“Since I don’t have to miss practice, I’ll take the job!” I said. “After today’s game, I need all the practices I can get.”

I sighed as I settled back into my seat. Even if I blew the soccer game, at least I was winning at something!

Chapter Eight

The following Monday at school, I was sitting in the Kentville Middle School cafeteria with Jessi, Emma, Zoe, and Frida, eating lunch.

“They were as wild and unpredictable as lightning,” Frida said about the Bolts as we rehashed Saturday’s game. “They’ve definitely earned their name!”

“Just like the Kicks!” cheered Emma. Officially, our soccer team was the Kentville Kangaroos, but the team was nicknamed the Kicks years ago because of our great kicks!

“Except the Bolts zapped us,” I said, frowning. “Especially when I made that boneheaded offsides move.”

Jessi slammed her hands down on the cafeteria table.

“Ugh, Devin. Knock it off!” she growled. “You are way too hard on yourself. We all make mistakes sometimes. Nobody can be perfect, on the soccer field or off.”

Emma just laughed. “Yeah, remember when I scored a goal for the other team? Or when my cleat shot off my foot and I became an Internet meme? You can’t even compare one offsides in a game to that!”

I frowned again, but this time for a different reason. Was I making the game all about me? As I’ve been told ever since I started playing soccer preschool, there is no “I” in team.

“You know what? You’re right,” I admitted. “We all make mistakes sometimes. We’re a team. I shouldn’t be focusing on one mistake, even if it was mine. What we should be focusing on is ways to counteract the Bolts’ speed and aggressiveness the next time we play them.”

Zoe sighed. “I’m a little soccered out. We’ve been talking about it ever since the game. What about our community service next Sunday at the animal shelter? Do you think we’ll have to pick up dog poop?”

“Any way you look at it, my future is filled with poop,” Jessi groaned. “Baby poop, dog poop . . . What’s the difference?”

Frida shook her head. “Nice subject change. From soccer to poop. I haven’t finished eating yet, people! But anyway, your future isn’t filled with poop, Jessi. Remember? The Flash Fortune app said chaos was coming your way, not dog poop.”

Jessi rolled her eyes. “I think I’d prefer the dog poop.”

“I asked Coach Flores what we would be doing,” Emma said. “She said the shelter would want us to play with and exercise both the dogs and cats. We can take the dogs for walks, and the cats have a room where they can roam free, and there are a bunch of toys you can use to interact with them.”