Heads Up! Read Free

never asked her about her mail before.
    Then, at dinner, she thought she was going to hear about it at last.
    “I got something interesting in the mail today,” Mrs. Caler said.
    “What was it?” Amanda’s sister Amelia asked. Amelia was three years older than Amanda. She had just come home from ballet
     class. As usual, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a leotard and a pair of shorts.
    Amanda held her breath. Was she about to learn what else was in the envelope and who had sent it?
    She wasn’t. Instead of the plain envelope, Mrs. Caler pulled out a fancy pink one. She waved it at Amelia.
    “We finally got that information about ballet school!” she crowed happily. She pulled a booklet out of the envelope and opened
     it between Amelia and Amanda.
    “Doesn’t this look wonderful?” she asked the girls.
    Amelia’s reply was a squeal of delight. Amanda didn’t say anything.
    After all, her mother had always told her it was better to say nothing at all if you couldn’t say something nice.

Chapter 7

    M rs. Caler and Amelia talked about ballet and the ballet school for the rest of the meal. Amanda finished her dinner in silence,
     cleared her dishes from the table, and went to her room.
    Who would have sent Mom that envelope?
she asked herself for the thousandth time that day.
    She flopped onto her bed and pondered for a while. Suddenly, she sat up.
    “Eddie,” she said out loud.
    Eddie wanted to play halfback. But the ’Cats already had their starting halfbacks — Amanda, Bundy, and Dewey. And Dale was the usual halfback sub. Eddie would only
     be subbed in at halfback if one of the other four couldn’t play.

    Amanda couldn’t think of any reason why Dewey, Bundy, or Dale wouldn’t be able to play. But what about herself? If her mother
     thought that soccer was hazardous, she might take Amanda off the team. An envelope full of newspaper articles about soccer’s
     dangers might make her think about doing just that!
    Eddie had been late to practice that morning. Could she have been busy shoving such an envelope through the Calers’ mail slot?
    Amanda shook her head. She didn’t want to believe Eddie would do something like that. But the more she thought about it, the
     more it seemed to make perfect sense that Eddie was the culprit —and Amanda was her target.
    Then she remembered something else. Inthe rest room, Eddie had wondered if Amanda was going to be afraid of the ball after being hit. Then that night, someone had
     called the coach to ask for heading practice. Could the caller have been Eddie? Could she have hoped that Amanda would shy
     away from the ball whenever it came near her? If so, then she got her wish, because that’s just what Amanda had done for most
     of the practice.
    Amanda didn’t sleep well that night. She had bad dreams about huge soccer balls falling from great heights.
    When she woke up the next morning, her dreams still haunted her. She shuffled into the bathroom and splashed water on her
     face. Then she looked in the mirror — and almost didn’t recognize the person who looked back at her.
    I look scared!
she thought.
I’ve never felt this way before a game!
    She stared at herself for a moment longer.Her tense expression changed to a frown.
Being scared is just what Eddie wants. Well, I’m sorry, Eddie, but you’re not going to get what you want today!
    She marched back into her room and pulled on her shorts and Soccer ’Cats T-shirt. Then she stormed downstairs into the kitchen—
     and ran smack into her mother, who dropped the envelope she was holding. Newspaper clippings fluttered to the floor.
    “Well, well,” Amanda muttered under her breath. “What have we here?”

Chapter 8

    “A h, I see you’re ready for the game,” Mrs. Caler observed as she stooped to pick up the clippings.
    “Darned right!” Amanda replied hotly. “You’re not going to try and stop me from playing, are you?”
    Mrs. Caler looked up. “Why, no,”