The Comeback Challenge (3 page)

Mark was embarrassed. How could I snap at the first person who’s tried to be friendly? he thought.

“It’s just that she’s got a career now, so she doesn’t have time to coach.” Mark fiddled with his locker combination. “Sorry
I blew up at you. I guess I’m just nervous because I don’t know if the way I played in England will work here.” The memory
of how he had misread the dark-haired boy’s head signal the previous day flashed through his mind.

Craig shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Soccer is soccer, whether you play it here or in England. Long as you
play a good game now, Coach’ll put you on the team. That’s all that counts, right?”

Mark grinned. Craig was so matter-of-fact. He didn’t seem to let anything bother him.

A few of the guys who had been at practice had
overheard the last part of the conversation. They crowded around.

“You played soccer in England?” one of the boys asked. “Cool!”

“Hey, guys, let’s keep it under wraps,” said another. “We don’t want the rest of the league to know we’ve got a secret weapon!”

“Wait a minute,” Mark protested. “It’s not like I was in the World Cup. I played for this little school I went to. But they
do take it seriously over there, though, and we did have some cool plays. Like there was this one …”

Craig and the others crowded around to hear him describe the play. Mark heard himself talking more than he had in weeks. It
felt good — and seeing the look of understanding come across his listeners’ faces made him realize that even if he messed
up on the field, he could at least talk a good game!

That afternoon, practice heated up. The coach put them through their drills faster, and he shouted out directions more rapidly.

“Heads up!”

“Pass that ball!”

“Look around, look around!”

“Defense, get a move on it!”

In between drills, Mark managed to put a few more names with faces. Evan Andrews was another front line hopeful, like Mark,
and Johnny Mintz looked able to play a strong midfield position. Both boys were new to the team, too.

Mark also found out who the dark-haired boy was. His name was Vince Loman. He had been the star of the summer league for the
past two years and a strong starter for the Scorpions the year before. In fact, the Scorpions had voted him team captain for
this year’s squad.

He
was
good, Mark noticed. Vince clearly knew how to move the ball into striking range, and his dribbling and passing were controlled
and accurate.

I just hope he isn’t still holding a grudge against me for my goof-up yesterday, Mark thought.

Mark had his chance to find out before the practice was through. During the first scrimmage, he was paired up with Vince in
the forward line. Vince was at center, and Mark was to his left.

No sooner had play started than Vince intercepted a ball obviously meant for Mark. Vince swooped in
and captured it with his left foot. Then, after dribbling it for a few yards, he passed it — to his right wing, in the opposite
direction from Mark.

Mark’s eyes narrowed, but he jogged downfield with the rest of the front line, ready for a pass if one came his way.

Coach Ryan had worked out a few simple plays for them to try in the scrimmage. One called for the forward line to make a rush
at the goal while a back-fielder swept around and dashed right in front of the goal. With any luck, he would be in position
for a short kick across the line and into the net.

When Vince called out the signal for that play, his wings rushed forward. From the corner of his eye, Mark saw the backfielder
start his sweep. But an opposing lineman jumped in his way. The backfielder tripped and toppled over.

Mark knew the play couldn’t go as planned. So, breaking from his own pattern, he swung around to approach the goal in place
of the backfielder.

Meanwhile, Vince had decided to kick the ball for a goal instead of passing it. His boot was high, but weak — an easy pickoff
for the goalie, who ran forward to catch it.

Instead, he found himself grasping at air. At the last second, Mark had rushed forward and headed the ball over his shoulder
and into the net.

Goal!

Cheers rang out from the guys on the sidelines. It had looked like a brilliant play, well practiced, even though it was just
an improvisation on Mark’s part.

Mark was all smiles as he ran back down the field. He glanced over at Vince to give him the thumbs-up sign. But Vince had
his head down.

“Hey, Captain, great assist!” Mark called out.

Vince’s head shot up. “It would have been a goal if you hadn’t jumped in to grab the glory,” he replied stiffly.

Mark didn’t think; he just blurted, “I don’t think so. The goalie was going to catch it easily. Your kick was too soft.”

