Philip and the Girl Who Couldn't Lose (9781619501072) Read Free

charged after her. He put his head down,
ready to knock her over, but as he got close, Jeanne moved quickly
to the side, stuck out her arm, and pushed Philip roughly to the
ground. She kept on running until she crossed the goal. She put the
football down, rested her foot on it, and planted her fists on her
hips.
    “ Seven to nothing,” she
chirped.
    Philip lay on his stomach staring across the
grass at her, unsure of what happened. He picked himself up. “I
slipped,” he called, not facing her.
    “ Ha! Right! Your face slipped on my
hand.”
    “ Shut up and kick the ball.”
    Philip stomped to the edge of the grass and
put his hands on his knees. Jeanne used the same hole Philip had
dug and sent the ball on one bounce toward Philip. Philip grabbed
it, dropped it, and picked it up again. He ran to the left away
from the house. Jeanne came after him. He decided he wouldn’t try
any tricky stuff like Jeanne had done. He’d simply put his head
down and bash into her. Then he’d step over her and head for the
goal line. Down went Philip’s head, and they collided.
    “ Oooffff!” Philip grunted as he flew backward.
    As he landed on the cold ground, the football
flew out of his arms, and Jeanne pounced on it screaming, “Fumble!
Fumble! My ball. You fumbled it.”
    “ No, I didn’t,” argued Philip. “You
knocked me down.”
    “ I’m supposed to knock you down. You
had the ball. We’re playing football, remember?”
    “ Yeah, well.”
    “ Yeah, well, yourself. It’s my ball.
You know it is, so get ready. You hike it to me.”
    Philip thought his angry blood would
come shooting out his ears. I’ll hike it to
you , he thought. I’ll hike it
to you, and then I’ll smoosh you flat. It’s
pancake time, lady, Philip shouted inside his head. He
tossed the ball to Jeanne and roared after her. When he reached for
the speedy girl, he felt Jeanne’s hand crash into his nose. Philip
crumpled to the ground, and Jeanne raced toward the goal. His nose
stung and tears rose into his eyes from the shock. No tears , he told himself. Don’t you let this girl see any tears.
    “ Fourteen-nothing,” Jeanne shouted in
triumph from the edge of the grass. She tucked the ball under her
arm and approached Philip. “You okay?”
    Philip stood up, stretching his eyes wide
because he knew if he squooshed them closed, a tear might roll down
his cheek.
    “ You’re not looking too good at this
game, either. Your mom said you had a friend. Emily or
something.”
    “ Emery!”
    “ Whatever. Does he live close? Go get
him to be on your team.”
    “ Who else is going to be on your team
then?”
    “ Uh, no. I’ll play the two of you.
Maybe then the sides will be even.”
    Philip couldn’t believe his ears. “You wait
here.” He turned and ran down the street toward Emery’s house,
finally able to close his eyes and wipe away a few stray tears.
     
     

Chapter Five

Emery’s mother opened the
door with a grimace on her face. “Don’t bang on the door so loud,
Philip.”
    Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Babies, Philip said to himself. To speed things along
Philip whispered, “Is Emery around?”
    “ In the kitchen. And please, no
noise.”
    Philip found Emery sitting at the kitchen
table resting his head on his arms. Emery looked up.
    “ Philip. What do you want?”
    “ What are you doing? You
sick?”
    “ No, I’m not sick. I’m banned from the
house. Stuck in the kitchen. My mother’s orders.”
    “ Why?”
    “ Sleeping babies.”
    “ You allowed out?”
    “ Allowed? My mother keeps telling me to
go out, but there’s nothing to do.”
    “ Oh, there’s something to do.” Philip
filled Emery in on Jeanne.
    “ She punched you in the
nose?”
    “ No, she didn’t punch me in the nose.
Who said she punched me in the nose?”
    “ You did. She punched you in the nose
and knocked you down.”
    “ We were playing football. Don’t you
listen to anything I tell you?”
    “ What?”
    Philip stared at Emery. Emery broke into