The Lacrosse Mix-Up Read online

  ALSO BY #1 BESTSELLER MIKE LUPICA

  Travel Team

  Heat

  Miracle on 49th Street

  Summer Ball

  The Big Field

  Million-Dollar Throw

  The Batboy

  Hero

  The Underdogs

  True Legend

  QB 1

  Fantasy League

  Fast Break

  Last Man Out

  Lone Stars

  Shoot-Out

  No Slam Dunk

  Strike Zone

  THE ZACH & ZOE MYSTERIES:

  The Missing Baseball

  The Half-Court Hero

  The Football Fiasco

  The Soccer Secret

  The Hockey Rink Hunt

  PHILOMEL BOOKS

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York

  Published simultaneously by Puffin Books and Philomel Books,

  imprints of Penguin Random House LLC, 2019

  Text copyright © 2019 by Mike Lupica

  Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Chris Danger

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

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  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA IS AVAILABLE.

  Ebook ISBN: 9781984836885

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

  Version_1

  This book is for Prof. Paul Doherty, who let me chase my dreams when I got to his class at Boston College.

  CONTENTS

  Also by #1 Bestseller Mike Lupica

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  ONE

  As soon as Zach and Zoe’s teacher, Ms. Moriarty, had announced she was starting an after-school lacrosse club, the Walker twins were the first to sign up.

  “I didn’t know you two liked lacrosse,” Ms. Moriarty said, surprised. She’d been a star player in college and had always wanted to coach. Now was her chance to do it at Middletown Elementary.

  “We’ve been waiting for a chance to play on a team,” Zoe said.

  Zach nodded. “We’ve even got our own sticks.”

  “I always knew you two loved sports,” Ms. Moriarty said. “I guess I just never asked if you loved mine.”

  “You might not know it,” Zoe said, “but our dad is a huge lacrosse fan. On weekends he takes us to games at Middletown High School. He said if he didn’t play basketball when he was growing up, he would have definitely tried out for the lacrosse team as an attackman.”

  “We called them attackers when I played,” Ms. Moriarty said. “And no, I didn’t know that about your dad. Everybody around here just knows him for basketball.”

  Their dad, Danny Walker, was the best basketball player ever to come out of Middletown. When he was twelve, he’d taken his travel team all the way to the national championship for seventh-graders. After that, he became a star point guard in both high school and college. Despite his small size, he made it all the way to the NBA. Now he worked as a sports reporter on television, covering the kinds of great athletes he’d once been himself.

  “Dad says that a lot of what he loves about basketball and soccer also applies to lacrosse,” Zach said.

  Like his kids, Danny Walker had played all kinds of sports growing up. Now, because of his job as a reporter, he had to know everything about all of them.

  “He always wanted to play the X attackman position,” Zoe mentioned.

  Zach grinned at his twin sister. “I think he likes it because it sounds like one of the superheroes in X-Men,” he said.

  “Well, he does sort of play like a superhero when he practices with us in the backyard,” Zoe said. “We’ve played so much out there, it feels like we’re already on a team.”

  Ms. Moriarty smiled. “And now that we’ll have a lacrosse team of our own, I’ll take all the help I can get from you two.”

  Usually there were ten players to a side in lacrosse. But Ms. Moriarty decided that, as the third-graders were playing for the first time, it would be best to start out with eight. The elementary schools they’d be playing against all had eight players, too. And, as it turned out, exactly eight third-graders signed up for the lacrosse club at Middletown: Zach and Zoe, Lily, Kari, Mateo, Malik, Jimmy, and a new kid, Oliver. Oliver had just moved to Middletown from San Francisco, where he had played for an All-Star lacrosse team.

  Zach and Zoe suggested they call their team the Middletown Warriors, and everyone agreed. It was a name with special meaning for the Walker family. Not only had the twins used it for their league basketball team, but Grandpa Richie had also played for a Warriors team when he was young.

  Their first practice took place that Monday. Everyone was excited to get started, especially Zach and Zoe. Because Zach, Zoe, and Oliver were already familiar with the game, Ms. Moriarty let them toss around a ball while she explained the basics to the others. Mateo, who’d never picked up a lacrosse stick in his life, volunteered to play goalie. After a few drills and some helpful tips from Ms. Moriarty, Mateo had shown good instincts in the space around the goal net called the crease. She agreed to let him stay at goal.

  “Hey,” Mateo said after practice ended for the day, “I never knew lacrosse could be so much fun!”

  All eight team members looked forward to playing together during the week. Zach and Zoe were interested in using what they knew about other sports and applying it to lacrosse. Just like their dad said.

