The Falcon Street Club

Chapter 1: The Rivals

It was the middle of winter, and Jordie was already thinking of Spring break. The weather was bitter cold, and a fierce snowstorm had blanketed the little town of Colby. One afternoon, Jordie and Riley helped Tim shovel snow, then went over to Riley’s before going home for dinner.

“Hey, I think we should go sledding this weekend,” said Tim. “That sounds great,” Riley agreed. He loved the sled he had gotten for Christmas and wanted to use it as much as he could. They had gotten news that a new boy was living in Drew’s old house on Falcon Street and had started a club of his own. “I saw some kids climbing the old ladder the other day,” said Jordie. “Maybe we should go see if they wanna go sledding with us.” Tim and Riley thought that was a good idea. “We can go over after school tomorrow,” said Jordie.

The next afternoon, Drew joined the rest as they walked to his old house and approached the front door. They could see a sign on the clubhouse that read “Rivals.” “That must be their new club's name,” murmured Tim. They knocked, and Jordie’s new neighbor answered. “Hi. I’m Jordie. I live right there,” Jordie said, pointing to his house a few doors up the block. “Hi. I’m -” Suddenly, they all locked eyes with each other.

“Heyy, I know YOU! YOU tried to steal my dog!” yelled Riley, pointing to the boy. Just then, two other boys appeared. It was Shane, Mark and Chip, the group who had taken Pepper for ransom. “You’re the ones who got us in trouble, shouted Shane, the oldest boy. “Let’s get ‘em, guys,” he called as they opened the door.

Tim and Riley jumped off the porch and ran out the front gate, laughing as they tripped over each other. As Drew and Jordie ran, they picked up snowballs and hurled them at two of the boys. “Yeah, you better run!” yelled Shane, wiping the snow off his shirt.

“Oh, it’s on now!” shouted Tim, puffing his chest out. He pretended to be tough (even though he was already halfway up the street) “You guys better not show up at the sleddin’ hill tomorrow,” he shouted. “Oh, we’ll be there,’ Chip shouted back. If you guys don’t show, you’re chicken!”

Riley wondered why they had never seen these boys at school before. They had first encountered them on Ford Street, where they found Pepper, but had never seen them at school or even in town for that matter. Sooner or later, everyone runs into each other in Colby. “Maybe they go to another school.” “Yeah, the school for wayward boys,” giggled Jordie.

“Hey, I have an idea how to get back at those guys,” announced Drew. Let’s get on the walkie-talkies tonight when I get home, and I’ll explain.”

Chapter 2: The Plan

The weekend arrived, and the boys grabbed their sleds and inner tubes and walked over to the end of Culver Street. Sugartop Hill was a popular place to go sledding. It had a giant slope surrounded by two smaller hills that were mainly used by the younger children. Beyond those lay an open field, perfect for building snowmen or making angels in the drifts. There was a little truck parked between the few trees that dotted the hills where one could buy hot chocolate and giant pretzels - a nice warm treat for cold days.

Sugartop hill seemed deserted that Saturday. A few mothers pulled their young children on sleds at the bottom of the slope. All at once, Drew caught a glimpse of the group of boys. They were on the other side of the hill, pushing and shoving each other into the snow.

Before Drew and Jordie approached the hilugh tol, they stopped long eno put their plan into action. Drew handed each boy a ski cap that, when rolled down, covered their face in a thick mask. Now the rivals wouldn’t know who they were. They strolled past Shane, Chip and Mark, reaching a tree that stood near the edge of Sugartop. Jordie and Tim hid behind the tree while Riley and Drew kept a lookout.

Tim removed a slingshot from his pocket and pulled out a baggie with balls of rock-hard ice. Some were small, like pebbles, and others were as large as golf balls. Shane, the biggest boy, was bending down to lace his boot. “Bombs away,” yelled Tim, releasing a ball into the air. “Smack!” It hit Shane right in the backside. “Ouch!” he yelled, looking around. “Did you just do that?” he yelled to Mark, smacking him upside the head. The group looked around, bewildered. They had no idea where that ice ball had come from. Drew and Riley snickered as they joined Jordie and Tim behind the tree.

