CHAPTER 2

‘WHAT ARE YOU doing?’ TJ asked Rob, who was scribbling busily in his notebook.

‘I’m just mapping out Tulsi’s runs,’ replied Rob. ‘It’s not as hard as you’d think, because most of the time she just waits on the edge of the area. Look.’

Rob’s diagram was like a small, spiky ball. There were one or two little spikes where she’d run to either corner of the area, or back a little way towards the centre circle. TJ laughed. ‘It’s like the one you did the first time we played a match,’ he said.

‘You’re right,’ said Rob. ‘And in every other match.’

He flipped through the pages and TJ saw that all the diagrams were the same. ‘But Tulsi’s a really good player,’ said TJ. ‘And she scores goals.’

‘Not as many as last season,’ Rob told him, shaking his head. ‘Last season she got fifteen. She was top scorer in this league. But she’s only scored four so far this season. The other teams have worked out how to defend against Tulsi. They get someone to mark her, and they make sure someone’s there to cover if she beats them.’

‘Maybe you should tell Tulsi all that,’ said Mrs Patel, leaning over to look in Rob’s book.

‘I don’t think so,’ Rob replied. ‘I tried once, but it didn’t do any good.’

‘I’ll tell her myself,’ Mrs Patel said. ‘After all, the Wanderers manager listens to you, Rob, so I think Tulsi should pay attention.’

Rob was embarrassed. It was true that the Wanderers manager had taken his advice once, but he hated people talking about it. ‘No, please, Mrs Patel. It won’t do any good. Honestly.’

Mrs Patel shook her head. Then she smiled. ‘Maybe she’ll score this half,’ she said. ‘That’s what we need.’

Not long after the kick off, Tulsi’s chance arrived. Two of the Norton players collided with each other in the centre circle and the ball ran free to Kira Jones. She sprinted forward. In front of her, Tulsi had her back to goal with a defender right behind her as usual. The midfielder hit a sharp pass to Tulsi’s feet and carried on running into the penalty area, screaming for a return pass.

Tulsi ignored her. She back-heeled the ball, deceiving her marker, and turned to take a left-foot shot. But once again a second defender was waiting. She blocked Tulsi’s shot and played a swift pass into midfield. The Norton players streamed forward and scored a perfect breakaway goal.

‘Bad luck, Tulsi,’ called Mrs Patel. ‘Better luck next time! Come on, Canby!’

Rob just shook his head. ‘That was a brilliant run that Kira Jones made,’ he said. ‘She was taking advantage of how they put that extra defender on Tulsi. Tulsi should have passed. If she had then it would be one–nil to Canby.’

‘I think Kira Jones agrees with you,’ said Jamie. ‘Look at her face!’

The Canby Road captain was walking back into her own half. She didn’t even glance at Tulsi. And before Canby Road could kick off again, TJ saw their coach waving from the touchline.

‘Oh no,’ said Rob. ‘She’s taking Tulsi off.’

Tulsi glanced towards the touchline, and quickly looked away again. Then the coach called her name, and she couldn’t pretend any longer. She walked very slowly off the pitch, her head down. A small girl with a blonde pony tail ran on to replace her. They saw Tulsi speak angrily to the coach and then walk off towards the changing rooms. ‘I’d better go and make sure she’s all right,’ said Mrs Patel anxiously. ‘Thank you for coming, boys.’

‘This is horrible,’ said Jamie. ‘I wish we weren’t here.’

‘I think it’s going to get worse,’ Rob said. ‘This new girl is pretty good.’

The blonde girl was a very different player from Tulsi. From the moment she arrived on the pitch she began to make energetic darting runs – into the corners, back towards the centre circle, and from side to side along the line of defenders. Kira Jones won the ball in midfield and instantly hit a pass towards the corner flag. The new girl was after it in a flash. She caught up with the ball and laid it back to Kira, then sprinted towards the goal. Kira played the ball into her path, but instead of shooting she pulled it back unselfishly across the goal and one of her team-mates smashed it into the net.

‘That was a proper team goal,’ said Rob, making a note of all the passes. ‘It’s almost as if Canby have an extra player now.’

‘Here they come again,’ said Rafi, who had stopped messing around with his ball and was watching the game intently. ‘This is pretty good.’

Canby Road tore the Norton team to pieces. They scored three quick goals and ran out 4–1 winners. ‘How is Tulsi going to get back in the team?’ said TJ. ‘They were a lot better without her.’

‘It’s not that simple,’ said Rob. ‘Tulsi’s right about one thing. She’s very good at scoring goals. That other girl didn’t score once. Tulsi could easily be as good as her. Better. She just has to listen to what Mr Wood says. It’s not as if he hasn’t told her. It’s not as if we haven’t told her.’

They walked back towards the changing rooms and saw Mrs Patel emerging with Tulsi beside her. They walked to the car and Tulsi didn’t look back.

‘Hey, Tulsi,’ TJ called after her. ‘Tough luck. I bet the next time you’ll get a hat-trick.’

The car doors slammed. TJ looked helplessly at his friends. They’d all seen the tears on Tulsi’s face. They waved half-heartedly as the Patels’ car drew away.