  * * *

  A week later, the Warriors were gearing up for their first game against Middletown West. It was only a scrimmage, but it would be the first time they’d ever played against another team. Today it was Zoe’s turn to bring the equipment from the storage closet in Ms. Moriarty’s classroom to the field. They all took turns. Ms. Moriarty expected everyone to be a good teammate. She said it was just as important as being a good student.

  Even after only a week of practice, Zach and Zoe felt ready for a real game. By now, thanks to their dad, they knew how to handle their sticks and could carry the ball in the pocket without dropping it. Out on the field that afternoon, Zach, Zoe, and Kari were positioned up front as attackers. Behind them, Oliver and Malik took midfield. They could pretty much roam wherever they’d like. Lily and Jimmy were the defenders, ready to block the other team from scoring on Mateo in the goal.

  Ms. Moriarty and the other third-grade coaches had agreed there would be no checking of any kind. Often in high school and college lacrosse, players would get aggressive with each
other. Sometimes there were injuries. Ms. Moriarty said the no-checking rule was a way for the players to appreciate the beauty of the sport. They could enjoy the constant motion and strategy without worrying about getting hurt.

  As they were warming up at their end of the field, Ms. Moriarty pulled Zach and Zoe aside. “You two look like you’ve been playing your whole lives,” she said.

  “It feels like we have!” Zoe said.

  By the time the fourth quarter came around, the Warriors had found their groove. Zach loved the way he could start behind his team’s goal and rush toward midfield. His dad had told him it was similiar to being a point guard. Now he pretended that with Zoe on his right and Kari on his left, they were on a fast break, just like in basketball. Except they were running on a grassy field instead of a court.

  The score was 10–10 with a minute left in the fourth quarter. Mateo had just made a great save to keep the game tied. That’s when Ms. Moriarty called a time-out for the Warriors.

  On the sidelines, Zach said to Zoe, “I know it’s only our first game, but it already feels like we’re playing for the championship.”

  “Well, let’s pretend it is for the championship,” Zoe said. “The champions of today!”

  “And you know what Grandpa Richie always says,” Zach started.

  Zoe grinned and nodded.

  “If they’re keeping score, you might as well score more than the other team,” she finished.

  For the last time in their first game, Zach carried the ball up the field. He passed it to Zoe. She passed it back. Then it went over to Kari. She passed it back. By the time they got to midfield, the three of them were flying in the direction of the goal.

  Middletown West’s best defender was Jack Arnold, a boy Zach knew from town basketball. Jack was fast. Probably the fastest player on his team.

  He just wasn’t quite as fast as either of the Walker twins.

  Zach carried the ball in the pocket of his stick. As they closed in on the Middletown West goal, he faked a pass to Kari, and Jack moved up, thinking he could intercept the ball and get one more scoring chance for his team. Only Zach didn’t pass it. And he didn’t shoot right away, either.

  Instead he cut behind Kari, and took off behind the Middletown West goal. It was a move Danny Walker used plenty of times in their backyard. He said if it wasn’t against the rules to go behind the hoop in basketball, he could have made some great plays that way.

  Zoe held her ground to the goalie’s left, almost as if she was reading her brother’s mind.

  As Zach predicted, the Middletown West goalie turned his head to check behind him. In a blink, the ball was out of the pocket of Zach’s stick and in his sister’s. Then, quick as lightning, Zoe scored the winning goal for the Warriors as Ms. Moriarty blew her whistle, signaling the end of the game.

  There was only one thing left for the Walker twins to do: their personal victory celebration. Zach and Zoe slapped a high five, spinning and jumping and bumping hips and elbows. Even most of the players from Middletown West had seen it before. They knew Zach and Zoe weren’t trying to show them up.

  But this time, the twins added a special “lacrosse-only” move, by tapping each other’s sticks. It was like putting an exclamation point at the end of a sentence.

  TWO

  The following day, it was Oliver’s turn to load their equipment into the old green army bag Ms. Moriarty kept in the storage closet. He brought their sticks, balls, and helmets out to the field.

  Zach, Zoe, and their teammates were already outside with Ms. Moriarty. After yesterday’s game, they were looking forward to practicing for their next one against Middletown North. They had gotten off to a great start and couldn’t wait to find out how the rest of the season would go. It was like reading a good book and wondering how it would end.

  On the way out to the field today, Zoe reminded Zach of another of Grandpa Richie’s famous sayings:

  “The best season in the world is the one you’re playing right now.”

  “Lacrosse just started,” Zach said, “and I already don’t want it to end.”

  Zoe laughed. “You say that about every sport we play.”

  “Only because it’s true with every sport we play!”

  But when Oliver unpacked all the equipment from the bag, they could see he didn’t seem as excited about today’s practice as the rest of them. There was something wrong. As much as Zach and Zoe loved solving mysteries, there was no mystery about the disappointed look on Oliver’s face.

