All Keyed Up (2 page)

A
fter the movie and popcorn, Jerry and Stookie got into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, and climbed into bed. Jerry hesitated
for a minute, then reached to the floor for his knapsack.

“Stookie, will you laugh at me if—” He hesitated.

“If what?” Stookie said sleepily.

“If I sleep with a stuffed animal?” Jerry held his breath.

Stookie chuckled. “I won’t if you won’t!” That’s when Jerry saw that Stookie had a special toy, too. His was shaped like a snowman.

Jerry pulled Otter from the knapsack. From his bed, he could see out the window to his own room. He could see the stars, too.

“The stars look cool tonight, don’t they?” he murmured to Stookie.

Stookie grunted. “You like looking at stars?”

“Yeah,” said Jerry. “I’ve got a telescope in my room so I can see them up close.”

Stookie rolled over and looked at him. “Really? Can I see it sometime?”

“Sure!” Jerry said. He gave Otter a squeeze. Soon both boys were asleep.

The next morning, Jerry packed up his pajamas, yesterday’s clothes, his toothbrush, and Otter. He and Stookie ate a big stack
of pancakes for breakfast. Then Jerry practiced filling the gerbils’ water bottles.

“See?” Stookie said. “Easy as pie.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. It was on a small ring with a tag that
said
“Norris.” “Here’s the key to the house. Just make sure you lock the door when you leave.”

“I will,” Jerry promised. He slipped the key into his knapsack.

Stookie suggested that they round up some of the other ’Cats for a game of soccer. Half an hour later, eight ’Cats showed
up at the field, ready to play.

Stookie and Bundy Neel were elected captains.

“Who’s got a coin to flip to see who chooses first?” Bundy asked.

“I think I’ve got one in my knapsack,” Jerry said. He dug around and came up with a dime. Stookie won the toss. He chose Amanda
Caler. Bundy took Dewey London. Stookie picked Jerry, and Bundy pointed to Lisa Gaddy. Stookie chose Jason Shearer.

“Guess I know where I’m going,” Ted Gaddy grumbled as he joined his twin sister.

“Let the games begin!” Jason cried, flinging his baseball cap in the air.

“Stop horsing around and get in the goal,” growled Stookie.

Jason bowed. “At your service,” he said. He dodged Stookie’s punch and jogged backward to the goal as the rest of the ’Cats
laughed.

Jerry laughed, too. He was surprised that Stookie had chosen Jason. When it came to soccer, Stookie was all business, even
if it was just a pickup game played for fun.

The game started. Since Stookie had had first choice of players, Bundy’s team got the ball first. Bundy toed the ball over
to Dewey. Dewey started downfield, dribbling swiftly.

Stookie charged him. In the blink of an eye, he’d stolen the ball and made it halfway toward the opposite goal. Lisa jumped
forward, but Stookie dodged past her. Ted hopped like a frog in front of the goal, trying to guess where Stookie would shoot.

He guessed wrong. Stookie faked left, but he shot right when Ted went for the fake. Goal!

His teammates gathered round to congratulate Stookie. But Stookie impatiently waved them back to their positions.

“It’s only one goal,” he reminded them. “They could still beat us!”

“Oh, lighten up, Stookie,” Jason drawled. “It’s just a silly practice game.”

Stookie’s temper flared up. “If it’s so silly to you,” he cried, “then why don’t you just leave?!”

Jason just shrugged and strolled back to the goal. Stookie watched him with narrow eyes.

Man,
Jerry thought to himself.
I sure would hate to get on Stookie’s bad side!

T
he practice game continued. This time, Dewey started with the ball. The minute he touched it, Stookie raced forward to try
to steal it. Jerry positioned himself between Dewey and Bundy, ready to grab the ball if Dewey passed it.

But Dewey surprised them. Instead of sending it sideways to Bundy, he knocked it backward to Lisa.

Lisa controlled the ball, then darted down the field, dribbling madly. Amanda squared off against her, and Lisa almost lost
the ball. But she recovered and with a quick move sent the ball rocketing toward the goal.

