MVP #2 Read online

  #1 The Gold Medal Mess

  #2 The Soccer Surprise

  #3 The Football Fumble

  Also by David A. Kelly

  The Ballpark Mysteries® series

  Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse

  To my editors, Caroline Abbey and Paula Sadler, who helped create the MVP club. Thank you.

  —D.A.K.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2016 by David A. Kelly

  Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2016 by Scott Brundage

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Ballpark Mysteries® is a registered trademark of Upside Research, Inc.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Kelly, David A. (David Andrew), author. | Brundage, Scott, illustrator.

  Title: The soccer surprise / David A. Kelly ; illustrated by Scott Brundage.

  Description: New York : Random House, [2016] | Series: MVP ; #2 | “A Stepping Stone book.” | Summary: “A famous soccer star is coming to town, but can practice with a pro help the MVP kids score big at their next game?”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015029517 | ISBN 978-0-553-51322-6 (paperback) | ISBN 978-0-553-51323-3 (hardcover library binding) | ISBN 978-0-553-51324-0 (ebook)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Soccer—Fiction. | Clubs—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. |

  BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Soccer. | JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / School & Education.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.K2936 So 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/​2015029517

  eBook ISBN 9780553513240

  This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System.

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v4.1

  ep

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Titles

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright

  MVP Stats

  Chapter 1: A Smashing Kick

  Chapter 2: Alice’s Big Idea

  Chapter 3: An Angry Customer

  Chapter 4: A Red-Hot Practice

  Chapter 5: A Surprising Suspect

  Chapter 6: A Bad Neighbor

  Chapter 7: Something Fishy at the Field House

  Chapter 8: A Near Miss

  Chapter 9: The Final Kick

  Chapter 10: A New Play

  MVP Stats

  Soccer

  Excerpt from The Football Fumble

  “Over here!” Kat called as she ran toward the other team’s goal. “I can do it!”

  There were only seconds left in the soccer game. The Franklin Elementary School girls were playing the boys. The game was tied 1–1.

  Kat’s best friend Alice lofted a pass to her. Kat trapped the ball with her foot. She turned for the shot and blasted it. Kat’s teammates screamed as the ball sliced through the air toward the goal!

  But at the last second, the ball hit the post and bounced over the top of the net.

  No goal! The gym teacher’s whistle blew. Game over. It was a tie.

  The boys’ team cheered! A tie was better than losing. The girls drifted off the field with shoulders drooped. They would have won if Kat’s shot had gone in.

  Alice skidded to a stop beside Kat. Alice was athletic and lucky. Even when she missed a shot or messed up a pass, she usually scored the next goal or soon made a nice assist.

  “Aw! I was so close!” Kat cried. She dropped down to the grass and pulled a bright blue hair tie from her hair. Black curls tumbled around her neck.

  “Good try,” Alice said. “Just a bit to the right and you would have had it.”

  “I keep missing those shots!” Kat said. “I’ve got to find a way to get better before the big game in two weeks.”

  Each year, the girls’ team played the Wilton Warriors. Lots of people came to watch and cheer their team on. The Warriors usually won, but Franklin’s team had been practicing hard. They really wanted to win this year.

  Kat’s twin brother, Luke, walked up next to her. He patted her on the shoulder.

  “Nice try, sis,” Luke said. “But thanks for missing that goal!”

  Kat bit her lip. She grabbed a handful of grass and tossed it up at Luke. As he swatted it away, Kat swung her arm playfully behind his legs and knocked into the back of his knees. He flailed back and forth for a moment and then dropped to the ground.

  Kat smiled. “Oh, sorry!” she said. “I was just stretching. How many goals did you score?”

  Luke held his hands up. “None,” he admitted. “But maybe you should work on your shooting.”

  Kat flopped on her back and looked up at the sky. “I have been!” she said. “You’ve seen me practicing after dinner. What more can I do?”

  “I don’t know, but you need to find a way to get better before Alex Akers comes for the big game,” Luke said.

  Luke and Kat’s mom was friends with Alex Akers, the women’s soccer star. They had played soccer together in college. Alex was coming to stay with Luke and Kat’s family in two weeks to watch Kat’s big game. Alex was on the Breakers, the best team in women’s soccer. She had won the Player of the Year award for the last three years.

  Alice tapped Kat on the knee. “Why don’t you ask Alex to help you work on your shooting?” she asked. “Maybe she’d give you some tips.”

  Kat sat up. “That’s a great idea!” she said. A big smile spread across her face. She jumped up and did a couple of air kicks. “Zap! Zam! Another goal by Alex Akers!” She kicked again. “And one by Kat!”

  “Hey, maybe I can get some pointers, too!” Luke said.

  “No!” Kat said. “You don’t always have to do everything that I do. Your team isn’t playing in the big game. If you go near her, I’ll give you a shot!”