Vince glowered and balled his fists. “Is that right? Well, I’ll just have to kick harder next time, then, won’t I?” He spun
on his heels and took up his position in center field.

Mark was stunned. Ever since his playground league days, he’d been taught that a goal was a goal,
no matter who made it. But it seemed obvious that Vince thought otherwise.

Or had Mark been wrong in thinking the kick would be caught? Maybe he had acted too hastily — and Vince was angry because
he thought Mark was showing off?

Coach Ryan switched players around for the next few plays, and Mark eventually found himself in the center spot. Vince was
now playing his left wing. Mark was determined to use the opportunity to set up a play that would put Vince in scoring position.
He wanted to show him that there were no hard feelings.

But he never got a chance. Even though his teammates must have been able to see that Mark knew what he was doing, he didn’t
seem to be getting his share of the passes. In fact, Mark started to feel like Vince was hogging the ball. Before he could
be sure, though, a whistle blew.

“Okay, guys,” Coach Ryan called. “That’s it for today. Tomorrow is our last tryout practice. Then I’ll be posting a roster
of the starting lineup and the substitutes. Our first game is against the Raiders next Friday, and we need to start working
out as a
regular team. So do your laps now, do your homework later, and come prepared tomorrow for another hard practice.”

As the boys dispersed, Craig came over to Mark and said, “You’re a shoo-in for a spot on the team.”

“You think so?” Mark asked.

“Definitely. But don’t get carried away,” he added. “Coach Ryan didn’t mention it, but everyone makes the team. Of course,
only eleven guys get to start, and there are only five substitutes who suit up each game. But anyone else who wants a shot
can continue to practice with the team and come along to games as reserves.”

Mark was pleased to hear about Coach Ryan’s policy. But he knew he wouldn’t be content to be a reserve. He wanted to be listed
as one of the starting eleven.

Two days later, he got his wish. The roster was posted, and his name was way up top, even above Vince Loman’s. For some reason,
that made him feel great — even when he noticed that the list was in alphabetical order.

S
occer and school whizzed by, and before Mark knew it, it was the first game of the season. Friday afternoon was sunny and
cold, just the way he liked it for a game.

When he stepped out on to the Knightstown Middle School soccer field in his scarlet shirt and his silver-gray shorts, he was
revved up and ready to play ball. Looking over to the grandstand behind the Scorpions’ bench, he could see Grandma and Grandpa
Conway huddled together. They saw him looking in their direction and waved.

Craig booted a white-and-black sphere in his direction.

“Go, Scorpions!” shouted the freckle-faced red-head.

“Go, yourself, Pepper!” Mark called back. He smiled wide as he kicked the ball back to Craig.

Over the past week and a half, he had grown comfortable with Craig and some of the other guys. In fact, most of his teammates
seemed to have accepted him with eagerness. Only Vince Loman kept his distance, and though Mark didn’t understand what the
boy had against him, he decided to just try to ignore it.

Of course, there had been that bad moment when both boys had called for a different play at the same time. Vince had had possession
of the ball, but Mark had better field position to see the way a setup could work. Half the guys had listened to Mark. The
other half had listened to Vince. As a result, neither play worked, and the defense had stolen the ball. Vince had frowned
at Mark but said nothing.

Later on, though, during a break, Coach Ryan had reminded Mark that only the player with the ball should call for a play.
Mark had nodded. He understood the reasoning behind such a rule; the mess-up on the field had shown him its importance clearly.

He thought that was the end of the incident. But Vince saw fit to drum it home every chance he got.

“Think that’s the way they play over in England?” Mark overheard Vince ask Charlie Burns. “Man, it must have been mass confusion
on the field. Or maybe the loudest voice got to call the shots.” Vince glanced at Mark, smirked, then ran onto the field.

Even now, three days later, Mark’s face burned at the memory. But he just swallowed it and concentrated on his warm-up drills.

I only hope things go more smoothly today, he thought.

Mark was set to play the middle of the forward line, and Vince would be on his right. They would be a winning combination
at scoring if they could get in sync with each other. In a few seconds, Mark would find out.

