Free Sabotage Season by Alex Morgan Page A

boys’ team ran onto the field, and everybody stood up and clapped.
    â€œWe’re blue, we’re white, we’re ready to fight,” Emma cheered. “We’re white, we’re blue, we’ll stomp all over you! Goooooo, Kangaroos!”
    â€œLook! The game is starting!” Jessi interrupted. “I bet Cody is going to do great.”
    I let that go by without a comment. I didn’t want to tease Jessi anymore about her crush on Cody, because I didn’t want to get teased in return. I still didn’t really know how I felt about Steven; he was super nice and cute, but it was all so confusing.
    It was much more fun to get into the game on the field, anyway. The Kangaroos were like an unstoppable blue-and-white wave, sweeping up and down the field and getting the first two goals of the game within minutes. Steven, a striker, made the second one.
    â€œWay to go!” I gave an extra loud cheer. I couldn’t help it. It just popped out! Jessi looked at me with an eyebrow raised, but I ignored her.
    The Roses managed to get it together and pushed back, moving the ball fluidly and connecting passes. One of theRoses stole the ball from a Kangaroos defender and fed it to a Roses striker, who passed it across the goal. The action was intense, and we all had our eyes glued to the field the entire time.
    At the beginning of the second half the teams were tied up. The Kangaroos had control of the ball. Michael, a midfielder, swung back his leg, ready to give the ball a hard smack toward Cody. But when his foot connected, the ball exploded! The black inner lining oozed out of the top, making the ball look like a fat bowling pin.
    Michael watched the ball as it rolled listlessly for a few short feet before stopping. He grabbed it and with a bemused smile threw it to the referee, who called time. While the players waited for a new ball and the game to resume, Jessi turned to me, Emma, and Zoe and motioned for us to get close.
    â€œSabotage!” she said in a loud whisper, her eyes wide. I felt her fingers digging into my skin.
    â€œOuch!” I said, shaking her hand off, before rubbing my arm. “Jessi, you’ve got to relax.”
    She pointed a finger at me. “Mark my words. Something funny is going on. And I want to know what it is!”
    â€œI think Jessi’s right,” Emma agreed. “There are too many weird things happening.”
    â€œYeah, like who’s ever heard of a soccer ball exploding?” Zoe asked.
    â€œSoccer balls explode sometimes,” I said, although I really wasn’t sure. To be honest, all the sabotage talk wasmaking me nervous. I didn’t want the team to lose focus on our upcoming games.
    â€œIt can’t just be a coincidence,” Jessi pressed on.
    â€œThen who did it?” I asked. “If it’s Mirabelle, why would she sabotage the boys’ team? She doesn’t care about them, does she?”
    â€œWell, maybe she . . . ,” Jessi began, but her voice trailed off.
    Then the crowd burst into a cheer and we turned our attention back to the field. Cody had control of the new ball and was furiously dribbling toward the goal. A Roses defender got in front of him, but Cody body-faked the defender, acting like he was crossing right for the ball, when in reality he let it roll to his left. That gave him space to send a hard shot to Steven. I held my breath as Steven kicked it hard and over the goalie’s head . . . right into the goal!
    We all leaped to our feet, clapping and shouting at the spectacular goal. The Roses lost momentum after that, and the Kangaroos won the game, 3–2. It looked like both the girls’ and boys’ Kangaroos were on the Play-offs Express!

    When I woke up the next morning, my usual morning text from Kara was waiting for me.
    Blue button-up shirt, skinny jeans, ballet flats w/ bows. Wish I could wear flip-flops too, but it’s getting cold here!
    I