football final. I was really nervous; so were the rest of the team. Only Mr McGregor was calm.
âJust do your best, lads,â he told us in the dressing room. âRemember all Iâve taught you and youâll be fine. And, Smith, you keep your eye on the ball. Donât let your mind wander.â
âOK,â I said. If only he knew!
We started off well, with Peter Ho scoring the first goal. Our supporters, which included Captain Cross-eyed and Mr Tipp, cheered, but then the other team scored, and their supporters cheered. That happened again and it was 2â2. I knew Mum and Dad and Ellie, my little sister, were on the touchline, but I was determined to stay focussed, and I tried not to look at them.
At last, the referee blew his whistle for half-time and we trooped back to the dressing room.
Mr McGregor spoke. âYouâre doing fine, lads,â he said. âBut we need that extra push. Dig deep and give it all youâve got.â
We nodded and ran back out onto the field, determined to play our socks off. And we did. But the other team were good. Very good. We were getting tired and struggling to hold on.
The referee looked at his watch and I heard Mr McGregor yell, âCome on, lads, just one minute to go!â
Then it happened. Iâm not sure how, but suddenly the ball was at my feet and I had a clear sight of the goal. I let fly and really connected with the ball. It soared into the air, over the heads of the other players and hit the side of the post. I held my breath. The ball bounced in.
All our supporters yelled and jumped into the air. Mr Tipp jumped higher than everyone else, so I guess he must have been wearing his bouncing wellies, and Captain Cross-eyed tossed up his pirate hat. My dad couldnât jump with his broken leg, so he waved his crutch instead.
The final whistle blew. All our hours of practice had paid off. We had won the inter-schoolsâ football championship! I could hardly believe it. Neither could Mr McGregor. He couldnât stop grinning. âWell done, lads,â he kept saying. âWell done. I knew you could do it.â
Mrs Bone from the council presented each of us with a medal, then we did a lap of honour with the cup. It felt great, and somehow we werenât tired any more. After that, Mr McGregor took the whole team out for a pizza to celebrate. I had mine with extra pepperoni and cheese, then washed it down with lots of Coke.
When I got home, Mum gave me a big hug and Dad congratulated me and showed me the pictures heâd taken of the game.
âGreat goal, Jonny,â he smiled. âYou saw your chance and took it. Youâve got a really useful right foot there. Keep practising with it.â And he ruffled my hair.
I could tell he was pleased.
Chapter Six
I got up extra early on Monday morning. Mr McGregor had promised we could take the cup round the school to show it off, and I didnât want to miss any of that.
I delivered my papers as fast as I could. When I got to Miss Kingâs, the house was silent. There was no sign of Miss King or her dog, and I wasnât going anywhere near the shed! But one thing
was
different â there was a large hole in the middle of the front lawn.
âThatâs odd,â I muttered. âEverythingâs usually so neat and tidy. Perhaps sheâs rearranging the garden⦠Or burying something,â I added.
But I was supposed to be being sensible, so I pushed that thought away.
The team had a great time going round all the classes, holding the cup above our heads and listening to the cheers. It was ages before we got back to our desks.
âThere you are at last,â said Miss Dodds. âIâm very pleased you won the inter-schoolsâ football championship, but now the contest is over, maybe we can get some proper work done around here.â
We tried, but it wasnât easy. Everyone was too excited. A reporter came round to interview