Later that day, the MVP Club ended up at Kat and Luke’s house. They were hanging out on the back deck with Alex Akers. Kat’s mom had put out a bunch of food. There was a big blue cooler filled with PowerPunch and another one filled with ice cream. Kat and Alice were still in their soccer uniforms. Everyone was sitting around the table celebrating the win.

“That was an amazing move, Kat,” Alice said. “When we tied the game, I knew you would be the one to help us win. That’s why we got something for you.”

Alice dug inside her backpack and pulled out a shiny gold medal on a red, white, and blue ribbon.

“We decided you’re our soccer MVP!” Alice said. She hung the medal around Kat’s neck.

Kat’s face broke into a wide smile. “Thanks, everyone,” she said. “Maybe someday this will be me.” She pointed at the picture of Alex on the label of her drink.

“You know, Kat, being a soccer star isn’t just about getting your picture on the PowerPunch bottle,” Alex said. “It’s also about working hard and believing in yourself, even when you mess up. Especially when you mess up. That’s when it’s most important to put your head down and just keep working. I’m proud of how hard you worked and the fact that you stuck with it. It was nice to see it pay off.”

Kat smiled. “It felt great to have it pay off,” she said. “Thanks for all your help.”

Kat’s mother brought out the model of the field house. She put it in the middle of the table. Then she put a hammer down next to it.

“What’s that for?” Kat asked.

“To open it up!” her mother said. “How else are we going to get the money out?”

Kat smacked her head with her palm. “Mom! We’re trying to save the field house, not destroy it!” she said. “Do you think I didn’t leave a way to get the money out?”

Kat leaned over and stuck her fingernail into the side of the front door. The little door popped open. Dollar bills and coins tumbled out.

The table broke into laughter. Then Max and Nico started clapping. “Another great job, Kat!” Nico said.

For the next half hour, they counted the money. When they were done, they handed it over to Kat’s mother.

“That’s a lot of money,” Kat’s mom said. “It’s amazing that we were able to raise so much in such a short time. But I have some bad news: I checked with the town planner, and I just don’t think this will be enough to stop the town from selling the field house.”

Kat sat up straight. “Oh no!” she said. “Isn’t there anything else we can do?”

Kat’s mom shrugged. “We’ll try,” she said. “But I don’t know.”

Nico and Luke moaned.

“I can’t believe we worked so hard and we still failed,” Max said.

“You didn’t fail,” Kat’s mom said. “But sometimes even when you try, you’re not always able to do what you want.”

While Kat’s mom put the money away, the kids sat around the table trying to figure out other ways to raise money. Alice suggested a dog-walking service. Nico thought of selling healthy snacks at school. Max just spun his chair around and tried to get something helpful to pop out of his brain.

But it looked like there’d be no way to save the field house.

A short time later, the doorbell rang. Kat’s mom went to answer it. She seemed to be gone for a while. Finally, she returned. But she wasn’t alone. Just behind her was Mr. Danforth!

He stood on the deck with his hands in his pockets. “Sorry to interrupt your party,” he said. “But I had an idea and wanted to stop by.”

Mr. Danforth looked at Kat and Alice. “What a terrific soccer game!” he said. “Kat, that was one of the most amazing moves I’ve ever seen on a soccer field.”

Kat blushed. “Thank you,” she said. She glanced at Alex. “I had a good teacher.”

“I’ll say,” Mr. Danforth said. “But I didn’t come to talk soccer with you. I came over because I wanted to talk about the field house.”

Mr. Danforth turned to Kat’s mom. “Max, Nico, and Luke gave me a tour of it during the soccer game.”

“We saw him exploring and wanted to make sure nothing went wrong,” Luke said.

“You’re not supposed to go in there,” Kat’s mom said to the kids. “I hope it was safe.”

Mr. Danforth nodded. “It was,” he said. “The boys really gave me some things to think about. That’s how I came up with a new idea for the field house.”

“What?” Luke and Kat asked together.

“I’m going to ask the town to let me buy it and fix it up,” Mr. Danforth said.

“But that’s what you were doing already,” Max said.

Mr. Danforth smiled. “Actually, it isn’t,” he said. “After taking the tour of the field house with you today, I thought of something different.”

Mr. Danforth pointed to Kat’s field house model on the table.

“What if we share it?” Mr. Danforth asked. “I’ll put my offices on the second floor. Then, with the money you raised today, we can turn the first floor into an activity center for the town. We can build out the snack bar and Alice’s golf room.”

“Really?” Max said. “That would be awesome!”

“Yes,” said Mr. Danforth. “And I think we can even build a pretty neat rock-climbing wall on one side of the building!”

“Yeah!” Nico said. “I’ve always wanted to try rock climbing!”

“What a great idea,” Kat’s mom said. “You’ll get your offices, and the town will get a great new activity center!”

The kids all clapped and hooted.

Mr. Danforth smiled. “I wouldn’t have thought of it without the help of Max, Nico, and Luke,” he said.

Max got up. “And I have another idea,” he said. He went over to the cooler and opened the lid. He reached in and scooped out a big ball of blue raspberry ice cream and put it in one of the cones.

Max took the cone over to Mr. Danforth. “One cool idea deserves another,” he said. “To our new field house friend, Mr. Danforth!”

The kids cheered for Mr. Danforth. He raised his cone and took a bite.

“And when we get the field house fixed up,” he said. “I’ll buy ice cream for anyone who can beat me to the top of the rock-climbing wall!”