Mark had set a cup of piping hot chocolate on top of his sled. “Watch this,” whispered Tim. He let another ice ball fly. “Smack!” it hit the cup, spilling the hot chocolate. When Mark returned to get a drink, he growled in anger as he picked up the empty cup and watched as the hot steam rose in the frigid air. “Hey, who spilled my drink?” he hollered.

“Lemme try,” laughed Jordie. Chip was standing underneath a tall tree. Jordie loaded up the slingshot with a larger ball of ice and took aim at a branch above Chip’s head. “Zing!” It hit the branch, releasing a heavy pile of snow. Shane and Mark broke into laughter as Chip stood there - completely covered in a blanket of white.

“I think we evened the score today,” chuckled Jordie. The boys enjoyed the rest of the day sledding and inner tubing, with the Rivals being none the wiser.

Chapter 3: Valentine’s Day

Time seemed to be passing quickly, and every classroom in the elementary school was preparing for Valentine’s Day. Teachers passed out white paper bags to each child. They had a week to decorate them if they wished to, using whatever items they could find.

Tim and Riley planned on working on theirs together. Jordie scribbled a few hearts on his bag with his pencil as he was not very interested in art or Valentine’s Day. The children also had their choice of making their own Valentines. Riley joined Tim at his house on Tuesday afternoon. They cut colorful hearts out of construction paper and used paint, glitter, and stamps for their bags. Tim’s mother had bought a big bag of red, heart-shaped suckers. “Let’s put two in each Valentine,” said Riley.

Drew’s father had bought him a box of Valentines and chocolate bars for every child in his class. There was a little girl named Nora in Jordie and Riley’s class. Riley always liked her. He wanted to give her a special Valentine, but he didn’t want the other boys to laugh at him. He would have to be pretty clever to get it to her without the other children knowing.

The day came for the classes to have their Valentine’s Day parties. The school was abuzz with excitement. Pink and red adorned every room. Tim and Drew’s classroom had large red hearts that danced along the walls on strands of pink twine, while twisted pink and white streamers stretched across the ceiling. On each child’s desk sat a heart-shaped cupcake on a lacy paper doily and heart-shaped ice cubes swirled in a punchbowl of pink lemonade.

Jordie and Riley were in the same class. Their room displayed strings of pink and red popcorn while several red and silver balloons floated aimlessly around the desks. Jordie and the others couldn’t help but swat hard at them each time they came near. Their treats included sugar cookies, cups of ice cream with little wooden spoons, and more popcorn in large red bowls.

It was time to pass out Valentines. The fancy bags taped to the chalkboard displayed each child’s name and interesting artwork. When their name was called, each boy or girl would walk up and drop their Valentines into the correct bags. Soon it was Riley’s turn. He took his stack of Valentines and proceeded to drop them into each bag. When he got to Nora’s, he quickly dropped hers in. As he got near the end, he deposited the remaining Valentines and returned to his seat, breathing a sigh of relief.

Chapter 4: Crush

As the next child started to place his Valentines in the bags, Riley felt a tinge of fear as he realized there were two girls in the class with similar names. One was Nora, and the other was NORMA. He was in such a hurry to go through the line, he wasn’t sure now if he had put the right Valentine in the right bag.

When the last child had gone through the line, they were each allowed to go through their bags there or take them home. Riley had a lump in his throat as he watched Nora take her bag and dump the cards onto her desk. He strained to see if his Valentine was among the pile. Next, he glanced at Norma. He had put two little candy hearts in with the special card. Norma gingerly took each card out, opened it and read it. As she took the next one in her pile, she opened it, and two candy hearts spilled onto the desk. Riley recognized his Valentine. Norma read it and looked straight at him. Uh Oh, he thought.

