Soccer Duel Read Online Free PDF

grabbing the kid by the shirt.
    “Uh-uh-uh!” Norm warned him off. “I think this is the kind of behavior the principal wants to talk to you about.”
    Uh-oh. Bryce suddenly realized what was happening. That stupid fight he'd had with Chris Brown last week. He'd thought everyone had forgotten about that one!
    Sure enough, there was Chris, sitting on one of the chairs in the principal's outer office. He sneered at Bryce, but Bryce didn't react.
    Principal O'Keefe came out, her secretary right behind her “You two boys know why you're here. I have come up with a suitable punishment for you. Either you will sit in the school library for three hours and write an essay of one thousand words or more about ‘Why Violence Is Wrong,’ or you will serve on the trail cleanup Saturday, up on Pyramid Mountain.”
    “I'll take the essay,” Chris Brown said quickly.
    Bryce shot him a look. “I'll go on the trail cleanup,” he said. Anything but sit for three hours at a desk in the. school library, staring into Chris Brown's stupid face while writing an essay about why violence is wrong.
    “Fine,” said Ms. O'Keefe. “Here is an evaluation sheet for you, Bryce. Bring it back filled out and signed by the person in charge.”
    “Yes, Ms. O'Keefe,” Bryce said.
    This was going to be a real treat, Bryce thought disgustedly. He hated work. He hoped Chris Brown would get an F on his essay and have to do it all over again.
    That weekend, Bryce showed up at Pyramid Mountain as directed. There was a crowd of kids and adults standing around the park headquarters. “Uh, hi, is this the trail cleaning detail?” Bryce asked the man who seemed to be in charge.
    “Yes, it is, and you are … ?” the man asked with a pleasant smile.
    “Bryce McCormack,” Bryce said. “The, uh, principal sent me down to help.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed, avoiding the curious glances of the kids, some of whom he knew.
    “All right, Bryce,” the man said. “I'm Mr. Sarlin, and this is the cleanup crew. Will your father or mother be joining you?”
    Bryce shook his head slowly. No one had told him that this was a parent-kid event. Oh, brother, he thought, rolling his eyes. This is going to be worse than I thought.
    “Hmmm,” the man said, scratching his head. “Hey, everybody. Bryce is going to be helping us to-day. Is there someone who isn't paired with a cleaning buddy?”
    No one answered. Apparently all the other kids had parents with them. That was fine with Bryce. He'd rather be alone, anyway. Then, once the cleanup began, he could find a nice place to hide until it was all over.
    “Hey, Mr. Sarlin, I'm here!” The rear door of a car in the parking lot opened, and a thin boy came running toward them at blazing speed.
    Hey, wait a minute. Bryce knew that kid — it was —
    “Hiya, Renny! Glad you could make it,” Mr. Sarlin said cheerfully. “Bryce, you're in luck — your trail buddy has just arrived!”
    “Bryce?” Renny said, stopping short in surprise. “Hi! What are you doing here?”
    “I'll tell you later,” Bryce said. “Come on, let's get going.” He was anxious to get away from the crowd of cheerful do-gooders.
    At Mr. Sarlin's direction, all the pairs came up to get their rubber gloves, garbage bags, and hedge clippers. Then, two by two, they went off in different directions. Renny and Bryce stopped at the head of a trail marked “Swamp View.”
    Bryce grimaced. “Whoopee; this looks like fun,” he said flatly.
    Renny didn't seem to hear the sarcastic tone in his voice. “One of us has to do the picking and clipping, the other one holds the bag. Which do you want to do?” Renny asked him.
    “Um, the bag, I guess,” Bryce said, taking a super-strength garbage bag from — Renny and flapping it open. Taking the bag was a no-brainer, Bryce thought, smiling to himself. The kid was a moron to even give him a choice. Renny was going to do all the bending and picking up of gross stuff. All Bryce had to do was