The Scorpions lined up in a three-three-four format: completing the forward three was veteran lineman Evan Andrews, to Mark’s
left; Jim Shields, Mel Duffy, and John Mintz, three rookies like Mark, were at midfield; and Craig, Eddie Chu, Harvey Kahn,
and Stu Watts manned the backfield. Charlie Burns was the Scorpions’ goalie.

Tweeeeet!

The ref blew the whistle, signaling the start of the
game. He placed the ball in the center of the field, and the players took their positions.

The Knightstown Scorpions stood out in their scarlet and gray. The late-day sunshine lit up the Terryville Raiders in their
mustard yellow and blue uniforms.

The Scorpions had won the coin toss and elected to kick.

Mark knew what his job would be. He was to fake a pass to Evan Andrews, then quickly shoot the ball to Vince. The team captain
would then set up the first play of the game. It was a simple enough thing to do.

But it didn’t go as planned. When Mark readied himself to put the ball in play with his first tap, he noticed that the Raiders’
defense was lined up more heavily on Vince’s side of the field. It was as if they knew the ball was going to end up with Vince
and were ready to stop him.

Mark had to make a tough decision. Should he keep to the original play or improvise? As the whistle blew to start the game,
Mark checked out the Raiders’ lineup one last time.

Then he kicked the ball — to Evan Andrews.
Evan looked surprised, but he recovered fast and dribbled the ball down the field. Mark and Vince raced down their lanes,
too, as Evan avoided first one defensive player, then another.

But that was as far as he got. A Raider snagged it away from Evan and booted it in the opposite direction.

Eddie Chu was the first Scorpion to get a piece of it. He tried to kick it into the clear, but a couple of Raiders got in
the way. The ball sailed off toward the sideline. Stu Watts trapped it and dribbled it forward until he was besieged by Raiders.
He passed the ball toward the midfield, halfway between Mark and Vince.

Both boys charged at it at breakneck speed. But Mark could see that Vince was a little bit ahead of him. He backed off just
in time for Vince to capture the ball. With a clear field ahead, the Scorpion wing began to dribble toward the goal.

It wasn’t long before he was overtaken by a couple of fast-moving Raiders. Mark could see Vince looking around to see which
of his teammates was in the open. Mark was the closest, but Evan Andrews was shouting for the ball, too. Vince twisted around
and
booted the ball in Evan’s direction just seconds before a Raider defensive man attacked.

Evan dribbled the ball for a few feet, then pivoted and booted the ball across the field to Mark.

Mark trapped it, then nudged the ball forward with the inside of his right shoe. But the Raiders’ defense was fierce. The
Knightstown center held on to the ball for only a few minutes before it was stolen by some fancy footwork on the part of the
Raiders’ center halfback.

A quick kick by the halfback sent the ball deep into Scorpion territory. The Raiders’ left wing swooped in and carried the
ball close to the goal. He drew his leg back and kicked the ball toward the net — hard.

But goalie Charlie Burns was ready. He scooped it up and sent it flying back down toward the midfield stripe.

Mark had hung back enough to be in position for the ball when it came his way. A pass from Jim Shields gave him possession.
In the distance, he could hear the approach of Raiders defensemen. But he dribbled the ball forward and stayed ahead of them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see
that both Vince and Evan had trailed him down the field and were ready to help out.

Glancing ahead, Mark saw that his way to the goal was blocked. As much as he wanted to be the first on the team to score,
he knew it would be smarter to pass the ball to someone who had a better shot. Without hesitation, he booted the ball to Vince.
The Scorpion captain trapped the ball, paused, then kicked it toward the net.

The Raiders’ goalie leapt up and managed to stop the ball before it crossed the line.

“Nice try,” Mark called over to Vince as the ball sailed over their heads. But Vince didn’t even glance at him as they reversed
direction and started running back downfield.

Mark knew it was possible Vince just hadn’t heard him. Somehow, though, he guessed Vince was choosing to ignore him. But why?

He didn’t have time to think about it any further. Mel Duffy had stolen the ball from a Raider forward and had just passed
it in his direction. Mark stopped it with his right foot and started to move down the field toward the Raiders’ goal again.
But the field was loaded with Raiders, and there was no clear
path. He dribbled the ball, looking for someone to pass to.