For a moment I think Finn might be about to say yes, then she shakes her head and my heart sinks. ‘Nah, sorry Sam.’

  I turn to the girls next to her, Abbie, Chloe and Manaal, but I can see that it’s a lost cause. All three of them are already shaking their heads.

  ‘Okay,’ I say glumly. ‘No worries.’

  ‘We still have eighteen minutes,’ Indi says, looking at her watch as we walk away. ‘Don’t panic yet.’

  ‘Maybe Dylan had more luck,’ I say hopefully. ‘Come on, let’s go back.’

  But Dylan’s expression tells us everything we need to know.

  ‘Lenny and his mates have already signed up for footy and aren’t interested in playing soccer as well,’ Dylan says glumly.

  ‘Come on,’ I say. ‘Let’s start at the bike sheds and go from one end of the yard to the other. There has to be at least ONE kid we haven’t thought of yet!’

  But thirteen minutes later our hopes are quickly fading. We’ve asked every kid we could find and not one of them, apart from the ones who’ve already signed up, is interested. I feel like crying.

  ‘The bell is going in five minutes,’ I say, flopping down onto the steps of the art room. ‘It’s over.’

  Dylan nods sadly in agreement, but Indi frowns at us.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re both giving up so easily,’ she scolds. ‘Where’s that fighting spirit you sporty guys are meant to have?’

  ‘Indi,’ I say, ‘we have literally asked every single kid and…’

  But I stop when I see someone in the distance. Indi and Dylan follow my stare and all three of us gasp in unison.

  ‘Lily Hallington!’

  ‘Let’s go!’ I say, jumping up to run in the direction of our last hope.

  Lily Hallington is a sports NUT! Even more so than me, and I know for a fact that her dad is English, and that Lily has played every sport from indoor cricket to football. I can’t believe I didn’t think of her earlier! But Lily is one of those kids who is super quiet and keeps to herself. I’ve been at school with Lily for almost seven years but don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation with her. I just have to hope that our first-ever chat goes the way I want!

  ‘Lily!’

  She turns around with a start and stares at the three of us wide-eyed. We must look a bit crazy, standing there with manic grins frozen on our faces.

  ‘Um… hi?’ she says nervously.

  ‘How’s it going?’ Indi starts. ‘We were wondering if…’

  ‘We need your help!’ I blurt out.

  Lily frowns. ‘With what?’

  I give her the lightning-speed version of our situation, finishing with, ‘and we need to get it on Miss McLeish’s desk in two minutes or there will be no more chances! Can you please, please help us?!’

  Lily stares at me for a second and then her mouth begins to twitch. ‘You’re pretty desperate huh?’

  ‘YES!’ the three of us cry in unison.

  It seems like an hour passes as Lily stares at us, although it’s probably only five seconds, then she shrugs and grabs the pen out of my hand.

  ‘Sure,’ she says, leaning over to sign the sheet. ‘Why not? Dad’s been wanting me to play soccer for ages. Besides, I’m worried you’re going to pass out if you don’t start breathing again pretty soon, Sam!’

  I realise then that I’ve been holding my breath since the moment I finished my desperate rant.

  I let out my breath in a big woosh and reach over to grab a startled Lily in a giant bear hug.

  ‘Thank you! Thank you so much!’ I yell. ‘I can’t tell you how much we –’

  ‘Sam!’ Dylan barks. ‘You can thank her later!’ He points at Indi’s watch. ‘You’ve gotta go, now!’

  I look at the watch and my heart starts to beat like crazy.

  It’s 1.29!

  The bell is going to ring at any second!

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  MY SCHOOL

  THURSDAY

  1.29 pm

  ‘GO!’ Indi shouts.

  I turn and bolt towards Miss McLeish’s office as fast as my legs will carry me. I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast in my whole life! Ted would be proud.

  Chelsea and Nikita are sitting right in the middle of the steps that lead up to the school building, blocking the entrance.

  ‘Get out of the way!’ I shout on approach. ‘Quick!’

  Chelsea’s eyes widen in shock but before she can say anything, I take a running leap and vault right over the top of her skinny legs, flying through the air like a possessed kangaroo.

