CHAPTER 23

‘GREAT MATCH,’ SAID the Heath Road captain, shaking TJ’s hand. ‘Your striker played out of her skin in the second half. We couldn’t get close to her.’

‘Like a ghost,’ grinned TJ. ‘Yeah, she was good, wasn’t she?’

Tulsi’s gran was giving her an enormous hug. Danny was being lifted into the air by his dad. TJ’s family surrounded him. ‘Not bad,’ said his dad. ‘If you’d only tried that move I showed you once, then you’d probably have won by even more!’

‘Right, Dad,’ said TJ. ‘You mean the move that ends up with you flat on your back. No thanks!’

A man with a microphone was calling the teams together for the presentations. A table was set up near the side of the pitch with trophies and medals arranged on top. Maggie Burnside and her cameraman manoeuvred into position and several other photographers had gathered around. The semifinalists collected their medals first, followed by the Heath Road players and their coach. TJ and his friends applauded loudly. Heath Road had made the final into a match to remember – unlike the game against St John’s. TJ could already feel the bruises spreading over his legs and side, as a result of that encounter.

‘And now,’ said the announcer, ‘the Regional under-eleven Champions for this year are Parkview School. And as we have an unexpected special guest here today, I’m going to ask Marshall Jones to help our Chairman to present the trophy.’

‘But who’s going to collect it?’ asked Jamie suddenly. ‘We didn’t decide.’

They all looked at each other, and then they all looked at Rob. None of them had any doubt. ‘You’re the captain,’ TJ said to him.

‘No,’ said Rob. ‘I can’t.’

‘Of course you can,’ said Mr Wood. ‘And they’re right. It has to be you, Rob.’

All of the Parkview supporters cheered wildly, as the players walked forward one at a time to collect their medals. Miss Berry and Tulsi helped Ebony to walk between them. TJ felt as if he was dreaming as Marshall put the medal around his neck and shook his hand.

But it wasn’t a dream. It was even better.

Then Rob was standing in front of the table and Marshall gave him his medal, and picked up the Regional Championship Cup.

‘Before I present the trophy, I’d like to say a few words,’ the Premier League player said, and the crowd hushed. ‘Six months ago Parkview School didn’t even have a football team,’ he told them. ‘Believe it or not, they didn’t even have a pitch to play on. And now look at them! Regional Champions!’

There was loud applause.

‘So,’ said Marshall, when it had died down a little, ‘it’s my pleasure to present this cup to Parkview School.’

Rob walked forward. He had put his glasses on, and he looked a most unlikely captain, but Marshall handed him the cup and he lifted it high above his head, and TJ thought the cheering would never stop.

Finally the crowd began to break up and the Parkview players prepared to go and get changed. ‘TJ,’ said an unfamiliar voice, and TJ turned to see Danny’s dad standing behind him, with little Rosie in his arms. ‘I just wanted to thank you and your mum,’ he said. ‘Danny told me how you helped him.’

TJ felt his face growing hot. ‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘We needed Danny in the team. You can see how good he is.’

‘I can see how good you all are. I’ve been away working for six months and I come back and I find all this has happened. As if having two new babies in the house wasn’t enough to get used to!’

‘Are they OK?’ asked TJ. ‘Danny said one of them was ill.’

‘She’s fine. They both are. And it looks like they and Danny have made a lot of new friends.’

A short distance away Danny was showing his baby sisters proudly to the rest of the team. ‘Another few years and these two will be ready for our new Centre of Excellence for girls,’ said Phil, who was looking on.

‘You mean it?’ said Tulsi. ‘It’s really going to happen?’

‘Sure,’ said Phil. ‘And I’d like you to be a part of it, Tulsi. You were great today. You know how to lose a marker and you know how to bring other players into the game. If there was a Man of the Match award today, you would have won it.’ He saw the look on Miss Berry’s face. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I mean Player of the Match, don’t I? And I’d like Ebony and Leila to come along for trials too.’

He looked over their heads, as they hugged each other with excitement. ‘Hey, Krissy Barton,’ he called. ‘Come here a minute. I wouldn’t want you to miss out. It’s not just going to be for Parkview players, this School of Excellence. You’ll come along for a trial too, won’t you?’

Krissy looked as if she was going to faint until Tulsi grabbed hold of her and started dancing around. ‘I suppose you guys have told everyone your news?’ said Phil to TJ.

TJ looked back at him blankly. ‘What news?’ he said.

‘We didn’t want to tell you before the tournament,’ his dad said, smiling. He pulled an envelope from his pocket. Nearby, Jamie’s dad pulled an identical envelope from his jeans. ‘What is it?’ demanded TJ.

‘Can’t you guess?’

TJ shook his head.

‘It’s from the Wanderers Academy,’ Mr Wilson said. ‘They want to talk to us, TJ – me and your mum and you. They want to discuss whether you’d like to start a six-week trial. Jamie’s got a letter too.’

‘Actually,’ said Rob’s dad, who had been standing quietly in the middle of all the excitement, ‘I got one of those letters as well. They want Rob to go along. I don’t know much about it, this Academy. Is it a good thing?’

Everyone stared at him, and then they all began laughing and cheering. ‘You bet it’s a good thing,’ said TJ, as the dinner ladies hurled their blue and white pom-poms high into the air and the Parkview supporters cheered on and on, and Rob’s mouth fell open in astonishment. ‘It’s the best thing in the whole world!’