He wished he could just disappear with the dust cloud That’s game the umpire said Lizards win 4-3 10
CHAPTER 2 I can’t believe my new cleats Ben said after the game The shoe just tore as I was heading home Ben sat on the wooden bench in the dugout and inspected his red and black Fusion Speeds They were a popular new cleat so new that Ben was the only Grizzlies player to own them The heel of his left shoe had split open making it appear as though it had a mouth Logan must have thought the same thing He snatched it out of Ben’s hand moved the two pieces of the shoe up and 11
down and said in a croaking voice I need a mint My breath smells like feet Give me that Ben grabbed the torn shoe back and put it in his equipment bag It’s not funny I don’t know how I’m going to play the rest of the season Nearly everyone else had already packed up their things and left with their parents Ben’s parents were both at work so thankfully they didn’t see his epic failure at the game today His bike was locked up at a nearby rack alongside Annie’s She lived across the street from him and they biked almost everywhere together Now the only people left in the dugout were Ben and his friends Logan’s and Gabe’s dads were standing together by the bleachers and chitchatting about the game Didn’t you just get those Logan asked 12
Yeah Ben mumbled Bummer Gabe said shaking his head That’s gotta be bad luck or something Gabe was super-superstitious He’d worn the same pair of socks to every game for the past two years without washing them They used to be white Now thanks to the infield dirt and his catcher’s equipment they were a mix of gray and brown Ben figured it wasn’t just good luck The smell of those things probably made batters eyes water so much they couldn’t see the pitches coming in Logan shrugged So get your mom to exchange them for a new pair No big whoop She can’t Ben said When she bought them the guy at Mega-Sports told her the Speeds are so popular they’ve been back ordered for like months 13