  Chelsea squeals as my feet skim the tops of her knees, but I only have time for a quick glance back to make sure I haven’t taken out anyone’s eye before I continue bolting down the corridor. I arrive at Miss McLeish’s office, waving the form above my head just as the bell goes. A startled Miss McLeish looks up as I slap the form down on her desk.

  ‘Good grief!’ she cries.

  ‘Sorry!’ I pant. ‘It’s just… we’ve got the… it’s the form for the…’

  I’m so out of breath I can barely get a sentence out. So, I just point at the form instead, hoping she’ll understand.

  But when she picks up the form, she doesn’t smile or say anything I’m expecting to see or hear.

  ‘We did it,’ I say. ‘There are enough kids on the sheet for two teams.’

  Miss McLeish looks up at me. ‘I’m sorry, Sam,’ she says, ‘but I’ve already allocated all the areas of the school for the other sports and there’s just no way we can fit soccer in at this stage. I didn’t think you would get all the people you needed.’

  ‘But you said… we got it in on time and…’

  I feel hot tears pricking at the corners of my eyes and blink them away. I don’t want to cry in front of a teacher, let alone one who has lied to us.

  ‘I know what I said but there’s nothing I can do,’ she says gently. ‘I’m sorry, Sam. Don’t you have to get to class now?’

  I’m so stunned that I don’t even know what to say. I’m not sure I’d be able to speak even if I could find the words. So I just nod, then turn and walk out of her office. It feels like the floor is falling out from under me.

  She promised! We got it to her on time! How can she do this?

  These thoughts are still racing round and round my brain as I enter the classroom in a daze. I sit down next to Dylan and Indi whose smiles instantly vanish when they see the look on my face.

  ‘Okay, everyone,’ Mr Morton says, putting his glasses on and standing up from his desk. ‘Get your English workbooks to continue on with your creative pieces please.’

  ‘What happened?’ Indi whispers.

  ‘She said it was too late,’ I say, trying to keep my voice steady and not cry. ‘We can’t have a soccer team.’

  ‘No way!’ Dylan says, his eyes like saucers. ‘But she promised!’

  ‘I know, but she said –’

  ‘SAM KERR!’ Mr Morton is standing right behind me. ‘If it’s not bad enough that you arrive late, now you are disrupting the class with your chatter! Take your book and go and work alone at the corner table please.’

  I keep my eyes down as I move tables, in case anyone sees the tears welling up in them. But they’re not tears of sadness anymore. Now they’re angry tears.

  The one thing I know for sure as I sit down at the table is that I’m not done with Sports Day just yet. As soon as the school day is finished, I’m going straight back to Miss McLeish to give it one last shot.

  After all this work, I’m not giving up this easily.

  * * *

  I arrive at Miss McLeish’s office straight after school to find her squatting in the corner and sorting through a bunch of netball bibs.

  ‘Miss McLeish?’

  She looks surprised to see me back and a little bit annoyed, too. ‘Yes, Sam?’

  ‘I’m sorry, but I just wanted to come back and ask again if there’s any chance of us having our soccer team,’ I say, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. ‘It’s just that we put so much work into trying to get those signatures and…’

  Miss McLeish sighs and stands up. ‘Sam, I told you that it’s just not possible,’ she says firmly. ‘There’s nowhere for us to have a soccer match because all the areas are already allocated to other sports. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do, so can you please…’

  ‘We could have the soccer match on the grassy area behind the music room,’ a deep voice says behind me.

  I spin around to see Mr Morton standing in the doorway. He’s staring straight at Miss McLeish with a look on his face I know all too well. It’s his ‘I’m not putting up with this nonsense’ look, but for once it’s not directed at me.

  I turn back to Miss McLeish who seems as shocked as me to see him there. ‘Um, well… yes, I suppose that could work.’

  ‘I think it would be worth looking into,’ Mr Morton says, still not looking at me. ‘The kids have gone to a lot of effort to get those signatures. It would only be right to fulfill the promise made to them don’t you think?’

  What is happening? Is Mr Morton on our side? Is he trying to help us?

  It’s like the world has turned upside down. I wouldn’t be surprised if trees and bushes start sprouting out from the roof!

