Murphy & Mousetrap by Sylvia Olsen

are offense.”
    He motioned with his hand, but Murphy couldn’t tell who was who. From the way they walked toward center field, hitting each other’s backs and laughing, he knew that Albert and Levi were going to shoot at him.
    Did they have the same plan as the last game—to kill him?
    Murphy’s stomach churned as he thought of standing in the net while the ball smashed into his body. Still, he felt proud when Jeff called out, “Way to go, Murphy! Let’s see some great saves.”
    â€œWay to go, keeper,” Rory called out.
    The boy with long hair and long legs added, “Let’s see you do it.” Murphy had heard the boys call him Junior.
    While the boys ran from one side of center field to the other, passing and kicking the ball from foot to foot, Murphy made a plan:
    GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE BALL;
    DON’T EVER GET IN FRONT OF THE BALL;
    DON’T LIFT YOUR HANDS AND CATCH THE BALL.
    It was a simple plan. If it worked, the boys would pull Murphy out of the net, and he could go to the beach and collect stones. The best part of the plan was that he wouldn’t get hurt. Not one bit. The ball would whiz by his body and smash into the net. Murphy repeated his plan over and over again.
    Murphy thought about the plan as Levi broke away from the other players with the ball. Jeff scrambled to get the ball back, but Levi tapped it to the left and neatly sidestepped around Jeff’s body. That left Levi rushing in a straight line toward Murphy.
    He braced himself. His plan was in place: GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE BALL. But before he had time to move a muscle, the ball was hurtling through the air at his face. Instinct took over. Murphy’s arms flew up.
Splat
! The wet ball shot mud in his eyes, nose and mouth as it lodged itself in Murphy’s hands. Murphy stumbled back a few steps blinded by the force of the shot and the mud.
    Instead of falling into the puddle and rolling around in pain, like he did last game,Murphy stayed on his feet. And instead of standing paralyzed with the ball frozen in his hands, Murphy wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and tossed the ball to Jeff.
    As the boys ran back to center field, he heard Haywire yelling, “Great save, keeper.”
    â€œThe white boy can catch,” Junior shouted.
    Before Murphy had time to enjoy what the boys were saying, Levi had a second breakaway. GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE BALL, Murphy thought fiercely. This time Levi’s shot was faster and harder. Once again the instinct to protect himself overtook Murphy’s plan. His body froze, but his arms flew in front of the ball.
    The ball hit with the force of a freight train, but Murphy’s feet remained glued to the ground. He barely took the time to wipe his eyes or feel the pain before he stepped forward and tossed the ball toward Jeff. The only boys who weren’t cheering for him were Levi and Albert. They lingered close by so that Murphy could hear Albert say, “Next time you won’t have a chance.”
    Although Levi’s shots were harder than ever, all Murphy could feel was a dull numbness as if his blood had stopped flowing. He clapped his hands together and rubbed his knees. He bent up and down. Maybe he needed to limber up so that he could jump out of the way of the ball. He pulled on his ankles the way he had seen the other boys stretch their legs. Then he jumped from side to side.
    When Murphy raised his eyes a crowd of players had appeared near center field. Jeff was nowhere to be seen, and Albert was zipping down the field toward the net. His eyes were fixed on Murphy’s face as the ball whizzed in a straight line near his toe. Murphy locked his eyes onto Albert’s. He felt fear. His body was supple. This time he would get out of the way.
    Out of the corner of his eye, Murphy saw Albert shift his body and drive the ball toward Murphy’s right side. At the same time Murphy’s body was moving. His arms and legs