Operation Baby-Sitter

To Duane, Karen, and Michelle

Text copyright © 1999 by Catherine M. Christopher

Illustrations copyright © 1999 by Daniel Vasconcellos

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.

Matt Christopher™ is a trademark of Catherine M. Christopher

Hachette Book Group

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First eBook Edition: December 2009

ISBN: 978-0-316-09533-4

Contents

Copyright

Soccer ’Cats Team Roster

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Subs:

Jason Shearer

Dale Tuget

Roy Boswick

Edith“Eddie”Sweeny

B
undy! Take it!”

Halfback Bundy Neel, his dark hair sticking straight up, raced to the open spot. He stopped Dewey’s pass, then dribbled the
ball toward the Panthers’ goal.

It was the Soccer ’Cats’ second game of the summer. It was midway through the second half. The score was tied, 4–4.

Bundy was team captain and wanted to help his squad to a victory. When he had been voted in as team captain, he’d been excited
and a little surprised. He had been sure his
pal Dewey London was going to be named captain. After all, Dewey had won the team’s logo-design contest. According to the
rules of the contest, the winner was supposed to become team captain automatically.

But Dewey didn’t want to be captain. He had stood in front of the whole team and nominated Bundy for that job. The whole team
had seconded the nomination.

After the vote, the coach had asked Bundy to stick around.“That was a nice move on Dewey’s part, don’t you think?”he had said
to Bundy.

Bundy nodded.

“It’s that sort of behavior I want my team captain to have,”Coach Bradley continued.“In my book, the best kind of leader leads
by example. When the other kids see you giving extra effort, or going for the assist instead of the goal, or just being a
good sport even if the team’s having an off day, they’ll do the same things. Right?”

“Right!”Bundy had agreed.

So during the week’s practices, Bundy had run faster, worked harder, and shown even more enthusiasm for the game than he usually
did. He hadn’t been sure, but he thought his teammates were starting to give more, too.

Now Bundy dribbled the ball just across the center line. Two Panthers swept in on either side. A third charged him from the
front.

Stookie Norris, a striker, called to Bundy. If anybody could break the tie, it was Stookie.

Bundy pulled his foot back to kick a pass. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the attacker on his right move in. He tried
to protect the ball, but the Panther stole it anyway.

Bundy raced after him. In a second, he was running beside him. He knew what he had to do — tackle from the side. It was a
tricky move. He had to make sure he was a little ahead of his opponent so he wasn’t attacking from behind. Attacking from
behind was a serious foul. He also had to be careful not to
kick his opponent. That’s where Bundy usually messed up.

And it’s where he messed up this time, too. He positioned his body perfectly. But when his foot snaked in to snare the ball,
he whacked the Panther’s shin.

Pheet!
The ref blew his whistle and pointed a finger at Bundy.

“Direct kick!”he said, tossing the ball to the Panther.

Bundy danced around, trying to guess who would receive the kick. A tall, thin Panther darted forward. Bundy lunged toward
him, but he was too late. The kicked ball was stopped by the thin Panther’s foot.

The Panther dribbled the ball a few feet toward the ’Cats’ goal. Then he booted it up-field. The kick looked strong, but the
ball stopped before reaching a teammate.

Bundy rushed to get it. He pulled up short when he saw Dewey, the center midfielder, intercept it.
Now
the ball was headed in the right direction!

“Dewey! Over here!”Bundy yelled, racing toward the Panther goal.

Dewey sent him the ball. Bundy gave it a solid boot toward the Panthers’ net. The ball soared high over the heads of Panthers
and ’Cats alike. Then it soared over the goal and bounced behind the goal line.

B
undy, why didn’t you pass to me?”an angry voice beside him said. It was Stookie.“I was in perfect position.”

“You were?”Bundy groaned.“Man, I really blew it.”

Stookie sighed heavily.“No, that’s okay. You would have passed it to me if you’d seen me. I know you’re not a ball hog.”He
punched Bundy lightly in the shoulder.“If you were, do you think we would have let you be captain?”

Bundy shot Stookie a grateful smile and
hurried to his spot. Stookie’s comment made missing the goal a little easier.

And next time,
he promised himself,
I’ll look for the pass before I go for the goal!

The game continued. Bundy was taken out, and Edith“Eddie”Sweeny subbed in. Bundy didn’t mind. He knew Coach Bradley always
gave every player a chance on the field.

Eddie attacked her opponents with gusto. But she couldn’t seem to get the ball to any of her teammates. After five minutes,
Coach Bradley had Bundy sub back in.

As Bundy passed a disappointed Eddie, he said,“You really scared the pants off some of those Panthers, Eddie.”Eddie grinned
and continued to the bench looking a little happier.

It was the Panthers’ out. In seconds, the in-bounded ball was headed straight into ’Cats territory. Bundy pounded after it.

But the Panthers were quick. Their striker dodged around fullbacks Brant Davis and Lisa Gaddy. Ted, Lisa’s twin brother, collided with Alan Minter. The Panther walloped a kick toward the far corner of the
net. Goalie Bucky Pinter hurled himself after it. He missed it by inches.

Now the score was Panthers 5, ’Cats 4. There was only a minute left to play.

“Come on, let’s tie it up!”Bundy called.“It ain’t over till it’s over!”

But when the horn blared, signaling the end of the game, the score was still the same. The ’Cats walked off the field with
their heads down.

Bundy did his best to rally them.“We played a good game, ’Cats,”he said over and over.“And we’ll get ‘em next time.”

After collecting their stuff, Dewey and Bundy walked home together as usual. They talked over the game, then parted to go
to their own houses.

When Bundy turned into his driveway, he was surprised and happy to see his grandfather’s
car. Surprised because Grandpa Frederic had been on vacation for the last week. Happy because Bundy loved spending time with
his grandfather. Both of Bundy’s parents worked, so it was Grandpa Frederic who welcomed Bundy home after school during the
school year and who stayed with Bundy during the summer weekdays.

Bundy’s parents were with his grandfather in the kitchen. They all looked serious.

Uh-oh,
Bundy thought.
I wonder what’s going on.