  Miss McLeish stares back at Mr Morton for a moment before her face suddenly softens.

  ‘You’re right, Mr Morton,’ she says, nodding. ‘I’m sure we can make it work. Okay, Sam. You have your soccer match for Sports Day.’

  I feel dizzy with relief and happiness. We did it! And by ‘we’, I mean Mr Morton, too. Who knew there was a heart beneath that grumpy exterior?

  ‘Thank you, Miss McLeish,’ I manage to say. Then I turn to Mr Morton, who is still leaning against the door. ‘Thank you, Mr Morton.’

  He doesn’t say a word, just gives me a short nod and walks away. But I’m almost 99.5 per cent sure I see a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he goes.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  MY ROOM

  WEDNESDAY

  4.05 pm

  ‘You’re next, Hook! This time you’ve gone too far!’ Indi leaps off my bed and brandishes her ruler at an invisible Captain Hook, jumping all over the room, bumping off the wardrobe and the walls.

  My bedroom door flies open and Indi spins around to see Maddi standing there, looking confused.

  ‘What the heck is going on in here?’ she says.

  ‘Sorry!’ Indi says with a grin. ‘Sam’s helping me practise my lines for Peter Pan.’

  ‘It’s the scene where Peter Pan fights Captain Hook,’ I explain.

  ‘Oohhhh right,’ Maddi says, leaning on the door and grinning. ‘I played Tinkerbell in primary school, you know.’

  ‘Really?’ Indi says, looking impressed. ‘I didn’t know that!’

  I clear my throat. ‘Um, did you come in here for a reason, Maddi?’ If I don’t put a stop to this now, we’ll end up hearing the whole story about how one of the Lost Boys forgot his lines and Maddi had to save the day by whispering them to him.

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ Maddi says. ‘Mum asked if Indi wants to stay for dinner.’ She turns to Indi. ‘If it’s okay with your mum?’

  ‘Go on!’ I say, super excited. It’s not often I can have a friend for dinner during the week. ‘Call your mum and ask!’

  ‘Okay,’ Indi beams. ‘I’ll ring her now.’

  As she runs out to use our phone, Maddi looks over her shoulder then walks a bit further into the room. ‘Daniel’s picking up all the decorations tomorrow,’ she whispers. ‘And we’ve had forty RSVPs so far. It’s gonna go off next Friday night!’

  She walks out and I suddenly feel a bit nervous at the idea of having so many people here in a week’s time for a party that WE have organised. I hope nothing goes wrong at the last minute. We’ve all been working so hard to keep it a surprise – not an easy thing to do when we all share a house.

  Maddi has turned into Party Planner of the Century, which means I can’t even walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth without her following me in to ask me if I think the balloon arch should go in the lounge room or the backyard, or if we should get more trestle tables from the footy club, or if we should use Dad’s wheelbarrow as a giant esky.

  I don’t really mind, but it can get pretty annoying when she asks me for the tenth time if I think we have enough chairs. Especially when the party isn’t the only thing taking up my brain space right now.

  Ever since Miss McLeish agreed to us having our soccer match on Sports Day three weeks ago, it has been FULL ON!

  Miss McLeish made Dylan and me captains of the teams, so we’ve had so much to do! First off the bat was getting both teams together on the oval at lunchtime to go through the basic rules of soccer. It made me think about my first training session with the Knights and how little I knew about the game. I’ve learnt heaps since then, but I tried to remember how confusing it was at the start, so I didn’t lose my patience when Josh asked questions like, ‘I know I can’t pick it up, but can I scoop the ball along the ground with my hands?’

  Dylan and I had to put together a training schedule for both teams, figure out which players should be on which team and then work out positions. It’s exhausting! I don’t know how coaches do it all year round.

  I feel lucky because Indi’s on my team and sorry for Dylan because he got lumped with Chelsea. But he didn’t seem too fazed about it. He says that he’s captain so she has to do what he says. I’m not sure. Since when has Chelsea ever done what she’s supposed to?

