A Different Game by Sylvia Olsen

Chapter One
    Murphy gets to the field late. The other boys are already there—all three of them. He joins their huddle near the bleachers, catching his breath.
    â€œIt’s about time,” Albert says. He slaps Murphy on the back.
    â€œYeah, Murph, we’ve been waiting for you,” Jeff says. He leans into the circle and frowns at Murphy. Jeff is serious about everything. But he’s not the only one who’s serious about soccer. Murphy hadn’t meant to be late. It’s just that Mom makes him do chores before he plays in the morning. “We’ve got to practice hard,” Jeff continues. “We’re going to show Riverside Middle School that the best soccer players come from the Long Inlet Tribal School.”
    Albert pounds his chest. “They ain’t seen nothing yet,” he says. “All four of us are going to make the team.”
    Murphy is excited about going to middle school. Especially about trying out for the soccer team. But deep inside he has a few niggling fears. He liked the Long Inlet Tribal School, even though he’d only been there for one year. He knew everyone at the school. Half of them were related to him. He liked the way Mom came to the school and helped make lunch for all the kids. They always had great stuff like tacos and spaghetti.
    At Riverside, Murphy will have to get up early and catch a bus—every morning. And Jeff, Albert and Danny are the only three guys he will know at the new school. There will be at least a couple of hundred kids who will be complete strangers. Mom says once he gets to middle school he’ll be making his own lunch in the morning, so he better get used to eating sandwiches. Murphy doesn’t like the sound of that at all.
    When it comes right down to it, the only thing Murphy likes about going to Riverside is the soccer team. And then again, that is the worst problem of all.
    The boys from the tribal school are at a big disadvantage, and Murphy knows it. First of all, they’re only in grade seven and most of the middle-school team are going to be in grade eight. Second of all, the other grade sevens trying out for the team will already have been in the school. The coach already knows them; he’ll surely pick a kid he knows over one from the tribal school.
    â€œUncle Rudy says we’re the best grade-seven players ever to go to Riverside,” Jeff says.
    â€œLet’s hear it for Uncle!” Albert high-steps and slaps his knees. Murphy doesn’t think Rudy is Jeff’s uncle, but on the reserve everyone seems to be related to one another. It’s easier just to call any older man Uncle and any older woman Auntie; that way you don’t offend anyone. “He made the Riverside team, and now he’s a soccer superstar. If he can do it, we can do it,” says Albert.
    Just a couple of years ago, Uncle Rudy played for the Canadian World Cup soccer team, which makes him about the most famous guy ever to come from Long Inlet Reserve. A lot of people, including Murphy, put it down to the fact that he broke into the Riverview lineup in grade seven.
    â€œBut that doesn’t mean we’ve got it made,” Danny says. “It means we have to show our stuff. Especially if all four of us are going to make the starting lineup.”
    â€œCome on then. If we’re going to show our stuff, we better get our stuff together,” Murphy says. “Cut the talk. Let’s do something.”
    The boys take their spots on the field—Albert at center, Danny at offense, Jeff at defense and Murphy in the goal. They play half a field until Levi and Haywire arrive. It’s not long before enough boys show up so they can play five a side.
    Most of the boys are only going into grade six, and a few of the others aren’t serious soccer players. It’s just the four of them—Albert, Danny, Jeff and Murphy—who will be attending Riverside and trying out for the team. That’s