“He’s probably just doing what he thinks is right,” said Jack as they walked to Sunningdale Park together.

“Yeah, but why do they have to have a go at me the whole time?” said Jamie, still fuming. “Why can’t they just support me? I mean, I’ve got the biggest game of my life next week. This is the last thing I need.”

“They probably think they are supporting you – just in their own way,” said Jack. “And don’t forget, they don’t play football with you like I do. Anyone that’s seen you play knows that you can make it.”

Jamie smiled. How did Jack manage to make him feel so much better with just a few words?

“Thanks,” Jamie said, almost shyly. “And, by the way, I’ve got a new trick up my sleeve to show you. . .”

*

“Marshall v Johnson,” said Jack. She put on her goalkeeper’s gloves and then smacked them together. “World Series. Loser buys milkshakes.”

“Bring it on!” said Jamie, sprinting over to collect the ball.

They were going to play “One v One”. Jack would start on her goal-line and Jamie would start on the halfway line with the ball. Once he kicked off, Jamie had ten seconds to get the ball into the net however he could, as long as it didn’t go out of play or Jack didn’t have two hands on it.

The scoring was simple. If Jamie got a goal in those ten seconds, it was a point to him; if he didn’t, it was a point to Jack.

They both loved the game because it had all the pace and excitement of a full match but they could play this game on their own. Just the two of them.

 

By the time they got to the tenth point (it was 6 – 3 to Jamie), Jamie was already panting as if he’d just done the school cross-country. He’d been sprinting for the whole game; if he jogged, it just gave Jack the advantage.

Jamie inhaled the warm summer air and put the ball down on the halfway line. He needed one more point to win the “World Series”. For a couple of seconds he focused his eyes on the goal and imagined himself scoring. Then he knocked the ball forward and hared off after it. One more touch and he was already level with Jack, who had come to the edge of the area to close down the angles.

At that moment, Jamie’s body did something completely by itself. Jamie hadn’t even told it what to do.

In a lightning flash, his right foot had circled the ball without touching it and his left foot had knocked it away from Jack. It was his step-over. He must have practised it so many times that his feet now knew how to do it automatically.

Jamie hurdled over Jack’s outstretched arm. He was past her. She was a goner. Never coming back from that one.

“Woah!” said Jack, sprawled on the ground. She had surprise painted across her face. “I thought I knew all your moves . . . what was that?”

“Oh, that,” said Jamie, rolling the ball into the empty net. “That was my new step-over.”