Sidetracked

Sidetracked — page 3 — in the eyes of a raging buffalo on Animal Planet which is why I’ve ended up crouched behind the goal covering my head with my hands during our first PE class of seventh grade But instead I just say Nothing Nothing Good Coach DeSalvo walks around the net plants a meaty hand in the middle of my back and guides me to a spot near the middle of the field Then pick it up Friedman Stop running away from the ball All this has made my stomach shake but I manage to say Okay Coach DeSalvo marches over to the other side of the field He blows his whistle and the game starts up again Frank I say to Frank Maldonado am I on your team He looks at me like he’s not sure if I’m kidding I’m not Yes Unfortunately he says How can you tell I ask Pinnies he says like it’s a question I should know the answer to I look around Half the kids are wearing those little blue bibs Oh Yeah I say Thanks I try to move around like the other kids in case Coach DeSalvo is watching but not surprisingly he’s forgotten all about me I drift over toward the sideline where a gray squirrel is hunting around in that herky-jerky squirrelly way I watch how he picks up a fat brown maple seed the 2

Sidetracked — page 4 — kind with wings that looks like an angel He clutches it in his pointy little squirrel hands turning it around and around to find just the right biting-in place Then all of a sudden he freezes He sits up straight staring at a spot right behind me I freeze too feeling the earth shake under me I turn to see what’s causing it twenty-four sets of middle school feet charging down the field And out in front is Charlie Kastner dribbling the soccer ball like a maniac and heading straight for me This time there’s nowhere to run All I can do is brace for impact and hope to heal up by Thanksgiving But instead of being smashed and ground to dust I watch as Charlie’s legs fly miraculously out from under him His big sweaty body tumbles through the air It seems like an eternity that he’s up there and then he lands with a thud on the grass Someone has taken out Charlie Kastner and stolen the ball It’s a girl She’s by me in a flash passing so close that her hair slaps me across the face It’s not tied back in a ponytail like the other girls It’s flying wild The ball skips ahead of her celebrating its rescue from Charlie’s clutches All the other kids whose thundering feet would have trampled my remains if Charlie had mowed me down make a U-turn following this new girl as she dribbles the ball back toward the other team’s goal 3

Sidetracked — page 5 — Charlie gives me a vengeful look then gets up and runs after the girl but there’s no way he can catch her She’s big not fat but tall and strong And she’s fast faster than the boys faster than everybody She’s down the field now and the only one with a chance to stop her is Billy Hayward He’s small and wiry and he’s stayed back to guard the goal He sticks out his leg to steal the ball or trip her up or both but she gives him a nudge with her hip the same nudge she must have given Charlie and Billy is launched three feet in the air It’s as if a tornado picks him up twirls him around and plunks him back down again The boys stop in their tracks staring The girls glare at this new girl because they like Billy and they don’t want to see him tossed in the air like a Hacky Sack Sally MacNamara the goalie is sending out vibes of mortal terror now that Billy her last line of defense is down She doesn’t even take a step toward the ball as it flies into the net It’s a goal but nobody cheers Coach De Salvo blows his whistle What’s everybody staring at he calls out Nobody says anything but the answer answer is obvious Even I know they’re staring at the new girl and if anybody’s not going to be clued in it’s me Haven’t you ever seen a hip check before It has a name mutters Billy Jeez adds his friend Zachary 4

Sidetracked — page 6 — Young lady says Coach DeSalvo I hope you’ll be trying out for the girls soccer team She belongs on the football team says Billy She belongs on the Godzilla team says Zachary and all the boys laugh The tall girl shrugs and looks at the ground Her sandy colored hair falls forward so I can’t see much of her face It occurs to me that Coach DeSalvo could put a hand on her shoulder and introduce her since she’s new and doesn’t know anybody but he doesn’t Instead he blows his whistle again points to the gym door and tosses the ball to Charlie to carry in And I guess because he has to reestablish his rank in our seventh-grade world Charlie calls my name and fakes a hard throw right at me He doesn’t even have to let go of the ball He just holds it over his head and jerks it forward and I instinctively duck triggering a wave of laughter The crowd separates into boys and girls The girls are whispering whispering to each other and the boys are crashing in through the back door racing for the water fountain Trailing the girls is the new girl Trailing the boys is me 5

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