The Mystery of the Golden Ball

Chapter One Only

Thwack! The soccer ball flew past Quin's diving body and hit the back of the net with a satisfying smack. He pushed himself up from the ground and glared at his sister.

"Nice shot, Pen," Coach Sikes called. "Keep it up and we'll win the league again."

Pen shot a devilish smile at Quin. "Thanks, Coach." She walked up to her twin brother. "Too bad we'll have to look for a new keeper."

Quin pulled the ball out of the goal and glared at her. "It's the first practice, and I haven't played all summer. Broken arm. Remember?" He held up one gloved hand and pointed to his right arm. He'd broken it at the beginning of the summer, falling out of a tree to save his sister's life.

Pen shook her head, whipping her long, dark ponytail back and forth. "Excuses won't make a difference when we play in the Friendship Cup. I thought you said your arm felt better."

Quin scowled and shoved the ball into his twin's hands. "It does. Bet you can't do that again."

She grinned. "You're on, hermano, if you think you can stop me."

Coach Sikes blew the whistle and motioned them in. The twins sprinted from the goal to the sideline. St. Mary's sat on a small hill above the field. Tomorrow it would be full of students for the first day of school, but today only the teachers walked its halls, and Sister Doris, who watched the soccer practice from the cement steps leading down to the field. The team had soccer practice before classes began so the St. Mary Saints could get ready for the Friendship Cup, an international tournament being held in their hometown of Boston.

A tall girl carefully picked her way down the crumbling concrete steps and joined the team at midfield. The sun shone off a few highlights in her dark blond hair. She wore short green soccer shorts with a bright yellow shirt. Even from here, Quin recognized the Brazilian team jersey. She looked like she could run up and down the field without getting one hair out of place. Large tortoiseshell sunglasses shielded her eyes from the team, like a superstar avoiding the paparazzi.

"Team, this is Mariana da Silva," Coach Sikes said. "She just enrolled at St. Mary's and is joining our team."

"We already held tryouts." Quin heard the edge in his sister's voice. Since St. Mary's didn't have a girl's soccer team, girls could try out alongside the boys for the boy's team. Pen and eighth-grader Lyla Thompson were the only girls to get a spot this year, spots they worked hard to keep. Lyla nodded in agreement.

"Mariana played striker for her old team, Club Santos, in Brazil. She led them to a championship as their leading scorer. She doesn't need to try out," Coach Sikes said.

Quin's jaw dropped. A Brazilian player who played the same position as Pen for one of the best clubs in Brazil? Not good news for his sister. Not at all.

"Club Santos," Michael Blalock said. "Are you as good as Pelé?" He laughed but crossed his arms and stared at the girl. Quin and Michael had been best friends since kindergarten and he could practically hear Michael's thoughts behind his blond curls and the perpetual smirk on his face. Could this pretty new girl actually play soccer?

The coach patted Mariana on the shoulder. "I know the whole team will make you feel welcome. She's working on her English skills, too. Maybe you should get to know Pen and Quin here." The coach gestured to the twins. "They speak Spanish."

"They don't speak Spanish in Brazil," Pen said stiffly.

Mariana cocked her head and spoke for the first time. "She is right," she said, her accent thick. "We speak Português in my country. It is like," she paused and licked her lips. "Like Spanish and French and Italian all together. The most beautiful language in the world." One side of her mouth turned up into a partial smile.