Free Roller Hockey Radicals by Matt Christopher Page B

first!”
    “Nobody saw it,” Marty said. “Sorry.”
    “Man,” Trevor steamed. “We need a ref around here.”
    Kirby agreed. “Maybe one of the parents could do it,” he suggested. But no one agreed with him. A ref would need to be impartial,
     they all said, and on skates besides.
    Trevor skated to the penalty box, fighting backangry tears, while the Bad Boys hooted and cheered.
    This was the chance Bates Avenue had been waiting for. Without Trevor to fear, they sent one of their defensemen down the
     rink with the forwards in a power play, forcing Kirby to play defense, too.
    With the puck in the Skates’ zone, the Bad Boys’ goalie came out of the game and was replaced with yet another forward. This
     gave the Bad Boys a two-player advantage, and the Skates just couldn’t stop the avalanche of shots. One of them finally beat
     Lainie, and the Bad Boys led again, 3-2.
    “One minute left!” Marty shouted. “Let’s get it back!” The Skates quickly managed to force a faceoff in the Bad Boys’ zone.
     With half a minute left, Lainie shed her goalie gear, grabbed a forward’s stick, and skated back on the ice as an attacker,
     leaving the Skates’ goal mouth empty. It was a big risk, but it had to be taken.
    Unfortunately Lainie sent a pass back to Nickthat went over his stick. The puck rolled on its edge right down the rink and into the Skates’ empty goal — just as the final
     whistle blew! Final score: Bates Avenue 4, E Street 2.
    “We win!” the Bad Boys all bellowed, slamming bodies with each other. “Yeah! Yeah! World champs! All right!”
    “What a bunch of jerks,” Kirby heard Marty say under his breath.
    “We would never have lost if you were playing,” Trevor retorted bitterly.
    “Yeah,” Marty said, “well, we’ll get our chance next week. And I’ll be playing. I promise you that. This thing isn’t over.
     Now that we’ve got our new rink, it’s going to be a long, tough season. We’ll see who’s on top when it’s over.”
    Kirby was excited, in spite of the fact that they’d lost. He couldn’t wait for the next game the following Saturday. Now that
     they had the new rink to practice on, he could skate with the team every day!

11
    T he next day, the Skates met at the rink for their regular practice. The two teams had worked out a schedule. But instead of
     playing, the Skates devoted most of the time to talking things over.
    “I should be able to play by next weekend,” Marty told them. “But if we’re going to play the Bad Boys anymore, we’d better
     find a referee.”
    “You said it!” Trevor agreed hotly. “I’m not taking any more of that stuff from them. If they try anything, I’ll —”
    “Great, that’s all we need is a big fight,” Lainie chimed in. “Then the mayor will step in and close us down. Good idea, Trevor
     — not.”
    “Lainie’s right,” Jamal said. “But where are we going to find a ref?”
    “Maybe some high school kids would do it,” Nick suggested. “If we pay them a little.”
    “Where are we going to get the money?” Jamal asked.
    “We could sell lemonade and stuff at our games,” Kirby suggested. “If we get enough people there, it would pay for a ref.”
    “We could put up posters and sell tickets, too,” Nick suggested. “But with so few kids around, I don’t know…”
    “We’ll never get enough people,” Trevor said disconsolately. “All the kids around here are either in the game or off at camp
     for the summer.”
    “You know,” Kirby said, “I can’t help thinking there must be other kids somewhere — maybe not around here, but in other towns
     nearby. Maybe they’re into hockey, too. Maybe they’d like to come see us play.”
    “Yeah,” Lainie said. “Maybe their parents will drive them all the way here just to get rid of them for a couple hours!”
    They all laughed, but Kirby was serious. “No, Imean it,” he said. “I’ll bet there are other hockey teams out there somewhere. Wouldn’t