Kirsty opened the brochure. “Look!” she exclaimed. “Bowling, badminton, croquet, baseball, and basketball …” Kirsty glanced meaningfully at Rachel. The Sports Fairies had told the girls that the goblins who had one of the magic objects would be extremely attracted to that sport, especially since the goblins wanted to practice for the Fairyland Olympics. So Rachel and Kirsty knew it was possible that the goblin with the magic basketball might show up at the rec center.

“Why don’t you go and play a couple of sports?” Rachel’s mom suggested, clearing away the plates.

“Good idea, Mom,” said Rachel, jumping up from the table.

“It does sound like fun,” Kirsty agreed.

The girls pulled on their sneakers and headed into the village. The rec center was just off of High Street. There were fields for football and soccer in front of the building, and games were taking place on all of them. There were even groups of people standing around, waiting for a turn.

“Looks like we’re not the only ones who want to ‘Spring into Sports!’” Kirsty said as they headed toward the glass doors. “Do you think the goblins might be here?”

Rachel nodded. “Maybe, but if they are, it’s going to be hard to spot them with so many people around.”

The girls went inside the rec center and watched a badminton match. Then they peeked into the yoga studio, where a class was taking place.

“Let’s go check out the basketball courts,” Rachel suggested, as they passed the gym. “They’re outside, near the running track.”

When the girls arrived, they found that there were games in progress on all of the basketball courts except for one. Two teams were stretching next to the empty court, ready to start a game.

“Everything looks normal,” Kirsty said quietly. “I don’t see any goblins.”

“Neither do I,” Rachel agreed. Then she noticed a girl hurrying toward them. “Kirsty, that’s my friend Abby, from school!” Rachel exclaimed. She waved at the girl as she rushed past. “Hey, Abby!”

Abby stopped, looking nervous. “Oh, hi, Rachel,” she said. “Sorry, I’m in such a hurry that I didn’t notice you there! Is this your friend Kirsty?”

Rachel nodded.

“Hi, Abby,” said Kirsty. “Is there something wrong? You look kind of worried.”

“Oh, everything’s going wrong today!” Abby replied, heaving a huge sigh. “I’m on a basketball team with my friends, and we were just challenged to a game by some boys who call themselves ‘The Mean Green Basketball Team.’”

“The Mean Green Basketball Team?” Rachel repeated. “What a crazy name!”

“Yes — and they are mean!” Abby told her. “They’ve already easily beaten all the other teams and they acted kind of strange about it. They painted their hands with green paint, and they’re wearing green masks.” She shook her head. “They’re really taking the team name seriously!”