Free Operation Baby-Sitter by Matt Christopher Page B

My friends all thought it was cool that we hung out together. But if the
     other ’Cats find out I have to have a
baby-sitter—”
The rest of the thought was too terrible to say out loud. He shoved his chair away from the table and ran up the stairs to
     his bedroom.
    Hot tears pricked his eyes as he flung himself onto his bed.
    A baby-sitter,
he thought disgustedly.
The captain of a soccer team can’t have a baby-sitter.
    He rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
    There’s only one thing to do,
he decided.
I’ll have to make her quit. In the meantime, I’ll have to make sure none of the ’Cats finds out about her!

Chapter 4

    G randpa Frederic left for Florida a few days later. He gave Bundy a big hug in the airport.
    “Give the baby-sitter a chance,”he whispered. Bundy didn’t say anything. He just held on to his grandpa with all his might.
    Then Grandpa Frederic was gone. Bundy watched the plane until it was a dot in the sky.
    It was Friday. The baby-sitter wouldn’t start until after the weekend. He had three days to come up with a plan.
    At practice, his mind was in a jumble. Part of it was missing his grandfather. Anotherpart was thinking about the baby-sitter. Still another part was trying to figure out what to do about her.
    And underneath all these parts was a tiny section that whispered Grandpa Frederic’s last words to him:
Give the baby-sitter a chance.
    He pushed the whisper away and tried to concentrate on practice.
    The coach blew his whistle and called the team together.
    “We’re going to work on defensive moves today,”Coach Bradley said.“Bundy, since you seem to be having a little trouble with
     the block tackle from the side, I’m going to have you focus on that. Eddie, pair off with him. Now, the rest of you…”
    Eddie Sweeney jumped up, dropped a ball at her feet, and started dribbling down the field.
    Bundy chased after her. He rushed up on her right side and got his left foot in close tothe ball. He spun into tackle position. Quick as a wink, he made the steal!
    “Okay, that’s better,”Coach Bradley praised him. He had sent other pairs of players to practice different moves, then returned
     to where Bundy and Eddie were playing.“Now try it again.”
    This time, Eddie was better prepared, so Bundy had a little more difficulty. But he finally stole the ball.
    For the next ten minutes, Bundy worked on the tackle. Sometimes he was successful. But a lot of times Eddie made it down the
     length of the field with the ball.
    Finally, he and Eddie switched positions. Her red hair blazing in the sun, Eddie looked determined to master the tackle.
    She didn’t have to work very hard. Coach Bradley was on the other side of the field, and Bundy’s mind was on his baby-sitter
     problem again. After a few halfhearted plays,Eddie put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
    “What?”Bundy said stupidly.
    Eddie rolled her eyes.“What will it take to make you pay attention?”She got a gleam in her eye.“Oh, wait — I have an idea.”She
     suddenly stomped on Bundy’s left foot.
    “Ow!”he yelped.“What’d you do that for?”
    Eddie smiled sweetly.“I don’t like to be ignored.”
    Bundy stared at her. A thoughtful look crossed his face.“Being ignored makes you angry, huh? Hmm.”He started to smile.“Eddie,
     you just gave me a great idea! I could kiss you for it.”
    Eddie backed off.“Don’t even think about it, Bundy Neel,”she warned.“Or your right foot will feel like your left one!”

Chapter 5

    W hen Monday morning arrived, Bundy had Operation Baby-Sitter all figured out. He almost couldn’t wait for his parents to leave
     so he could put it to the test.
    Bundy answered the doorbell when it rang.
    Mary was a tall, athletic-looking girl. She wore gym shorts and a T-shirt with a sports design on it. Her long black hair
     was pulled back into a ponytail, her bangs falling just above her eyes. She carried a big duffel bag.
    “So, you’re Bundy, huh?”Bundy