CHAPTER FOUR
SHARK BITE!

“This time,” said Coach Popov, “you and Cody will also dribble a ball.”

Cody’s eyes widened. “Why?” he asked. “That makes it so much harder!”

Coach Popov laughed. “Exactly. Let’s see what the two of you’ve got!”

Everyone jogged to their positions. Coach Popov blew his whistle. Nina was determined to win again. She quickly turned several minnows into sharks.

As the game went on, the remaining players turned out to be great at keep-away. Then an idea sparked in Nina’s head.

“Cody, get alongside me!” she said.

Cody did, and Nina nodded toward Molly.

“Now, you go on one side of Molly, and I’ll take the other,” she said.

Cody nodded.

Once they were parallel, Nina shouted, “Close in!” They moved closer to Molly, and Cody batted the ball down the court.

“Next one,” Cody said. “Simone.”

They dribbled to Simone and quickly got the ball away.

“Is that allowed?” Simone asked, laughing and trying to catch her breath.

“I didn’t say anything about having to work alone,” said Coach Popov. He blew his whistle. “Great strategy, Nina!”

Nina blushed with pleasure. Maybe this school wouldn’t be so bad after all. There was a spot in her heart that had been hurting since the move. Right now, it didn’t hurt so much.

“Great teamwork!” Nina said and held up her hand for a high five from Cody.

He scowled at her instead. “I was just doing what I needed to do to win. We’re not a team.”

Cody stalked off, and Nina stared after him in shock. Her friends back home would never have been so mean to anyone. What had she done to deserve that?