  “Oh yeah?” Luke asked. He hitched his shoulders back and turned to face Kat. “Just try to stop me….”

  Alice laughed and jumped in between them. “Hey, maybe she’ll have time to give you both some soccer tips,” she said. Alice tugged Kat’s arm. “We need to get over to the field house for our ride.”

  Alice, Luke, and Kat gathered their things and ran to catch up with their friends. Max and Nico were standing in front of the field house, at the corner of the soccer field. The field house was an old two-story building. It had been used for summer camps and storing athletic equipment, but the town closed it a few years ago because it needed repairs.

  “Alice, when’s your dad getting here?” Max said. He was kicking a soccer ball against the side of the field house.

  “About ten minutes,” Alice said.

  Just then, a kid from the boys’ soccer team walked by with his father, who was also the boys’ soccer coach. They were headed to their car.

  “Hey, Danny,” Nico said. “Nice goal in today’s game!”

  Danny gave a thumbs-up. “Thanks,” he said. “But I’m still not as good as you, Nico!” Nico was one of the best athletes in the school.

  �
��Hey, Alice and Kat, good game!” Danny’s father, Mr. Danforth, said. He was a tall man with short black hair. Even when he was coaching, he always wore a suit and tie.

  Danny got into the car with his father, and they drove away.

  “Isn’t Mr. Danforth trying to tear down the field house?” Alice asked.

  Kat nodded. “The town doesn’t have enough money to fix it, and Mr. Danforth wants to build an office building,” Kat said. “My mom’s in a group trying to save it.”

  Nico looked up at the front of the building. It needed a good painting, and half the shutters were missing. “It’s too bad,” he said.

  While they waited for Alice’s father, Max and Nico took turns trying to hit a spot on the wall with the soccer ball. Nico was definitely a better shot, but Max was having fun kicking the ball as hard as he could.

  A few minutes later, the kids heard a door slam shut across the street. An older man with a hat had just left his house to walk his dog.

  “It’s Mr. Jennings,” Alice said. “Maybe he’ll come over here with Sammy.”

  “Mr. Jennings is the one who’s always mean to kids,” Max said.

  “I know,” Alice said. “But his dog, Sammy, is nice. I’m going to see if I can pet him.”

  Alice loved all types of animals. Even though she had three dogs at home, she was always excited to see other dogs or cats. When Mr. Jennings reached the sidewalk in front of the field house, Alice ran over to pet Sammy. She returned a few minutes later when Mr. Jennings continued on his walk.

  “Hey, Alice, watch this!” Max called out as she came back. He trapped the soccer ball and pulled his leg back to kick as hard as he could.

  WHAP!

  Max whacked the ball with his foot. But instead of kicking it straight on, he caught the edge of the ball and it sliced to the right.

  “Oh no!” Max called out. “Stop it!”

  But it was too late.

  CRASH!

  The ball smashed through the front window of the field house!

  “I can’t believe you did that!” Alice said to Max.

  The soccer ball had broken a first-floor window and sailed into the field house.

  “I’d say that kick was a smashing success, Max,” Luke said with a grin. “I think you shattered our team record for the hardest kick!”

  Nico ran over to the window and looked in on his tiptoes. “I don’t see the ball,” he said. Then he reached through the broken window. He easily moved the inside latch and carefully slid the lower part of the window up. “I’m going to find the soccer ball,” he said.

  Max ran over to Nico.

  “Wait, isn’t that breaking and entering?” Kat asked. “Maybe we should tell the police.”

  “Well, we’re not going to hurt anything,” Max said. “We’re just going to get the soccer ball back.”

  While Kat and Max were talking, Nico had slipped through the window. He reached his hand out. “Here, come help me find the ball,” he said. Nico helped pull them through the window one after another.

  It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the darkness of the field house. But as they did, the kids could make out the features of the room.

  “Wow!” Max said. “It looks like no one’s been in here for a long time.”

  A layer of dust covered the floor and the bookcases against the wall.

  “This is like that haunted house we made in my basement,” Nico said. “Remember the maze we had and how we popped out and scared people?”

  Just then, Luke gasped. “Look out for the rat!” he yelled.

  Suddenly, something flew across the room at Max.

  “Gross!” Max cried. He swatted it out of the air and jumped back as it fell to the floor.

  “What is it?” Alice called.

  Max slowly leaned over to examine what was at his feet. Then he picked it up and burst out laughing. He threw it at Luke.

  “Nice try, Luke,” Max said. “But the only ‘rat’ around here is you!”

  “Ha-ha! I knew I’d get you,” Luke said. He picked up the “rat” and showed it to the others. It was an old sock that he had found in the corner. “Anyone else afraid of the rat?” he asked.

  Everyone laughed.

  “I remember going to summer camp here,” Kat said. “We used to do arts and crafts on the table in the corner.”