The embarrassment overwhelmed him and was only made worse when Norma showed Trevor, the little boy who sat behind her. It will be all over the school now, Riley thought. He couldn’t even explain that the Valentine wasn’t meant for her. That would be even worse. How he wished to climb under his desk and stay there until the school day ended.

When he went up to take his plate and cup to the trash, Norma followed close behind him. “Yes,” she said with a smile. “What?” Riley asked. “Yes. You asked if I liked you, yes or no. It’s Yes.” Ughh, what was Riley going to do now?

Chapter 5: The Pest

The next morning on the playground, Riley and Tim stood talking while Jordie played a short game of soccer before the bell rang. As they talked, Norma came up behind Riley and covered his eyes with her hands. “Guess who?” she said, grinning. “It’s Norma,” announced Tim bluntly. A frown loomed across Riley’s face as he stood with his eyes covered.

Norma laughed. “Hi,” she said. Riley was hoping she wouldn’t mention the Valentine - at least not in front of Tim. “Thank you for the special Valentine card,” she giggled. “I showed my mom. I’ll talk to you later.” Riley stood frozen as his eyes turned slowly towards Tim. “Oh, a SPECIAL Valentine, huh?” Tim teased. “Cut it out!” yelled Riley.

One morning as Riley stepped outside his front door, Norma was waiting on the front sidewalk. “Hi. Ya wanna walk to school together?” “Uh, no, I can’t - I-I forgot something. I’ll see you at school,” Riley shouted as he ran back into his house and slammed the door. He peered out the front blinds waiting for Norma to walk away. “What are you still doing here?” asked his stepdad. “Hiding from a girl,” he said sheepishly. It seemed Norma was going to make things hard on Riley for a while.

Weeks passed, and Riley couldn’t shake his schoolmate. Everywhere he went, suddenly and without warning, Norma seemed to appear. When he got in line for lunch, he turned around only to find her right behind him. When he went to get a drink, Norma would suddenly find herself thirsty too. She was in the library, at the swing set and even at the lost and found. She was driving Riley crazy! Jordie was starting to notice too.

Chapter 6: The New Kid

Spring break had come and gone for the kids in Colby. Riley had hoped that enough time had passed for Norma to have forgotten all about him. When they got to their classroom, Miss Cole, the teacher, made an announcement.

“Class, we have a new student starting today. Please make him feel welcome when he gets here.” The new student and his family were taking a tour with the principal. Soon he arrived, and the teacher had him stand at the front of the class while she introduced him. “Class, I would like you to meet Shane Dunkee.” Riley and Jordie’s jaws dropped. It was Shane - THAT Shane! The teacher continued, “He has just transferred from Rusttown. I want you to make him feel welcome and show him around.”

Riley turned around and shot a glance at Jordie, who was looking at Shane with a furrowed brow. As Riley turned back around, he noticed Norma out of the corner of his eye, grinning wildly at him.

Jordie and Riley did their best to avoid Shane AND Norma for the better part of the day. At lunch, the boys met Tim and Drew in the lunchroom and told them about Shane. “I know,” said Drew. His brother Mark is in OUR room.” Chip was a friend of theirs who only visited Shane and Mark, so he went to another school.

As they talked, Shane and Mark walked into the cafeteria. They were seated two tables over from the rest of the boys. They looked around, frightened at all of the new strangers. None of the children would talk to them, and some only stared. It seemed Mark was so frightened that he didn’t even touch his lunch. It made Tim think of the time he was the new kid in school and how frightened he was. He didn’t want the others to know it, but he felt a bit sorry for Shane and Mark and secretly wished he could make them feel more comfortable, despite all they had done. He couldn’t stop thinking about it as the days went by.

