everything in the apartment by standing in one place.
On Saturday morning, Mom and Murphy were eating their cereal when there was a loud knock at the door.
âWho would that be?â Mom said.
When she opened the door, Albert, Danny and Jeff stood in the doorway.
âMurphy here?â Albert said.
âCome in,â Mom said.
Murphy slouched in his chair. Who asked them here? Why donât they go away?
âItâs good to see you, boys,â Mom said. âMurphy hasnât had anyone to play with.â
Albertâs eyes scanned the room. âNice place youâve set up here.â
He rested his leg on the arm of the sofa and said, âI didnât think youâd get all your stuff in here.â
He peered at the blanket walls. âYou guysâ beds in there?â
âYeah,â Mom said.
âCool,â Albert said. âReal cool.â First he pulled the blanket back and looked at Momâs bed. Then he looked at Murphyâs bed. He motioned with his chin for Danny and Jeff to join him.
âLook at that, eh,â he said. âWow.â
Then he turned to Mom. âIâm pretty impressed, Mrs. J. You made this place look like a home.â
âHey, Murphy.â Albert turned his attention to Murphy. âYou want to come and play soccer with us?â
âGood idea,â Mom said. âHeâs almost finished his breakfast.â
Murphy didnât like what he heard. How did Mom know if he wanted to play soccer? He had never played soccer. Whenever his class had played soccer Murphy found some reason why he couldnât. He ignored Albert and concentrated on his spoon.
âHurry up, Murphy,â Mom said. âDonât keep the boys waiting. Find a jacket; itâs cold. And donât get your feet too wet.â
Murphy finished his cereal slowly, trying to devise a plan to get out of playing with the boys. When he couldnât think of anything he disappeared behind his blanket wall and rummaged through his shelf for a jacket. When he rejoined Mom, Albert stood by the door, soccer ball under one arm and Mousetrap under the other.
âNice cat,â he said. âWhatâs his name?â
âMousetrap,â Mom answered. âAlthough heâs never seen a mouse.â
âYou should call him Rat-trap. We got rats around here as big as him.â
Murphy didnât like Albert holding Mousetrap, and he didnât like what he heard about rats. He had never seen a rat, but from what he had heard and from what he had seen on TV they were scary animals.
âHave fun, honey. Donât get too cold,â Mom said.
He followed the boys out of the basement and down the driveway, keeping a few paces back.
âDonât get too wet, honey,â Albert said with a high squeaky voice, mimicking Mom. âDonât get too cold, honey.â
Danny and Jeff laughed, and the three of them walked faster. Why did they even ask him to play?
Murphyâs question was answered soon enough. âLeave him alone, Albert,â Jeff said. âGrandma said we should be nice to him.â
âEver play soccer?â Albert said half turning around.
Murphy didnât want to say no because he knew everyone played soccer on the reserve.He didnât want to say yes because he knew that as soon as he got on the soccer field they would find out he was lying. So he didnât answer. He dropped his head and watched his running shoes take step after step along the path toward the park.
âYou deaf?â Albert hollered. âYou got trouble hearing plain English, white boy?â
âHey, man,â Jeff said. âMurphyâs my cousin.â
âYou know how to play soccer?â Albert said.
âNot really,â was all Murphy could say.
8
At the soccer field, two boys sat on old wooden bleachers and two others juggled balls from one foot to the other.
âYou guys ready?â Albert