Soccer Duel by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV032050
ISBN: 9780316042086
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2008-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

12

By the middle of the first half, Bryce had had enough. He couldn't stand to see Renny beaten up any more. So he'd headed for Conroy's, where he knew the winning team would soon show up.

As he sat there, sipping a glass of milk and picking at a plate of fries, he thought of Renny getting stomped into mush by Turk Walters. It was all his fault, Bryce knew. He had done something awful, and his punishment would be the gift of getting the Orange Crush as a play-off opponent.

He wondered what Turk would say when he walked in. Bryce could picture the big, mean grin he'd be wearing. He hated Turk Walters almost as much as he hated himself at that moment.

But it wasn't Turk who burst through the doorway with a big smile on his face. It was Renny Harding! Renny came in yelling, “We did it!” at the top of his lungs, followed by ten other Blue Hornets, all high-fiving and whooping it up.

Bryce sat there, frozen. He was totally unprepared for this unexpected turn of events. Unbelievably, the Blue Hornets had won!

Renny saw him and came up to him. “Guess what?” he told Bryce, putting an arm around his shoulders. “We beat the Crash, four-three!”

“Hey, all right,” Bryce said with a weak smile and a little nod. “Good for you.”

He looked at Renny to see if he could spot any major wounds. But no, there was nothing… a little limp, maybe, but certainly nothing like Bryce was afraid would be there.

“I'm glad you're okay,” he told Renny truthfully. “I saw you get hit a couple of times.”

“Awww,” Renny said with a warm smile; “I'm okay. That kid Turk is really a dirty player! He was purposely trying to hurt me.”

“Yeah…” Bryce mumbled, looking away.

“He had me messed up for a while there,” Renny confessed. “I was starting to shy away from the action. But then I thought of what you told me.”

“Me?” Bryce turned to look at Renny again.

“ ‘Don't let them intimidate you,' you said,” Renny reminded him. “You were my inspiration out there today.” He clapped Bryce on the back. “So now we get to face off in the championship series. It's going to be so cool! Two out of three, Blue Hornets and Yellow Jackets, for the title. I can't wait.”

“Me neither,” Bryce said, his mood darkening.

You and your big mouth, a voice inside his head said. First you set Turk after him — who probably would have gone after him anyhow — then you give Renny the piece of advice that helps him win! Now his team's in the championships. How are you going to feel if he outplays you and walks off with the MVP trophy? Who's Coach Harrelson going to be impressed with then, huh? You stupid loser!

Bryce winced and tried to shut out the little voice.

“Got a headache?” Renny asked. “What's the matter, aren't you feeling well? You haven't even touched your fries.”

“What are you, my mother?” Bryce asked sharply.

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