  As soon as he held up Mateo’s goalie stick, everyone could see what was bothering him.

  “There’s a hole in the pocket,” he said, poking a finger through it.

  “But it was fine when the game ended yesterday,” Mateo said, shaking his head sadly as he took the stick from Oliver. “If there was a hole, I wouldn’t have been able to make my last save.”

  Oliver had his own stick. So did Zach and Zoe. Ms. Moriarty used the stick she played with in college. She stored it inside the closet with the rest of the equipment. But most of the other sticks, Ms. Moriarty said, were old and had been sitting in the closet for a long time. It had been years since there were enough third-graders interested in the sport to form a team.

  “Maybe the webbing was just ready to fall apart,” Ms. Moriarty said. “We’ve had so many practices over the last week, and our first game yesterday. Perhaps it was just a matter of time.”

  Zach nodded in agreement.

  “The same thing happened with my baseball glove,” he said. “The stitches came apart and my mom had to sew it back together.”

  Kari’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t mean to change the subject, but do you think your mom could sew up my glove?”

  Zach smiled at his sister, then over at Kari.

  “My sister and I,” Zach Walker said, “think our mom could build a rocket ship from scratch if she had to.”

  Mateo was still holding his stick, staring through the loose hole in the netting.

  “Bet we could fit a rocket ship through this thing right now,” he said.

  “I’d lend you my stick, Mateo,” Ms. Moriarty started to say. “But I think the adult size might be too big for you.”

  Mateo’s face fell.

  “We’ll get it fixed before tomorrow’s practice,” Ms. Moriarty said. “For now, let’s just focus on today’s.”

  Zach picked up his own stick and handed it to Mateo.

  “Use mine today,” he said.

  “But it’s smaller than the goalie’s stick. How am I supposed to make saves with a stick half the size?” Mateo asked.

  “Just think of it as a challenge,” said Zach. “If you can catch the ball with a smaller stick, then making saves will be easy once you have your stick back.”

  That put a smile on Mateo’s face. But then he frowned again. “If I use your stick, what will you use?”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Zach said. “I’ll just throw with my hands today.”

  “No way you’re going to be able to throw a ball past me,” he said.

  “Well.” Zach shrugged. “We’ll have to find out.”

  Ms. Moriarty came over and gave Zach a high five. “Way to go, Zach,” she said. “That’s exactly what it means to be a good teammate.”

  It turned out to be a terrific practice. During one play, Zach tried to throw the ball past Mateo in the goal. But Mateo made the save with Zach’s stick.

  “Hey,” Mateo said, “I think I’m getting to like your stick better than my own.”

  “I was afraid of that,” said Zach.

  “Don’t worry about Zach playing without a stick, Mateo,” Zoe said. “He’s having fun pretending we’re on the basketball court.”

  “Hey!” said Zach. “You can’t deny that’s kind of what it feels like out here.”

  They all laughed. Just being t
ogether, they turned what could have been a bad day into a good one. Not to mention a great practice. When they were finished, Zach and Zoe asked if they could bring their sticks home, so they could practice a little more in their backyard. Ms. Moriarty said it would be fine, as long as they remembered to bring them back tomorrow.

  On the late bus home, Zach and Zoe sat with their bags between them and talked about Mateo’s damaged stick.

  “It makes no sense,” Zoe said. “No matter how old that stick is, it couldn’t just come apart sitting in the storage closet.”

  Zach nodded in agreement.

  “If the webbing was going to tear,” Zach said, “wouldn’t it have happened when he was making his last save of the game?”

  “So the only thing we know for sure,” Zoe said, “is that it happened between the end of the game yesterday and the beginning of today’s practice.”

  “But how?”

  “Or who?” Zoe said.

  “Oliver brought the equipment out,” Zach said. “Maybe he accidentally pulled on it or something. It could have torn when he was putting everything into the bag.”

  Zoe frowned and shook her head.

  “You saw how upset he was when he came out onto the field,” she said. “That means he must have found it that way in the closet.”

  Then, suddenly, Zoe Walker wasn’t frowning anymore. She was smiling. And her brother, who could usually read her mind, knew it wasn’t because of Mateo’s damaged lacrosse stick.

  “Uh-oh,” Zach said. “I know that look.”

  “And what look is that?” Zoe said, trying to sound innocent.

  “The look that says you’re thinking one thing: a mystery!”

  “Only because I am,” she confirmed. “We can get an old lacrosse stick fixed anytime. But how often does a new mystery come along?”

  “With us?” her twin brother said. “A lot!”

  THREE

  Zach and Zoe invited Oliver to sit with them at lunch the next day in the cafeteria.