  It’s been weird having Dylan as my rival. We’ve both been secretly working on our game plans. I know Dylan was trying to read over my shoulder at lunchtime the other day when I was working out some strategies for my two best players, Lily and Max.

  ‘Hey!’ I said, pulling the paper away as I felt Dylan lean over to ‘put something in the bin’! ‘No snooping!’

  ‘I’m not!’ Dylan had cried, pretending to be offended.

  ‘He totally was,’ Indi said matter-of-factly. ‘But you can’t talk, Sam. I saw you peeking at Dylan’s game plan yesterday.’

  Dylan’s eyes bugged out of his head. ‘What?!’

  ‘Gotta stay on the ball, Dylan,’ I said, shrugging.

  And on top of all that, I’ve been helping Indi learn her lines for the play whenever I can. She has SO MANY. There’s no way I’d be able to remember all those words, but Indi is all over it.

  ‘It’s easy,’ she says. ‘It’s just like learning the words to a song but they’re spoken instead of sung.’

  But even with all that going on, right now I need to focus on the Knights game this week. I glance up at the poster of David Beckham on my wall and think that if someone had told me a few months ago that I’d be playing in a soccer team with a shot at the finals, I’d have thought that they were crazy.

  ‘Isn’t that right, David?’ I say, just as Indi walks back into the room.

  ‘Ummm… were you talking to your poster?’

  ‘Maybe.’ I grin.

  ‘Cool!’ she says, flopping onto the bed. ‘So, what’s for dinner?’

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE VIPERS’ HOME GROUND

  SATURDAY

  2.35 pm

  ‘SAM! Get your head in the game!’ Ted says. ‘Where are you today?’

  Oh no. Ted is in the middle of his half-time pep talk and here I am gazing off into the distance.

  ‘Sorry, Ted,’ I say.

  ‘Did you hear what I said?’ Ted asks, frowning at me from under his red cap.

  I swallow nervously. I have no idea what he said. ‘Um, I think you…’

  Ted sighs. ‘I said you’re in midfield so remember to keep the triangle formation.’

  ‘Yep, got it coach,’ I say.

  ‘You okay?’ Dylan asks as we walk back out onto the pitch.

  ‘Yeah, I was just thinking about the school teams and… we have to give them names and…’

  ‘Sam!’ Dylan says, snapping his fingers in front of my face. ‘Not now. All you have to think about is this game we’re playing, right now. It’s imperative that you focus, okay?’

  ‘Okay, I will.’

  It’s half-time in our game against the Vipers and the score is 1–1, so the stakes are high. As the game starts again, I do exactly what Dylan told me to do and a few minutes later the ball is in my possession. Now all I need to think about is how I’m going to dodge around the Vipers player who is a whole head taller than me, and keeps trying to block every chance I have to run down the pitch with the ball.

  I manage to get in a short pass to Noah, who moves straight into an open space and slices a pass to Dylan. He controls it, sprints towards our goal and kicks. It soars past the goalie’s outstretched gloves and hits the back of the net.

  ‘YES!’ I shout.

  Our supporters go crazy, screaming and shouting, ‘GO KNIGHTS!’

  I run towards him for a high-five, and hear Indi shout out, ‘Nailed it, Dylan!’ Out of the corner of my eye I see both Dylan’s family and mine all jumping up and down on the sidelines.

  But five minutes later, the tall Vipers player scores an easy goal off the back of a throw-in and a subdued hush falls over our supporters. Chelsea did her best to intercept the throw-in, but the tall girl was too fast. She took the ball and weaved it around our players and surged down the middle of the pitch and booted it straight past Toby’s gloves into the net.

  Now the score is 2–2.

  If the Vipers get another goal, it’s all over for us in this competition. We need to stay in position and keep possession of the ball as much as possible to get it down to our goal and away from theirs. But it’s not going to be easy. The Vipers are fast and their passing skills are outstanding.

  ‘Remember your formation, Knights!’ Ted yells from the sidelines. ‘Stay in your positions!’

  The Knights take the kick-off, but before we know what’s happening, the Vipers have got the ball back in their goal area and their striker is lining up for a shot. Luckily, Toby is ready for it and knocks it away in time. I can almost hear our supporters breathing a huge sigh of relief.