Jason ran out to meet it, but it took a strange bounce over his outstretched hands and into the goal.

“Whoops,” Jason said, shrugging. He retrieved the ball and handed it to Stookie. Stookie didn’t say a word, but the glare
he gave Jason was withering. Jason just stared back, chewing his gum, until Stookie walked back to the center of the field.

After that, Stookie was unstoppable. He scored three more goals single-handedly before Bundy’s team scored their second one.
When Bundy did finally get it into the net, Stookie shouted at Jason for not having played better. Jerry cringed, but Jason
just rolled his eyes and told Stookie to lay off.

Finally, when the score was eight to three, Bundy’s team had had enough.

“Let’s go down to the town pool!” Ted suggested.

“Yeah, maybe Stookie can cool off his hot head there!” Jason said.

Stookie grinned. “Aw, come on, Jason,” he said. “You know my bark is worse than my bite. Anyway, I can’t go to the pool. My
folks and I are leaving for our trip this afternoon.”

“How about you, Jerry?” Lisa asked.

“Sure, I’ll meet you guys there after lunch.” Everyone agreed that was a good plan. Stookie and Jerry walked home together.

“Hey, have fun with your folks this weekend,” Jerry said as they parted to go to their houses.

“I will. And have fun at the pool. Just make sure you’re back in time to feed my gerbils,” Stookie warned.

Jerry patted his knapsack. “I’ve got the key right in here. Nothing to worry about.”

“I hope not,” Stookie said as he climbed the steps into his house. “If anything happened to those gerbils, I don’t know what
I’d do.”

Jerry gulped.

W
hat had Stookie meant by that?
Jerry wondered as he hurried to his room to get his swim things.
Aw, he was probably just joking around. Like he said, his bark is worse than his bite. Not that I have to worry about that,
because nothing is going to go wrong!

He emptied his knapsack out on his bed. He was stuffing a beach towel and bathing suit into it when his mother called up.

“Jerry! Please bring your dirty clothes downstairs so I can wash them!”

“Okay, Mom!” Jerry replied. He gathered
up the clothes and headed downstairs. “I’m going to the pool after lunch, okay?”

“Sure,” she said. She looked out the window. “I see Stookie’s not going. He and his family just pulled out of the driveway
with a car full of camping gear.”

“Yeah, they’re gone for three days,” Jerry said. “I’m taking care of Stookie’s gerbils.”

“That’s a big responsibility,” his mother said. Then she frowned. “Are they leaving their house unlocked for three days?”
she asked.

“No,” Jerry said. “Stookie gave me a key.”

“Well, you better put it in a safe place, then,” his mother advised.

“Good idea,” Jerry said. He hurried back to his room and looked through his knapsack. It was empty!

That’s funny,
Jerry thought nervously.
I’m sure I put the key in here this morning.

He checked all the pockets. Nothing.

Maybe it’s tangled up in the clothes!
He raced back to the washing machine, pulled over a chair, and lifted the lid. He plunged his arms into the warm, soapy water and started
pulling clothes out.

“What are you doing?” his mother yelled from behind him. Startled, Jerry whipped around, sending a stream of water drops over
the floor. He looked from the shirt in his hand to the pile of dripping clothes on the floor.

“Sorry, Mom! Sorry!” he cried. “I —I can’t find the key to Stookie’s house. I know I put it in my knapsack, but now it’s not
there. I thought it might have gotten caught in my pajamas or clothes or something.” He lifted his sodden pajama top out of
the wash. “But I can’t find it here, either.”

His mother shook her head. “I always give your clothes a good shake before I put them in the wash. I didn’t find a key.”

Jerry dropped the wet top back into the wash.

His mother ruffled his hair. “Now, don’t
worry. Think about where the key might have fallen out of your knapsack.”

Jerry’s head snapped up. “The soccer field!” he cried. “Stookie and I went right to the field from his house! I bet it fell
out on the way, or when I was looking for that coin!”

“The best way to find something you’ve misplaced is to retrace your steps,” his mother said. “I’ll clean up this mess. You
go find that key!”