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you.”
    Mark made a sour face and stared at Ben. “If it had been a real race, I would have won easily.”
    “Well, we’re not here for a track meet,” Coach said. “We’re here to play soccer.”
    “I know that,” Mark said. “You’ll see. I’ll be way better than that kid.” He pointed at Ben.
    Ben looked away. He wished more than ever that Mark was not on this team.
    Ben wiped his forehead with his hand. He was starting to sweat from that running, and his heart was beating faster. That was a goodfeeling; it made him feel like an athlete. He took a deep breath and smelled the freshly cut grass.
    There was a lot to like about soccer already. Everything except Mark.
    For the rest of the afternoon, Coach had them work mostly on controlling the ball and passing. After practice, Ben and Erin started to walk home. They lived on the same block, just a few houses away from each other.
    “Wait up!” yelled Mark.
    Ben turned with a scowl. “What do you want?” he asked.
    “I told you I’d be the best,” Mark said.
    “You weren’t the best. There were a lot of good players here.”
    “Well, I was better than you,” Mark said.
    A car horn beeped, and Mark turned to look. “That’s my mom,” he said. “I’ll see you twerps next time.” And he ran off.
    “He acts tough, doesn’t he?” Erin said.
    Ben just nodded. A guy like that could spoil all the fun this season.
    Erin stopped walking and undid her shin guards. “These are a little uncomfortable,” she said.
    “I’m leaving mine on,” Ben said. If anyone saw him walking home, he wanted them to know he was a soccer player. Of course, he was carrying his ball, too, but lots of kids had soccer balls. The shin guards made him look like a real player.
    “You’ll get used to them,” Ben said.
    “I hope so,” said Erin. “I barely noticed them during practice, but they did start poking my skin after a while.”
    “Soccer players are
tough,”
Ben said with a smile. “Can’t let a little thing like a stinging shin stop us.”
    “Oh, sure, you’re real tough,” Erin said,teasing. “Remember the other day when a spider was spinning a web from your bicycle to the fence? You had to get your brother to chase it off.”
    “It was a big spider,” Ben said. He was a little embarrassed, but he laughed at himself anyway. “Maybe it was poisonous.”
    “It wasn’t poisonous.”
    “Well, it was
big,”
Ben said. “I thought Larry might want to study it. That’s why I had him come out.”
    “Sure you did, Mr. Tough Guy.”
    “Larry wants to be a scientist.”
    “I’m sure he could find his own spiders to study if he wanted.”
    They were nearly home. Ben stopped walking and tossed his soccer ball into the air. As it came down, he tried to catch it on his thigh and bounce it again, but it fell off to the side. Ben had seen some high school kids practicingthat type of juggling. Some of them could keep the ball in the air for several minutes at a time. That was a skill he was eager to learn, but it certainly wasn’t easy.
    They’d reached Erin’s house. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” she said. “Don’t let the spiders bite.”
    “Bye.”
    Spiders didn’t really bother Ben very much. He
was
tough. At least he thought he was. Being around Mark today had made him feel sort of weak and puny. But he wouldn’t let that get to him. He’d show Mark who was the better player.

CHAPTER TWO
Spoiling the Game

    The next morning, Ben looked for Erin at school. He found her near the door, talking to a girl with a long dark ponytail. The girl had been at the Bobcats’ practice.
    “This is Shayna,” Erin said.
    “Hi, Shayna,” Ben said. “How did you like soccer practice?”
    “It was fun,” Shayna said. “I liked playing goalie.”
    “Do you like our coach?” Ben asked.
    Shayna giggled. “Yeah. She’s my mother!”
    Ben blushed. “I didn’t know that.”
    “What did you think of that kid Mark?” Shayna asked.
    Ben shrugged.