Chapter 7: Meanies

Shane and Mark had been in school for three days. Shane seemed to be adjusting, but Mark was shy and didn’t make friends very easily. One boy in school began to tease him about his name. “What’s your name? Mark Dunkee, or Mark Skunkee?” A few of the children laughed as Mark coiled in the corner. “Hey, there goes Mark Skunkee. P. U.!” The teasing continued when Tim and Drew’s class went out to the playground for recess. “It’s smelly over here,” yelled one boy. Oh, it’s Mark Skunkee!”

Mark walked to the corner of the schoolyard and sat down by the fence alone. Tim felt sorry for him. He knew Mark must have been embarrassed and didn't want the other children to know.

“Do you think we should go talk to him, Drew?” asked Tim. “No way!” said Drew. “They’ve been rotten to us!” Tim knew they had tried to get money from Riley for Pepper and had chased him and the other boys off Shane’s porch. Still, he looked at Mark sitting all alone and couldn’t help but feel bad for him. It’s frightening being all alone in a new place, he thought to himself.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go over there if Drew wasn’t going to go with him. Suddenly, somebody threw a ball, and it landed next to Mark. “Hey, Skunk, throw the ball over here.” Tim just looked on but said nothing, and he felt bad about it all the way home.

Chapter 8: Another Invention

It had been several months since Drew’s father had sold his invention. He had been busy working on a new one. He had created some toy bugs, which he called Flysects. They looked like giant bugs but could fly with the help of a tiny, held-hand remote control. The packs included a giant bee, fly and dragonfly. They looked real and even buzzed.

One Sunday afternoon, the boys went to Drew’s to play with them. Mr. Wasco wanted to get their reaction before he sent them off to the toy manufacturer who was interested in marketing them. He let them all choose a bug to test. Jordie chose the dragonfly, Drew, a bee, and Tim and Riley both selected a giant fly. They had such fun flying them around the backyard.

Fraidy, and Harvey, the cat Mr. Roberts had given Drew’s father, watched in amazement as the giant bugs flew overhead. Fraidy crouched in fear and couldn’t help but bat at the dragonfly as it hovered over her head. Harvey was just old and didn’t even care about the constant buzzing. Riley landed the fly right on Harvey’s back. He turned and sniffed it, then closed his eyes uninterested as he resumed his cat nap.

“This would be such a great prank to play on Shane,” laughed Jordie. Riley giggled at the thought. It was almost supper time, and Mr. Wasco invited the boys to stay and eat. “Okay, please return all of the bugs to the box on the table,” he said. Drew thought this might be one of his dad’s best inventions yet.

Chapter 9. The Accident

Monday came, and it was time to go to the playground after lunch. Jordie and Riley met Tim and Drew near the slide. “Hey, you guys, I gotta show ya somethin’,” whispered Jordie. The boys huddled close as Jordie pulled a small bag from his pocket. Inside was one of Mr. Wasco’s flying insects. “You took this from my dad?” asked Drew in surprise. “Just for a joke. I’ll give it back,” Jordie replied, looking around.

He spotted Mark and Shane talking to a girl near the swing set. “Hey, let’s play a trick on Shane.” Jordie took the giant bee out of the bag and placed it in his hand, then pushed the button on the little remote. The giant bee flew from his hand and began to buzz loudly as it headed straight for Shane. “Ahhh,” screamed the little girl.

All of the children began to scatter everywhere as Shane swatted furiously at the monstrous insect. As he tried to run away, he collided with a boy on a swing. CRASH! The swing hit Shane and sent him flying against the fence. He lay there, holding his head. Jordie shut the remote off, and the giant bee fell to the ground.

“Oh no!” said Riley, “I think he’s hurt.” Some children ran and got the gym teacher, who approached Shane. “Are you okay, son? Can you stand up?” The children gathered around Shane as he lay crying on the ground. Jordie felt awful. “I didn’t mean for anybody to get hurt,” he murmured to the others.

Shane got up and walked to the nurse’s office with the gym teacher, holding his head the entire time.

