Soccer Hero Read Online Free Page A

Rob had just finished putting away the supper dishes when the doorbell rang. A woman he'd never seen before
     stood on the other side.
    “Hello!” she trilled, holding out her hand for him to shake. “You simply must be Robert Lasher!”
    The woman's fingernails were long and pointed, like claws. After he shook her hand, Rob surreptitiously wiped his palm on
     the seat of his pants.
    “Um, do I know you?” he asked.
    “Maybe, maybe not!” The woman winked. “Do you ever read the newspaper, young man?”
    “Sometimes. Sports section, I guess. Oh,wait! Are you selling subscriptions or something? Because if you are, you should really talk to my mom, not me.”
    The lady laughed as if he'd told the funniest joke she'd ever heard. But she became businesslike when Rob's mother joined
     them.
    “Mrs. Lasher, hello. I'm Enid Carmichael; I'm sure you've heard of me?”
    Mrs. Lasher frowned slightly. “Why, yes, I believe I have. Don't you write articles for the
Town Gazette
, Ms. Carmichael?”
    Ms. Carmichael looked delighted. “I do! That's why I'm here!” She crouched down and took Rob's hand in hers again. “A little
     bird called me tonight and told me about the very brave thing you did. Why, you're a real hero, Mr. Robert Lasher! And now
     the newspaper has authorized me to write your story — with your parents' permission, of course,” she added hurriedly with
     a quick glance at Rob's mother.
    Rob frowned. Who would have told her about what he'd done? Then suddenly, he remembered something Benji had said earlier that
     day:
    If I had my way, the whole world would know about what you did for the coach
!
    Rob's heart started racing. Had
Benji
sent the reporter his way?
    “Ms. Carmichael,” Mrs. Lasher was saying, “we appreciate that you think your readers would find what happened interesting.
     However —”
    Ms. Carmichael dropped Rob's hand and stood up before Rob's mother could finish. “Before you turn me away, consider this:
     every parent who reads Rob's story will wonder if their own children would have been able to do what he did. Most, of course,
     will know they couldn't have.”
    She took a step closer to Mrs. Lasher. “Wouldn't it be wonderful if after peopleread my article, they enrolled their children, perhaps even
themselves
, in such life-saving classes?”
    Then she turned to Rob. “Here's another thing to think about: your team needs a new coach, right?”
    Rob nodded. He figured Benji had told her about that, too.
    “Well,” the reporter said, beaming, “what better way to get the word out than a newspaper?”
    Rob wasn't crazy about spending any more time with Ms. Carmichael. She was a little scary. But if it would help the team…
    He looked up and shrugged. “Yeah, okay, I'll do it.”
    The delighted smile returned to the reporter's face. She spread her arms wide and for one horrid moment Rob thought she was
     going to hug him. Instead, she brought her hands together in a single clap.
    “Marvelous!” she cried.
    The interview took less than an hour, but to Rob it seemed endless. Ms. Carmichael asked him question after question after
     question — about CPR, soccer, the coach, his teammates,
everything
. When she finally closed her notebook, Rob was exhausted. But then she took out a digital camera and asked him to pose for
     some photos. Only after she had a shot that satisfied her did Ms. Carmichael gather her things to leave.
    “Cross your fingers that we make tomorrow's paper!” she called as she climbed into her car. “Good-bye!”
    Mrs. Lasher closed the front door and sagged against it. “Phew! That was tough for me, and I wasn't even the one answering
     her questions!” She rumpled Rob's hair. “I do believe we've earned ourselves big bowls of ice cream. With sprinkles!”
    Rob was just scraping the last bit ofmelted ice cream from his bowl when the phone rang. It was Benji.
    “Guess what!” he cried.
    “Hmm, let me think,” Rob answered sarcastically. “You