Free Saving the Team by Alex Morgan

tingling, and she just knew I needed her.
    â€œI am so glad to hear your voice!” I gushed when I answered the phone.
    â€œWhat’s up?” Kara asked.
    I filled her in on the Mirabelle drama and told her what my dad had said.
    â€œHe’s right,” Kara agreed. “You don’t have to be afraid of her. She’s just a bully. If you stand up to her, she’ll back down.”
    Kara and my dad were right. If I had to, I would totally stand up to Mirabelle!

    I’m usually a good student, but I found it pretty hard to concentrate during class on Wednesday, knowing I had to face Mirabelle and the Pinewood Panthers that afternoon.
    The day dragged on, but finally I was sitting in my last class of the day, English, next to Jessi. Mr. Williams was writing on the board, and I was taking notes when I felt something brush against my arm. I looked down. A paper airplane had landed on my desk.
    I looked around, confused. Where had it come from? I slowly opened it up. It was a note!
    Good luck against the Panthers today. I’ll be there cheering you on! —Steven
    I glanced up. Steven looked at me and grinned. I felt my cheeks turn pink. I mouthed “Thanks” to him before looking away.
    Of course, Jessi had seen the entire thing. She raised her eyebrows at me. Great. I knew she’d ask me all about it. And not only did I have to worry about Mirabelle and the Panthers, but now I had to think about Steven watching from the stands too!

    Even though their school was only half an hour away, it felt like a different universe before our bus even pulled onto campus. Cars were lined up around the block, slowly rolling past the security gate and into the parkinglot. What were they all here for? A carnival?
    â€œ This is all for a girls’ soccer game?” I wondered.
    â€œThey take their soccer seriously at Pinewood,” Zoe said.
    As our bus passed the Pinewood fans, some of them honked their horns at us, and they smiled and waved little flags. “They seem nice,” I said to nobody in particular.
    Jessi snorted. “They’ve beat us five years in a row, so it is pretty easy for them to be nice to us. We’re like human sacrifices for them.”
    Zoe laughed nervously. She still hadn’t gotten over her stage fright, and I could tell that if anyone felt like a human soccer sacrifice, it was her!
    But Emma wasn’t nervous at all. “I can’t wait to play,” she said, her eyes shining as she looked out the window. “My entire family is coming to cheer me on. Hopefully I won’t fall on my face this time,” she said with a laugh.
    Brianna sat next to Anna, her head buried in a book. “Earth to Brianna!” Anna called. Brianna didn’t even notice, she was concentrating so hard. “She’s got a test tomorrow,” Anna explained.
    â€œGotta keep up that four-point-oh!” Sarah chimed from the seat in front of them. Frida sat next to her, looking glumly out the window.
    â€œI could be at an audition for a nationwide commercial today,” she complained, slumping farther into the ratty old bus seat. “But no. My mother is all like, ‘You need to have a normal childhood, blah, blah, blah.’ Doesn’t she get it? I’m not normal!”
    Everyone burst out laughing at that, and even Frida had to join in. Soon we were driving onto the Pinewood campus. It looked like a superfancy private school. Each of the school’s buildings seemed to be made out of silvery metal, and the main building had giant windows that reflected the afternoon sunlight. In comparison Kentville Middle School looked like a bunch of dirt huts.
    When we got off the bus and onto the field, the stands were filled with at least two hundred people, all chattering excitedly and all wearing purple and gold, Pinewood’s colors. There was a drum line in the front, leading their fans in singing and chanting. “Knock, knock, guess who?