The children began to move the giant bee around with their feet. One brave boy picked it up. “Look, it’s made of metal,” he yelled as he ran towards another teacher. She took it and examined it carefully. “Uh oh, we’re in trouble now,” said Riley. “Not only that, but THAT is my dad’s invention. Now how are we gonna get it back?” Drew whined.

The bell rang for the boys to go back to class. When Jordie and Riley returned, Shane wasn’t there. The kids were chatting amongst themselves, and Trevor said that Shane’s mother had to come and pick him up. Jordie and Riley felt terrible, but they didn’t want to say anything to get Jordie in trouble.

When the school day ended, Drew was at Jordie’s classroom door when he came out. “So, what are you gonna do about my dad’s bug? I need to get it back and take it home, or I’m in BIG trouble.” They weren’t even sure who had it now. “I think Mrs. Harris took it,” said Jordie. “Well,” said Drew, “you’re going to have to get it back. My dad has to send it off with the others.” Jordie knew if he said anything, everyone would know HE had something to do with it. He was in a terrible jam.

Chapter 10: Jordie Owns Up

The next morning before classes started, Jordie went to Mrs. Harris’ class. Luckily, there were no children in the classroom yet. He approached her desk as she sat grading papers. “Hello Jordie, what can I do for you?” Mrs. Harris asked. Jordie was so nervous his hands were shaking. “I was wondering if I could get that bee from you.” “Bee?” Mrs. Harris asked, looking confused. “The bee that was on the playground,” said Jordie timidly.

Mrs. Harris put her pencil down and took off her glasses. “Oh, the bee. The one that was flying around Shane Dunkee’s head?” she asked sternly. “That’s the one,” replied Jordie. “You do realize that young man was severely injured because of your prank,” Mrs. Harris stated, staring at Jordie. He began to tear up. “It was an accident,” Jordie whispered.

“Well, I think this warrants a phone call to your mother,” she said, getting up from her chair. Jordie felt his face get hot. “But it was an accident,” he repeated. “You go on to class, and we’ll discuss this later.” Jordie walked to his classroom, trying hard to swallow the lump in his throat. He knew his parents were not going to be pleased, and neither would Mr. Wasco since he still wasn’t able to get the toy back.

When he sat down at his desk, he rested his head in his hands. Miss Cole made an announcement. “Shane Dunkee is not able to return to school this week. I’m sure all of you are aware of what happened to him on the playground yesterday?” Jordie’s lump in his throat grew as he felt the guilt rise up in him.

“He was stung by a bee!” yelled one of the children. “Nuh-uh,” said Trevor. It wasn’t real.” Several of the other children shouted in agreement. “Yeah, it wasn’t real, they replied in unison.” Jordie could feel Riley staring a hole right through him. “I think we need to give him a get-well card,” said the teacher.  

Chapter 11: I Need That Bee!

The final bell rang, and Jordie got up and raced to the door before Riley could ask him any questions. “Hey, wait up!” yelled Riley. Jordie made it out the back door, only to run straight into Drew. “Well, did ya get it?” Drew asked, folding his arms. “Not yet.” “C’mon. I’ll go with you. I’ve GOT to get the bee back before my dad knows it’s missing.”

They walked back into the school and met Riley coming out. “Hey, so what happened?” asked Riley. Jordie just kept walking until they arrived at Mrs. Harris’ class. She was busy talking to a few children, trying to get everyone’s belongings together so they could go home. “Let’s do this tomorrow,” begged Jordie. “NO!” snapped Drew.

Soon, Mrs. Harris was free, and the boys walked in. “Mrs. Harris, I need to return that bee. It wasn’t mine,” said Jordie.

She opened up her desk drawer and handed the bee back to Jordie. “I suggest you take this home and don’t bring it to school again!” “Yes, ma’am," he said, backing out towards the door. He wasn’t sure if Mrs. Harris had called his mother or not. When he got home, he found out she had.

