Free Sabotage Season by Alex Morgan

“Well, Zoe’s still out, and Grace and Megan were out today, so we were trying to compensate for losing some of our strongest players.”
    â€œGuess that didn’t work out so well,” Steven said with a grin, and there was nothing mean about the way he said it, so I laughed.
    â€œNo, I guess not.” Then I realized that both boys were in uniform. “Are you guys playing today?”
    Steven nodded. “Our game’s next.”
    â€œYeah, Devin and I were going to stay and watch,” Jessi said.
    I looked at Jessi. “We were?” I asked, and she gave me a look.
    â€œOh, yeah,” I said. “We were. I just need to, um, check in with my parents.”
    Jessi and I quickly walked to the stands, and I started giggling. “Why did you say that?”
    â€œCome on. It’ll be fun,” Jessi said. “They watched our game, so it’s the nice thing to do.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “And it has nothing to do with your crush on Cody?”
    â€œMaybe . . . ,” Jessi said slowly. “Anyway, we won! So think of it as a celebration.”
    â€œDefinitely!” I agreed, and a wave of relief swept over me. Despite a terrible first half, we had recovered, which meant we were one step closer to the play-offs.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    Jessi and I headed to the stands and found our parents, who were making their way to the exit together, talking and laughing. I guess they were starting to become friends since Jessi and I had become friends, which was kind of nice.
    â€œIt looks like the Kicks are on the Play-offs Express with no exits!” Dad joked when he saw me.
    â€œI sure hope so!” I smiled. “Hey, do you think it would be okay if Jessi and I stayed to watch the boys’ game?”
    My mom and dad exchanged glances and nodded. “That should be fine, honey,” my mom answered. “We’ll pick you up on our way back from getting Maisie. She’s having a playdate at Riley’s house.”
    Then she turned to Mrs. Dukes. “We could give Jessi a ride home.”
    â€œThat would be great,” Jessi’s mom replied. “I’ve got to bake a bunch of cookies for the bake sale tomorrow, and Jerry’s got to go back to his office for a few hours.”
    I gave Mom a hug. “Thanks! We’ll see you later.”
    Before we could step away, my mom handed me a water bottle. “You played hard; you need to replace the fluids you lost,” she said seriously.
    â€œMom, I have so many fluids in me, I could fill a swimming pool!” I said. “Seriously, I’m practically floating out on the field.”
    â€œThen my work here is done,” Mom said smugly, but with a smile.
    Jessi and I headed to the part of the stands where the kids always hung out, and we got ready to support our fellow Kangaroos. Emma and Zoe were already there and waved to us.
    â€œYou guys are staying too?” I asked.
    â€œSure, it should be a good game,” Emma replied. “The boys’ team is awesome.”
    â€œWell, most of the boys’ team,” Jessi said, and we all knew what she meant. After we’d had our disastrous loss against Pinewood, some of the boys—led by the eighth grade captain, Trey Bishop—had completely embarrassed us in front of everybody at the school dance. They’d called us losers while Mirabelle, our own teammate at the time, had laughed. It had been the lowest of the low points for the Kicks.
    â€œWell, maybe, but they made it up to us with that pizzaparty,” Emma reminded us. “And they even apologized.”
    â€œWell, I need something to take my mind off my wrist,” Zoe added. “It is such a pain! And it’s so boring not to be able to play. I can’t wait until I can get back on the field.”
    â€œMe too,” I agreed. “Hey, where’s Frida?”
    â€œSome acting class thing,” Zoe replied. Then the