T.J. and the Penalty Read Online Free PDF Page B

her mouth. Very slowly, her face changed. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Ah!’ Then she took another mouthful, and another. ‘Well,’ she said finally. ‘That was
delicious
. Who would have thought it?’
    ‘You should try absolutely everything,’ Jamie said. ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll help you, Mrs H. There’s lots of other good stalls.’
    TJ and Tulsi watched them walk away.
    ‘He’s getting fatter by the second,’ said Tulsi. ‘And after all the hard work he’s done. If I hadn’t thought of the World Food Day, this would never have happened.’

C HAPTER 9
    ‘LADIES AND GENTLEMEN , boys and girls,’ Marshall announced. ‘I now declare the Parkview World Cup well and truly open.’
    All the food had been eaten and everyone had moved onto the field to watch the matches – and to play. The biggest crowd was waiting for the game on Pitch 3 – Mexico v India. ‘Come on,’ TJ said to the rest of his family, ‘we have to see this.’
    Tulsi’s team included her mum and dad, and her little brother, Sunil, who was in Year Two. And in goal, grinning broadly, was a very small lady in a bright green tracksuit. ‘ My gran,’ Tulsi told them proudly. ‘She only just arrived. She’s come all the way from Birmingham to play.’ She waved to her gran and her gran waved back, bouncing up and down on the spot.
    The other team had Mr Coggins playing as striker. The dinner ladies all wore matching pink tracksuits. ‘From our keep-fit club,’ Janice told them. ‘We brought one for Mr C, but he won’t wear it for some reason.’
    Mr Coggins was doing complicated warm-ups in the centre of the tiny pitch. He was wearing an ancient Wanderers shirt and a pair of baggy shorts. ‘I hope he’s not going to do himself an injury,’ Janice said, laughing, and then Rob sounded a horn, and the matches kicked off on all three pitches at the same time.
    Mexico never had a chance. Tulsi’s dad passed to her and she dribbled past Janice, stopped on the edge of the penalty area and passed to Sunil, who shot neatly into the corner.
    ‘Did you see that?’ Rafi said, tapping TJ on the shoulder. ‘Tulsi passed when she could have scored!’
    ‘Incredible,’ agreed TJ. ‘Hey, look. Mr Coggins is on a run!’
    The caretaker was approaching the goal. Tulsi’s mum stood in his way, but Mr Coggins did something very clever with his body, pretending to go one way, and then slipping easily past Mrs Patel. Only Tulsi’s gran stood in his way. He sent his shot towards the corner, but Tulsi’s gran surprised everyone by diving gracefully and plucking the ball out of the air. She rolled twice, stood up and then bowled the ball right down the middle of the pitch to Tulsi’s feet. Tulsi had no trouble scoring.
    India won the match 4–0. ‘Your gran is amazing,’ TJ said. ‘How did she do that?’
    ‘Tae kwon do,’ said Tulsi’s gran. ‘It keeps you flexible, young man.’
    ‘Hey, TJ,’ said his dad. ‘Stop jabbering. We’re on next. Jamaica v Brazil.’
    Jamaica defeated Brazil 6–0. TJ’s dad was over the moon. ‘Amazing,’ he said afterwards. ‘It’s the first time Jamaica has ever beaten Brazil! We were brilliant.’
    ‘Hey, Dad,’ said Joey. ‘They’re in Year One! How could we not beat them? They’re only six years old.’
    ‘We still had to win the match,’ Mr Wilson said. ‘My goal was genius!’
    Jamaica defeated Australia next, and then they were in the semifinal. ‘Who are we playing next?’ asked Lou. ‘If we can win, maybe we can go on to win the World Cup.’
    ‘It’s Iceland,’ TJ said. ‘Jamie’s team.’
    ‘Matt’s team, you mean. We’ve got to win, TJ, you hear me? I’ll never hear the end of it if we lose.’
    ‘All right,’ said TJ. ‘Calm down. It’s only a game, Lou. I mean, it’s not even real football.’
    ‘Don’t be stupid, TJ,’ Lou told him, with a grim look on her face. ‘We simply
have
to win.’
    The cones that had marked out the small pitches had been removed