Chapter 12: The Strange Meeting

Friday came, and the get-well card for Shane was ready. It had a picture of a cute little skunk with a soft, black and white feather for a tail. The inside read, “It stinks that you’re not feeling well.” All of the children had signed it. “I’m going to need someone to volunteer to take this to Shane.” All of the children sat silent. Jordie’s mother and father told him he had to apologize to Shane. He thought it would be better if he did it with fewer kids around. “Anybody?” Miss Cole asked again. Jordie slowly raised his hand. “I’ll take it,” he said. He could hear Riley behind him. “What?” Riley said in surprise. “Here ya go, Jordie,” said Miss Cole, handing him the envelope. Please give Shane our best”

Jordie begged Tim and Riley to go with him. Riley wasn’t sure he wanted to but finally gave in, and Tim was willing to go because he thought maybe he could talk to Mark. The three walked slowly towards Falcon Street. “I don’t think I wanna do this,” muttered Jordie. “I know, I don’t know if I want to either,” quipped Tim. They approached Shane’s front door and rang the bell. Shane’s mother answered the door. “Hello,” she said as she opened the screen door. “We’ve come to see Shane,” said Jordie. He tried not to make eye contact but then realized this was not the same lady who was at the house on Ford Street when they rescued Pepper. Maybe that woman had been their babysitter. “Well, come in,” the woman said. Shane got quite a bump on the head, ya know.”

Shane was on the couch watching television. It was an awkward moment for all of them. Jordie walked toward him and handed him the envelope. “This is from the class,” he said with a quick smile. “Thanks.” Shane took the envelope and opened it. He chuckled briefly at the cute little skunk as he read all of the get-well wishes. “That was nice of the class,” his mother said. “Would you boys like some chips and soda?” she asked, bringing Shane a bag of chips. “Um, no, thank you.” “Well, at least sit down for a while.” Just then, Mark came in the front door. He looked at the boys in surprise. He didn’t say anything but went straight to his room. Jordie felt more uncomfortable by the minute. He had to get out of there!

Shane was watching a funny cartoon that showed a bear trying to get honey from a tree. All of a sudden, one of the bees flew out of the hive and chased after the bear, stinging him on the behind. The room was totally silent. Suddenly, Shane laughed half-heartedly, “that looks like me!” he said. Jordie, Tim and Riley chuckled nervously. “You know that bee wasn’t real, right?” said Tim. Jordie shot a look at him. “It wasn’t? How do you know?” asked Shane. “Um, I dunno. I guess I heard that somewhere.” Tim tried to ease out of the conversation before Shane asked any more questions.

Shane’s mother returned from the kitchen. “You live right over there, don’t you?” she said to Jordie, pointing to his house. “Yeah. This used to be Drew’s house.” “I like the treehouse,” Shane said awkwardly. “Oh, yeah, Drew’s dad helped us build it. But now we have one at Drew’s house.” “It’s over at their farm,” Tim chimed in.

As the boys talked, they began to notice that they had more in common than they realized. The conversation began to get louder and more enjoyable as they all talked and laughed about the clubhouses and Norma and even the time Pepper ran down Falcon Street in Julie’s wig! Mark heard the laughter and came into the room, taking a seat on the arm of the chair. This was Tim’s chance to talk to him. He wasn’t sure what to say. “I like your backpack,” he muttered. “Thanks,” said Mark. “That’s Phantom Jet Force, isn’t it?” Mark nodded shyly. They started to talk, and before they knew it, they had all been chatting for almost an hour. It was already time to go home for supper.

“I’ll see you guys on Monday,” said Shane, as he waved goodbye. “Bye,” said Mark, standing nervously near the hallway. The three boys waved and walked back over to Jordie’s house. When they got to his room, his walkie-talkie was buzzing.