  “I can’t believe that Mr. Danforth wants to tear this down,” Alice said. “Why can’t they just fix it up?”

  Kat shook her head. “They tried to do that, but it’s too expensive,” she said. “My mother said she doesn’t think there’s any way to save the building. Mr. Danforth said he’d replace it with a nice office building and it would look a lot better.”

  “Hey, come here,” Nico called. He had passed through the back room of the field house to another room. It looked like an old kitchen.

  “This would make a really cool snack bar,” he said when the others arrived. “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a window where you could walk up and buy food when you were playing soccer or football? And maybe instead of just cookies and candy, they could sell some of my secret trail mix or special vegetable zingers!”

  In addition to being one of the school’s best athletes, Nico was also one of its best eaters. He liked to experiment at home and come up with new healthy snacks. He always had a new recipe for something that would make him stronger or faster.

  “Yeah,” Max said. “We could call it Nico’s Superfoods for Super Athletes! But do you have any foods that will give us superpowers to find the soccer ball?”

  Nico laughed. “Okay, you’re right. Let’s keep going,” he said.

  The group passed through a long room that ran along the side of the building.

  “Look at this,” Alice said. “If Nico can have a snack bar, then I’m going to turn this room into a golfing area. We can set up a couple of those big nets and special video screens that you can hit golf balls into to practice. We used them on vacation last year, and they were so much fun!”

  “That would be great!” Nico said. “Maybe if you did that, I could make cheesy popcorn snacks that would look like golf balls!”

  “We don’t need golf balls,” Max said as they made it back to the front room. “We need to find my soccer ball.”

  “It couldn’t have gone far,” Nico said. “It’s got to be here somewhere.”

  They split up and searched all around the room. Kat finally spotted the ball wedged behind a couch.

  “Got it!” she called. Kat picked up the soccer ball and handed it back to Max. Then they quickly climbed out the window to wait for Alice’s father. On the way, Nico found an old piece of wood. He brought it out with him. After everyone was outside, Nico wedged the board in front of the window.

  Alice checked the time. “Dad should be here soon,” she said.

  Kat studied the field house and let out a sigh. “I really wish there was some way to save this place and fix it up. It could be so cool!” she said.

  Max returned to kicking his soccer ball against the side of the building.

  Alice watched Max for a moment. Then a thought hit her.

  “Max, that’s it!” Alice said. “What if we use soccer to stop Mr. Danforth from tearing down the field house?”

  “What do you mean?” Luke asked.

  “Maybe we can get Alex Akers to help us save the field house,” Alice said.

  “But she plays soccer,” Luke said. “She’s not a construction worker!”

  Alice shook her head. “We don’t need Alex to help fix it up,” she said. “We need her to help raise money! Alex is famous. We could organize a fund-raiser on the day of the game, and Alex could be the star attraction. It would be a great project for the MVP Club!”

  The kids had just formed a club called the MVP Club. They had been awarded Most Valuable Player medals by the principal for figuring out who had messed up the Franklin School Olympics.

  “Wow, great idea, Alice,” Max said. “Maybe Alex can play goalie and peo
ple can try to score a goal against her. Who wouldn’t like a chance to sneak one by Alex Akers?”

  “That’s a great idea!” Kat said. “She usually plays striker, so it would be fun to see her in the goal for a change.”

  A car horn beeped. Alice’s father had just pulled up in his green minivan.

  “I’ll talk to my mom tonight,” Kat said. “Keep your fingers crossed!”

  —

  The next day after school, Kat and Luke bounded outside to catch up with Alice, Max, and Nico.

  “GOOOOAAAALLLL!” Luke said. “Kat called Alex Akers last night. She said she’d be happy to help us!”

  The kids slapped high fives all around.

  “That’ll be really cool,” Max said. “I’ll bet I can distract her and get a nice easy one in the net.”

  “Oh yeah?” Luke said. “Nice and easy like knocking that window out yesterday?”

  “Hey!” Kat said. “Stop fooling around. We have two weeks to try to save the field house.”

  The MVP Club spent the next ten days working on the fund-raiser. They started by getting approval from the town to hold the event. Then they handed out flyers to let people know about it. The club had even organized a bake sale at school and convinced other Franklin students to post signs all around town.

  On Thursday, two days before the fund-raiser and the game, Nico, Alice, and Luke headed straight to the big supermarket after school. Luke and Kat’s mother helped them set up a table right outside the entrance. Then she went inside to shop.

  They put the cardboard model of the field house that Kat had made on the table. Kat loved doing art projects, so she had all the special cardboard, glue, and paint that she needed to create a model that looked real.

  For the next two hours, they handed out flyers and collected donations. When it was almost time to go, Nico picked up the donation box. “Today was good, but I think it’s all going to come down to how much money we raise on Saturday. If we don’t make enough, there’s no way the town can fix up the field house.”