Free Sly the Sleuth and the Sports Mysteries by Donna Jo Napoli Page B

there really wasn’t any case. There’s no mystery to shooing birds off a field. So nothing had been solved. I shouldn’t have felt bad that Jack said Melody was better than me.
    Melody is my best friend. I should have been glad Jack said that dumb thing, glad because it made her feel good.
    But I wasn’t glad. And I didn’t want to go home and work on my drawing anymore. Jack was right. My drawing looked bad.
    Besides, I’m not crazy about birds, although I had to admit Taxi was. Taxi would have loved this case. Probably any cat would.
    â€œWhat’s the matter with you?” Kate rode her bike in the street beside me. I wasn’t surprised to see her. She lives just a couple of houses over from Jack.
    â€œNothing,” I said.
    She hopped off and walked the bike up onto the sidewalk. “Why are you frowning?”
    â€œI’m not,” I said.
    â€œYou’re in a bad mood.”
    â€œNo I’m not.”
    â€œWell, I am,” said Kate.“My mother’s acting bad.”
    Kate was the only person I knew who expected her mother to do whatever she said. “What happened?” I asked.
    â€œShe said I had to go ride my bike for an hour.”
    â€œThat doesn’t sound bad,” I said.
    â€œI don’t like riding my bike. But my mother is on a health kick with her friend Julie. She thinks exercise is wonderful. So after I finished my homework, she made me go outside.”
    â€œYou already finished your homework?”
    â€œIt was easy. I traced a bird out of a magazine.”
    â€œThat’s cheating.”

    â€œNo it’s not. The teacher didn’t say we couldn’t trace. And don’t you tell.” Kate nudged me with her elbow. “Anyway, what choice did I have? It’s impossible to draw good with pen.You can’t erase.”
    â€œShe doesn’t want us to erase. That’s the point.”
    â€œI know,” said Kate. “She’s crazy.”
    â€œShe’s not crazy,” I said.
    â€œYes she is. She said we’re going to draw birds all winter.”
    â€œThere’s nothing crazy about that,” I said.
    â€œSure there is. Birds fly away in winter.”
Ruined Grass
    â€œWait!” Melody was calling me.
    I turned around.
    Melody ran up with Pong.
    â€œOh, I love that puppy,” said Kate. She laid her bike on the ground. Then she sat on the sidewalk and held her arms out to Pong.
    Pong ran straight up Kate’s front and licked her face. Kate laughed.
    â€œI thought you were helping Jack,” I said to Melody.
    â€œHe has a bad temper.”
    â€œDid he get mad at Pong?”
    â€œHe got mad at both of us. I’m never helping him again.”
    Pong was still licking Kate.
    Kate was still laughing.
    Melody laughed now too.
    I thought of angry Jack, alone on the field with the birds. Sleuths have a responsibility toward their clients. Even clients who fired them before they were hired. “See you later.” I walked back to the field.
    Jack was jumping in the middle of the birds. He flapped his arms like a madman.
    â€œWhat happened?” I called.
    â€œThat stupid dog chased the soccer ball instead of the birds.”
    I laughed.
    â€œIt’s not funny.”
    â€œWhat else happened?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œYou know. You got mad at Melody too.”
    â€œShe said she could kick better than me. Then she scored on me. But only because she fouled me. Her and her stupid ballet.”
    â€œKicking’s not that important,” I said.
    â€œIn soccer it is. If I don’t get better at kicking, the coach will make me stay on the bench the whole game.” Jack looked really worried.
    I knew how he felt. I love baseball, but I’m not that good at it. “Why don’t you practice somewhere else?” “Like where?”

    â€œYour backyard.”
    â€œMy mother says soccer ruins the lawn.”
    I looked out