“This is Jordie; come in, over.” “Hey, it’s me, Drew. How did it go? Over.” Jordie proceeded to tell Drew about their pleasant visit. “They’re really kind of nice. I think we just didn’t give them a chance.” “Are you crazy?” yelled Drew. “Don’t you remember they stole Riley’s dog!” “Oh, I think Riley forgave them for that.”

Riley took the walkie-talkie. “Drew, remember when your dad forgave you for the attic fire?” Drew was silent. “It’s the same thing. It feels so much better to forgive than to stay mad.” “Well-l," replied Drew, “he took YOUR dog, and if YOU can forgive him, I guess I can too."

Chapter 13: The Invitation

Monday came, and Jordie sat down at his desk as Shane walked through the door. “Well, welcome back, Shane,” said Miss Cole. Shane walked to his desk and flashed a smile to Jordie. Riley gave a quick wave. It seemed the boys from the Rivals and the Falcon Street Club were going to be friends after all.

One afternoon, after lunch, everybody was playing on the playground. It didn’t take long for the teasing to begin between Mark and a few other kids. One child heard about the card that Shane had received. “Hey, his brother got a card with a skunk on it. Mark and Shane Dunkee Skunkee!” Mark stood silent, his face turning red. What was Tim going to do? This was his chance to stand up for his friend, but he was afraid. What would the other kids think of him? He said a little prayer in his heart for bravery. He watched as poor Mark folded his arms and shrunk into the corner of the building. He couldn’t take it anymore! He HAD to say something….

Suddenly Drew arrived. “Hi ya, Mark,” he said, waving. The other kids looked at him. “Ya wanna go play soccer with us?” Mark got the widest grin on his face. Suddenly, Tim felt his bravery come alive as he spoke up too. “Yeah, c’mon, Mark. Let’s go play.” Another boy chimed in. “Can I play too?” he said. “Sure. Let’s go.” More and more children joined in, and soon, the only boys left were the two who had started the teasing. (Now it seemed nobody wanted to play with them.) Tim realized that the more kids who stood up for Mark, the easier it became. All it took was the bravery of one to spark the courage in the others.

He was a little sad that it was Drew instead of him who spoke up for Mark first, but he decided the next time someone was mean to Mark, HE would be the first to step in and defend him.

Chapter 14: Soccer Star

The boys gathered in the field while Jordie ran to get the ball from the gym teacher. “Let’s choose teams,” said Riley. Suddenly, Mark seemed to draw back. The idea of not being chosen terrified him, and Tim could sense it. “I want Mark on our team!” Tim yelled loudly. Mark’s look of surprise turned to utter excitement at the thought of being called first. “Gosh,” he whispered to Tim, “I’ve never been called first!” When the teams were formed, the game began.

No sooner had the game started than Mark gained control of the ball. He skirted around the other team, flicking and dribbling the ball with ease. “Wow!” yelled Trevor. “Look at ‘im go!” Several children gathered around to watch, including the kids that had been teasing him.

Mark performed a fake, a pullback, then twirled around, balancing the ball on his toe. A quick release and suddenly - Goal! Mark shot the ball in, leaving the goalie in a daze. The whole crowd went wild! “You picked a great player!” yelled Jordie above the screams. Mark was a natural. He bounced the ball off his head and even zig-zagged through the pockets of players to score another goal. By the time the game ended, Mark had racked up the winning score by 3.

“You’re the hero of the day!” Tim shouted, patting him on the back. A few of the other teammates lifted Mark above their heads. “He-ro! He-ro!” everyone chanted. Jordie and Tim stacked their fists in a ‘ceremonial pile,’ one on top of the other. Riley and Drew joined them. “C’mon, you guys,” they called to Shane and Mark. Shane laughed and put his fist up, too, as Mark topped it off with his. The honorary “Falcon Street Club handshake” melded the two clubs together.

They were happy they had all found the courage to overcome their pride and fears and to take a chance on forgiveness, for in the end, it paved the way for the most likely of rivals to become the best of friends.

the end~

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