?”
Bundy nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, his mother interrupted. “I think it would be a great idea. I just have two questions.” She turned from the counter and looked at the three boys. “First: What are you going to get him? And second: How are you going to pay for it?”
B
ucky gulped. He had an idea for the present, but he hadn’t really given much thought to where the money would come from.
Mrs. Neel seemed to realize that. “I suppose we, your parents, could just give you the money,” she said. “But then the gift wouldn’t really be from you and your teammates, would it?”
“So we need to figure out a way to earn the money ourselves,” Dewey finished for her. “Maybe we could have a bake sale. You know, make cookies and cakes and sell ’em to people?”
Bundy shook his head violently. “No way!” he said, his speech still a little garbled. “I’m staying away from sugar!”
“A lemonade stand?” Dewey smacked his lips. “I love lemonade!”
The other two boys shook their heads. “Lemonade stands are for little kids,” Bundy said. “Besides, no one ever makes money from them. Why don’t we just ask everyone to break open their piggy banks? I bet I’ve got a couple of dollars in mine.”
“We could,” Bucky agreed. “But I think it’d be better to come up with a way to earn money as a team.”
The three boys were quiet for a few minutes, each trying to think up a way to make money. Then Bucky snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it!” he cried. “How about a car wash?”
“A car wash?” Dewey looked doubtful. “How would we do that?”
“Easy!” replied Bucky. “We’ll get buckets and sponges and towels. We fill the buckets with warm, soapy water. A car drives up, we wash it with the soapy water, and we collect the money!”
“Where does the car drive up? And how do we get the car rinsed off?” Bundy asked.
But by now Bucky had it all figured out. “We’ll have it at my house since I live on a dead-end street and cars can park without blocking traffic. We’ve got a long hose we can use to spray off the soap. We can even towel dry the cars after they’re clean.” He grinned. “So, what do you think?”
“I think a lemonade stand would be easier,” Dewey said. “Tastier, too.”
Bucky laughed. “Then we’ll also set up a lemonade stand and make twice as much money!”
Bundy stood up. “Let’s call a team meeting and see what everyone else thinks.” Suddenly, he blinked. “Hey, I can feel my tongue and lips again!”
Bucky grabbed the phone. “Just in the nick of time,” he said. “Start making those calls!”
Within an hour, the whole team had gathered in Bundy’s backyard. Once more, Bucky explained his idea about getting the coach a gift. He outlined the plan for the car wash, too. When he was through, everyone began talking at once.
“I’ll make some signs to put up around town,” Amanda Caler offered.
“My dad’s got this stuff that makes hub-caps shine like new,” said Brant Davis. “I’ll see if I can bring it.”
“I don’t like lemonade,” muttered Stookie Norris, not bothering to look up from the handheld computer game he was playing. The game was Stookie’s prize possession. He never went anywhere without it.
“More for the rest of us, then!” Jason Shearer said.
“But only if you pay for it,” Bundy reminded them.
“That’s right,” agreed Bucky. “We need to make a lot of money to cover the cost of the present I found!”
S
tookie looked up and frowned. “Hold on. You already bought the present?” he asked.
“No, no,” Bucky reassured him.
“Good,” said Stookie, “because I think we should get him—”
Bucky interrupted. “I’m sure your idea is good, Stookie, but let me tell you about mine!” He turned to the others. “I saw this wool-and-leather jacket in the window of Rocko’s Sporting Goods. It looked like the team jackets some professional athletes wear— you know, the kind that snap up the front?” A few of the kids nodded. “It comes in different colors, including yellow like our team T-shirt.”
“You want to get him a yellow jacket?” Jason grinned. “Heck, why not go all out and get him a whole bees’ nest instead?”
Bucky laughed with the others, then continued. “The jacket was pretty cool-looking, but the best part is, we can get words and stuff stitched on it. For
free.
”
“What would we put on it?” Edith “Eddie” Sweeny wanted to know.
“I was thinking something like ‘World’s Best Coach’ and our team logo.”
“How much does it cost?” Amanda asked. Bucky told his teammates the price he’d seen on the tag. The twins, Ted and Lisa Gaddy, whistled at the same time.
“That’s a lot!” Lisa said.
“A real lot!” Ted echoed.
“Well, I think Coach Bradley is worth it.” Bundy’s words stopped anyone else from commenting. “I say we try to earn the money for the jacket. If we raise enough, great! If not”— he shrugged—“I bet we can find something else just as good.”
“Don’t we get to vote on it?” Stookie said. “Or is it whatever Bucky says goes?”
“Sure, we can vote,” Bundy said. “All in favor?” Everyone but Stookie raised a hand. “Sorry, Stookie, looks like you’re the odd man out.” Stookie didn’t say a word. He just picked up his computer game and started playing again.
Bundy said, “Today’s Monday. We have a practice tomorrow morning, and our last game is on Saturday. I think we should have the car wash on Wednesday. Okay?”
Stookie was silent, but everyone else agreed. Bucky ran inside to call his mother to make sure it was okay to have the car wash at their house. When he returned, he gave the team the thumbs-up.
“I’m going home right now to make the signs,” Amanda said. “I’ve got tons of art supplies and cardboard.”
“I’ll help you,” Lisa offered. “Then we can put them up today!”
“I’ll come, too,” Eddie said. The three girls hopped on their bikes and took off.
