Gracie Read Free Page B

was second-string and spent almost all
his time warming the bench. I waved to him and he waved back, then turned away quickly.
    The game began again. Almost instantly, a Kingston player stole the ball and began running toward our goal. “No! No! No! No!” I shouted.
    Dad was on his feet, screaming!
    Then the ball was flying through the air!
    The Kingston crowd roared. “Kingston scores!” the announcer shouted.
    I slumped in defeat. Jena seemed happy, though, as she breathed in something I didn’t notice. “Smell that, Gracie,” she said. “It’s raw testosterone. You need high concentrations of the stuff to smell it, but there’s more than enough here tonight. I may not love soccer, but I love to watch the players.”
    I nodded, thinking of Kyle.
    Suddenly, though, I forgot all about Kyle.
    Johnny was off with the ball, headed for Kingston’s goal. I was on my feet alongside Dad, Mom, and the boys.
    Johnny faked out the last defender and had a momentary opening. He took a hard shot at the sliding goalie and scored!
    My family must have been cheering so loudly that we attracted attention. Some of the players looked up at us. One of them was Kyle. He winked at me.
    Jena gasped. “Ohmygod, Gracie! He winked at you! Did you see it?”
    I didn’t know what to say, so I ignored her.

    â€œDon’t tell me you’re not interested,” she insisted, shoving me lightly. “He is so hot!”
    â€œI’m interested,” I admitted, dimly aware of the action that had resumed on the field.
    Just then another roar erupted from the Kingston crowd. I shot my attention back to the field, eager to know what I’d missed.
    The referee was blowing his whistle. The official time for the game had expired. With the score 1–1, the outcome had to be decided by a tiebreaker. Each team would take turns at penalty shots. The team with the most goals after five players shot would be the winner.
    So the players from each team shot one after the other, going from team to team, four times. The suspense was intense. Each of the players scored.
    Then the fifth Kingston player, The Giant, slammed it into the lower corner.
    The Kingston crowd went wild.
    He’d scored the go-ahead goal. It meant the Cougars had to score or the game was over.
    Johnny was our best player so, naturally, he was the one to attempt the kick. The crowd around me grew completely silent as he stepped up to the ball and placed it twelve yards out from the goal. Mom and Dad held hands, barely breathing.
    The ref blew his whistle to signal that it was time to shoot. Johnny took a few steps back.
    â€œC’mon, Johnny!” Dad bellowed, his voice piercing the silence.

    â€œBreathe,” I whispered fervently to Johnny, hoping he could somehow sense how much I wanted this for him. Sure, I wanted the Cougars to win, but really, even more, I hoped my brother would be the one to win it. I knew how much it meant to him.
    Crossing my fingers, I closed my eyes. “You can do anything,” I said softly, trying to return the confidence he had given to me the other day.
    Opening my eyes again, I saw his powerful strike. The ball flew toward the upper-left-hand corner of the net—and at the last second veered ever so slightly, slamming off the post!
    My jaw dropped at the same time that Dad’s head dropped and Mom sat down. Jena grabbed my hand sympathetically.
    It took a moment for the Kingston crowd to realize they’d won, but when they did, they went wild with jubilant shouting and cheers.
    The Kingston players jumped into one another’s arms, and their spectators crowded onto the field. For a moment, I lost sight of Johnny and scanned the field eagerly to catch sight of him. Then I found him. He was crouched and alone, holding his head in his hands.
    My family sat quietly, miserably, as the bleachers emptied out. Then Dad stood and lifted Granddad. Mom, Mike, and Daniel followed