Long Shot by Cindy Jefferies Page A

Marek. “No, it’ll probably be a
red
card for being out so late at night. That must be Jack’s plan, to get you banned for our game against Stiles. We need you in the side, Jimmy. Are you going to throw our chances away … for a sock!”
    â€œIt’s not just
any
old sock,” said Jimmy fiercely.
    Eventually, after loads of talking they managed to get him to agree to do nothing that night.
    â€œIf you go there first thing in the morning, I’m sure you’ll find it,” said Keira. “Jack isn’t going to risk getting a red card himself. He’ll just put the sock on the seats and besniggering to himself about you agonising over it. He knows you don’t like spooky things, so he’s sure you’ll be freaked out. He’s probably hoping you’ll go to pieces and be hopeless when we play them next, but you won’t be, because you’ll have your sock back safe and sound.”
    â€œAt last! You’ve seen sense,” said Roddy. “Thank goodness for that!”
    â€œAnd from now on we’ll all keep a close eye on Jack,” said Keira. “If he tries on anything with any of you, don’t keep it to yourselves, whatever you do. We’re much stronger as a team.”
    Those who hadn’t eaten tea yet went inside in a much lighter frame of mind, although Roddy noticed that, unusually for him, Jimmy ate very little.
    Jack was in the dining room, and Roddy would have loved to have gone over andpunched him on the nose, but Jimmy had made them all promise to say and do nothing. Besides, Roddy had to keep reminding himself that there wasn’t any proof that Jack was behind it.
    Everyone was tired after the match. Quite soon, they all headed back to their rooms to relax. Roddy and his roommates were all in bed before lights out, and nobody felt like talking.
    â€œAll right, Jimmy?” asked Roddy before they went to sleep.
    â€œAll right,” a small voice replied.
    Roddy wondered if he ought to stay awake for a bit, in case Jimmy wanted to talk. But he was tired, and soon his eyes closed. It was much later when he felt a hand shaking his shoulder. He had been dreaming he was the only player against a whole team made up of Jacks. “What is it?” he asked, trying to ridhimself of the image.
    â€œIt’s Jimmy,” said Geno. “He’s gone!”
    Roddy woke from one nightmare and was plunged into another. “Maybe he’s just gone to the bathroom,” he suggested, struggling to sit up.
    â€œMarek’s just been to check,” said Geno. “He’s not there. And his trainers have gone.”
    Roddy groaned.
    â€œShall we tell Mr Clutterbuck?” said Geno.
    â€œIf we do, Jimmy will get a red card,” said Marek.
    â€œWe can’t guarantee Mr C will find out who wrote the note and punish them,” added Roddy.
    â€œYou’re right,” agreed Geno. “And that’s the last thing we want.”
    Roddy thought quickly. He pulled on his tracksuit over his pyjamas and grabbed his trainers. “I’m going to go and find him,”he said. “He’ll be a gibbering idiot out there on his own. But if I’m quick, maybe I can get the sock and bring Jimmy back indoors without anyone seeing us.”
    â€œBut if you get caught, that will be two red cards,” said Marek. “And there’s no way we’ll win our next match. We won’t beat Stiles with two players down.”
    â€œJimmy will spend all night trying to pluck up the courage to fetch his stupid sock,” argued Roddy. “He’ll
definitely
get caught. If I nip out and get it for him, we’ll have a good chance of getting away with it. Look, I can climb out of this window, no bother. It faces away from Mr Clutterbuck’s part of the house.”
    â€œIsn’t it too high?” said Geno. “We’re on the first floor.”
    â€œBut the ground rises, too,” said