On game day Jonathan couldn't wait to play.
He got to the field early and helped his parents set up their chairs on the sideline. Then he tied his dog's leash to his mother's chair.
A girl about Jonathan's age walked toward him.
He'd seen her in school, but he'd never talked to her.
She was beautiful, with long, dark hair and blue eyes. She stopped right in front of Jonathan and said, "What a cutie!"
"Whoa! She thinks I'm a cutie!" Jonathan thought, amazed.
"Can I pet her?" the girl asked.
"Oh. She thinks our dog is a cutie," Jonathan realized.
Mrs. Cho smiled. "He loves being petted."
The girl bent down to pet Pastrami. "Sorry for calling your dog a her." her
"No big beal," Jonathan said. He blushed. "I mean, no big deal." no big deal
"What's his name?" the girl asked.
"Strapami," Jonathan said.
"Strapami?"
"Pastrami," Jonathan corrected himself, blushing more.
"Boys!" Coach Wattenbarger barked just then.
"You'd better go to your coach, Johnnyboy," Mrs. Cho said.
Jonathan looked at his mother in horror. Had she really just called him "Johnnyboy" in front of this girl?
The beautiful girl flashed him an amused smile. "Johnnyboy?"
"It's Jonathan," he said quickly. "What's your name?"
"Marissa," she said. "Nice to meet you."
"Me too. I mean you too. I'd better go getting. I mean, I'd better get going!" you
Jonathan ran toward his coach before he could make things even worse.
"Ack!" he thought with embarrassment. "That was so awkward!"
The rest of the team was already huddled around Coach Wattenbarger.
"I'm glad everyone's here today," the coach said. Though with his brow furrowed as usual, he certainly didn't look glad.
"That means we have two extra players to use as substitutes. Max will play the entire game because he's the best player in the league.
He'll be our only forward."
Jonathan frowned. He'd never been on a team that used only one forward.
And he'd never been on a team that hadn't used him as a forward. him
He tried to catch Carlos' eye, but Carlos was listening closely to Coach Wattenbarger.
"Make sure to pass the ball to Max," the coach went on.
"What if he's not open?" Aaron asked.
"I'll be open." Max sounded smug.
"Max is the best player in the league," the coach repeated.
Jonathan was starting to get tired of hearing that.
"Carlos, you're playing left midfield," the coach said.
Carlos nodded. That was his usual position.
"Jonathan Cho:
center midfield."
"But I always play forward," Jonathan said.
"No arguing!" the coach snapped. He assigned the remaining positions before telling the team to drink some water.
"Then get on the field and win, win, win!"
Jonathan ran back to his parents to get his water bottle.
Marissa was still there, petting Pastrami.
"How's it going?" Mrs. Cho asked.
Jonathan groaned.
"This is going to be the worst soccer season ever," he said.
"Our awful coach only cares about his son, Max. And Max's ego is bigger than a World Cup stadium!"
Marissa gave Jonathan a startled look. Then she leaped to her feet and hurried away.
Jonathan blinked in surprise as she sat down on a chair near a woman who was talking to Coach Wattenbarger.
"I think you just insulted Marissa's father and brother, Johnnyboy," Mrs. Cho said softly.
Jonathan's dad frowned. "You need to respect your coach and do what he tells you, Jonathan."
"Sorry," Jonathan mumbled. He knew he should apologize to Marissa too.
But he hadn't even been able to tell her his dog's name without stumbling over his words!
Anyway, there was nothing he could do now—the game was about to start.
Jonathan joined his teammates on the field.
They faced the Gray Wolves, who had a much cooler team name than Team Wattenbarger.
The referee blew the whistle. Game on!
A Gray Wolves player passed the ball to a forward, who dribbled it up the field.
But Carlos blocked him, forcing him to pass. Aaron intercepted the pass and kicked the ball to his twin, Andrew.
Jonathan raced up the field until he got open in front of Andrew.
"Pass to Max!" their coach yelled.
Andrew passed the ball to Max.
Max dribbled it toward the goal, but two Gray Wolves players blocked him.
"Shoot the ball, Max!" Coach Wattenbarger yelled, even though Max was double-teamed and Jonathan was open.
Max took a shot, but a Gray Wolves player intercepted the ball and kicked it hard up the field.
Jonathan ran to the ball and started to dribble.
He raced toward the Gray Wolves goal.
Yes! He was about to score the first goal of the game!
"Pass to Max!" the coach screamed. "Cho! Pass to Max!"
Jonathan groaned, but he passed the ball.
Max shot it toward the goal. The goalie dived for the ball, but he was too late. Max scored the first point.
Everyone on Team Wattenbarger cheered, along with the coach and friends and families on the sideline.
Max and Jonathan gave each other high fives as they ran to the middle of the field for the kickoff.
Jonathan hadn't scored the point, but at least he'd assisted with the first goal.
After the kickoff the Gray Wolves passed the ball from one player to the next until the ball was near the goal.
But the Wattenbarger defense blocked the ball and got it to Aaron, who was halfway up the field.
A Gray Wolves midfielder ran in front of Aaron. Fortunately, Jonathan was wide open.
Unfortunately, Coach Wattenbarger yelled, "Pass the ball to Max!"
Max wasn't open, but Aaron kicked the ball toward him anyway. A Gray Wolves defender intercepted it.
He passed it to a midfielder, who passed it to a forward, who took a great shot.
But the Wattenbarger goalie dived across the goal and made an even greater save.
He kicked the ball down the field, and it soared into the air.
A Wattenbarger defender jumped up and headed the ball to Jonathan. Jonathan headed the ball a short distance up the field.
Then he ran to it and dribbled toward the goal. Yes! He'd set up a perfect shot for himself.
"Pass to Max!" Coach Wattenbarger roared.
Jonathan reluctantly did what he was told, allowing Max to score his second goal.
The whistle blew for halftime. The score was 2–0, with Team Wattenbarger in the lead.
Jonathan's teammates, including Carlos, chanted, "Max! Max!"
Jonathan bent down and adjusted his shin guards so nobody would notice his silence.
The chanting was loud and annoying. At least it seemed that way to him.