What the—oof!” The mud-covered soccer ball bounced off the coach’s stomach and fell to the ground. Coach Bradley looked from his shirt to Bucky and back to his shirt. With a sigh, he picked up a towel and started wiping the mud off. “This shirt is as dirty as my van! If I don’t get them both clean, Mrs. Bradley will have my head!”
“I know where you can get your van cleaned!” Stookie piped up.
“You do? Where?” the coach asked. Stookie shot Bucky a sly grin.
Bucky’s eyes widened. Was Stookie going to tell him about the car wash?
He couldn’t still be angry that Bucky had come up with the idea for the present—could he? One glance at Stookie told Bucky he was. I’ve got to do something! Bucky thought desperately. He spied a cup of water in Dewey’s hands. Without thinking, he grabbed the cup and tossed it at the coach.
“Bucky!” Coach Bradley sputtered. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I—I was just trying to help clean your shirt,” Bucky said weakly.
The coach mopped his dripping face with the towel. Then he peeled off his wet shirt, tossed it on the bench, and started rummaging around in his duffel bag for a spare.
Quick as a wink, Bucky grabbed the muddy shirt. He pulled the tag out of the shirt’s collar, examined it, and grinned. “Got it!”
“Yes, you do,” the coach said. He held out his hand. “Now, may I please have it?”
With a sheepish grin, Bucky passed him the shirt. “Ready for that next drill whenever you are, Coach!”
Coach Bradley shook his head, then stuffed his dirty shirt into the duffel bag and faced the rest of the team. “Okay then,” he barked. “Four-on-four scrimmage with goalies. We’ve got eleven kids here today. Whoever’s left over, be ready to sub in. Let’s get to it!”
Bucky jogged to his spot. Ted and Alan took up defensive positions near him, with Stookie and Eddie on offense. Playing offense for the other team were Lou and the other starting striker, Jerry Dinh. Jerry had the ball. At the coach’s whistle, he started dribbling down the field. Ted and Alan immediately moved to double-team him. Jerry passed to Lou, then spun to free himself from Ted and Alan. “Here!” he called to Lou. Lou jabbed a pass to him, but the ball took a crazy bounce and wound up right in front of Ted. Ted knocked it over the sideline.
“Nice move, Jerry. Good ‘D,’ Ted,” the coach called. “Lou, try to make those passes a little sharper, okay?”
Lou nodded and returned to his position. This time, he started with the ball. A fast runner, he streaked down the sideline and into firing range before Ted or Alan could reach him. One short shot later, the ball was in the net behind Bucky.
“Hmm, that’s better, Lou!” Coach Bradley said with a smile. He tossed the ball to Stookie. “Do that during our last game, and we’re sure to give the other team a run for their money!”
Just then, Stookie dribbled up next to the coach. “Speaking of money,” he said, “I hear a great way to make some extra cash is to hold a car—umph!”
Bucky shot out of the goal and tackled him. “Bucky!” Coach Bradley yelled. “What are you doing?”
Bucky stood up and helped Stookie to his feet. “Uh, sorry, Coach,” he apologized. “I thought Stookie was going to take a shot. I was going for the ball. Sorry, Stookie.”
Stookie curled his hands into fists. “Oh, you’ll be sorry all right!”
“That’s enough,” Coach Bradley said, standing between the two boys. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but let’s cool it. Stookie, back to your position.” Stookie glared at Bucky but did as the coach asked.
“And Bucky, I don’t know what’s gotten into you today,” the coach continued. “But I will tell you that if you don’t settle down, I’m going to bench you at the start of the next game.”