Free Roller Hockey Rumble by Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters

CHAPTER ONE
    “Hey, dudes, what’s up?” Belicia “Bizz” Juarez swooped into the park and braked her inline skates to a stop in front of Jonas Malloy and Charlie Abbott. “Why aren’t you riding the ramps and rails?”
    Jonas shook his head. “They’re crammed full of newbies,” he said glumly. “It’s Beginner’s Day, remember?”
    Bizz’s face fell. “Oh, yeah,” she said. Beginner’s Day was when kids still learning about inline skating and other extreme sports — newbies — got the skatepark all to themselves. Newbies were paired with older, experienced skaters who watched over them as they tried out different equipment and moves. Bizz had nothing against kids improving their skills. She just wished they wouldn’t get in her way when she wanted to skate!
    Jonas shaded his eyes against the bright November sun and pointed. “Hey, isn’t that Savannah by the pyramid, with Alison?”
    Bizz followed his gaze. Sure enough, Savannah Smith stood next to the pyramid ramp. She checked her inlines, then skated hard up one slope of the pyramid. When she reached the top, she gave a little hop, made a quarter turn in midair, and rolled down another slope. Alison Lee, the teenager who watched over the skatepark, applauded.
    “What’s Savannah doing out there on Beginner’s Day?” Charlie asked. Charlie, a newcomer to town, was still getting to know the other kids. “I thought she was a good skater already.”
    “She
is,
” Bizz replied loyally. “She’s
way
better than those newbies out there! I’m going to rescue her.” Bizz took off full tilt to the pyramid.
    “Yo, Bizz, hold up.” Alison stepped in front of Bizz. “You know you’re not supposed to be out here today.”
    “I’ll clear out in a sec,” Bizz said, “but I’m taking Savannah with me. She’s too good to be out here!”
    “Thanks, Bizz,” Savannah said quietly. “But I’d really like to stay and practice. Alison’s teaching me a lot and —”
    Bizz cut her off. “You’ve got better things to do!” “Like what?” Alison wanted to know. “Like — like —” Bizz looked around. Her gaze landed on the park’s roller hockey rink. It was empty. “Like play roller hockey with me and the guys, that’s what!”
    “Roller hockey?” Savannah sounded doubtful. “Sure! We can use the park’s hockey equipment, can’t we, Alison?”
    Alison sighed. “That’s what it’s there for.”
    Bizz grabbed Savannah’s hand. “Then what’re we waiting for? Look” — she pointed to where Jonas and Charlie had been joined by Xavier “X” McSweeney and Mark Goldstein — “the rest of the crew is here. We can play three-on-three, no goalies. It’ll be a blast.” Before Savannah could protest, Bizz pulled her away from Alison and the newbies.

    “Don’t forget to sign up for rink time!” Alison called out after them.
    Minutes later, the two girls and four boys skated onto the roller hockey rink. Each carried a lightweight hockey stick and wore a helmet with a clear face mask. They had gloves on their hands and pads on their elbows and knees. Everyone but Savannah put mouth guards in.
    Savannah eyed the hard rubber hockey puck anxiously. “I don’t have a mouth guard,” she said. “Maybe I should just watch.”
    “We’ll be careful,” Bizz reassured her. “Savannah, you team up with Jonas and X. Charlie and Mark are with me.” She tightened the strap under her helmet. “Game on!”

CHAPTER TWO
    Bizz faced off against Jonas. With the puck between them, she and Jonas tapped their sticks together three times, then attacked.
    Bizz freed the disk and passed it quickly to Charlie. Charlie caught it on his stick and started to dribble toward the goal. Savannah skated to get in front of him. Charlie flicked the puck right under her stick, dodged around her, and made a break for the empty goal. Jonas and X tried to intercept, but neither reached him in time. Charlie shot — and scored!
    Bizz cheered, then skated over to