CHAPTER 3

CARLOS’S MOVES

When Dominic arrived at practice Tuesday afternoon, he felt sick to his stomach. Caleb had been extra fussy on the car ride over to the field, and his body had started shaking as if he was cold, even though it was seventy degrees outside.

Dominic’s mom had been so concerned that she’d called Caleb’s doctor. The doctor had assured them it was probably just a reaction to Caleb’s new medication, but Dominic was still worried.

He wanted to go home, but Mom had insisted it would be good for him to be active — that it would take his mind off things.

Dominic reluctantly made his way over to the bench. Johnny and Nathan were already there. A moment later, Coach Everett approached the three of them.

“Look, guys. I need you out on the field, and I really need you to work hard today,” Coach said. “Our first game is a week from Saturday, and we’re up against our league rival — the Warriors. Carlos won’t be here for the game, and we’ll need all the help we can get. This is our last practice until next week, so we need to make the most of it.”

“Who’s Carlos?” Dominic asked, looking around at the other players.

“I am,” said a boy wearing a red jersey. He was standing by the watercooler filling up his water bottle. “If you had played with the team for more than five minutes yesterday, you might remember me.”

“Wait,” Dominic said. “How come we’re not practicing again until next week?”

Coach gave him a frustrated look. “If you had been paying attention yesterday, you’d know that the community center is getting some work done on the field at the end of the week,” he said. “Practice is canceled until Monday, so today’s practice is extra important. Let’s get going. We’ve already broken into two teams to scrimmage.”

Johnny and Nathan stood up to join the team on the field, but Dominic stayed seated. “I’ll just watch,” he said.

“Have it your way, Dominic,” Coach replied. “I can’t force you to play. But if you’re going to sit on the bench, I at least want you watching and encouraging your teammates.” He turned around and walked out to center field.

Dominic crossed his arms and watched from the bench. He stared out at the field just in time to see Carlos score a goal.

“Way to go, Carlos!” the players shouted.

The two teams met at the center circle again for the kickoff. Right away, Carlos got control of the ball and dribbled down the field. Another player tried to steal the ball, but Carlos faked him out, doing a quick half-turn in the other direction and dribbling toward the goal.

Wow, Dominic thought. Carlos is good.

Dominic was watching the field so closely that he didn’t even notice Coach Everett had sat down beside him.

“Hey, Dominic,” the coach said. “I wanted to talk to you. I heard your little brother is sick.”

“He’ll probably be fine,” Dominic said, looking down at his feet. “We’ll find out next week, after his operation.”

Coach nodded. “Still, it must be hard on your whole family,” he said.

Dominic shrugged and looked at the ground. He didn’t want to talk about this. Not here. Not with his coach.

“Come on out and practice. It might help get your mind off things,” Coach said, smiling slightly. “I’d like to see you kick the ball at least once today.”

“Fine,” Dominic said reluctantly. He stood up slowly and walked toward the field, but when play began, he avoided the ball. Instead, he jogged up and down the field, pretending like he was trying to get open. But Dominic also watched Carlos — his fakes, his cuts toward the goal, his crisp passes.

It is nice to get moving, Dominic admitted to himself. But if I can’t play like Carlos, what’s the point of playing at all?