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Stacy. It wouldn’t be any trouble, honestly. We could have a laugh together too.’
    ‘Well, thanks,’ replied Mrs Gray, smiling. ‘That’s brilliant. It’ll be great for Danny to get out. It’s training tomorrow, isn’t it, boys?’
    ‘Thanks, Mum,’ said TJ. ‘You’ll come, won’t you?’ he asked Danny.
    Danny hesitated, and looked at his mum.
    ‘Sure,’ he said finally. ‘I’ll be there.’

C HAPTER 10
    ‘DON’T TELL THEM all I’ve been looking after the babies,’ Danny said to TJ the next morning before school.
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Just don’t, that’s all. Please.’
    ‘Well, OK,’ said TJ. ‘But everyone would love those twins. They’re well funny.’
    ‘Not when they’re both screaming at the same time, they’re not,’ said Danny. ‘I bet your mum won’t want to help out more than once.’
    Everyone was surprised to see Danny at training that night. ‘You can’t just walk straight back into the team for the tournament,’ Tulsi said to him.
    ‘I know,’ said Danny. ‘I want to play football, that’s all.’
    ‘So where have you been?’ asked Jamie.
    ‘Busy,’ replied Danny.
    ‘Leave him alone,’ said TJ. ‘We should be warming up.’
    They set off to jog around the edge of the field. Rob came up alongside TJ. ‘Why do you want to be friends with Danny?’ he said. ‘You know he used to give me a hard time.’
    ‘He doesn’t any more, does he?’ said TJ. Rob shook his head.
    ‘I mean, maybe there was a reason he had a bad temper,’ TJ continued. ‘Perhaps it’s not all his fault.’
    Rob didn’t reply.
    TJ was certain that if he could just tell everyone all about Danny they’d like him a lot more. It was stupid. ‘Well, anyway,’ he said. ‘Danny’s a very good defender and we need him in the squad for the tournament, don’t we?’
    ‘Sure,’ said Rob, and he put on a burst of speed that left TJ struggling to keep up.
    Fifteen minutes into the training session Mr Wood called them all together. ‘This next drill is all about penetrating defences,’ he said. ‘We’re going to practise the wall pass, and we’re going to practise at top speed. I want all of you to move as fast as you know how. TJ, Danny – come over here and we’ll demonstrate.’
    Mr Wood set up three cones close to the edge of the penalty area. ‘These are defenders,’ he told them. ‘We’ll have three groups working at this end of the pitch and three at the other end with Miss Berry. TJ, you run at the space to the left of the defender and you keep control of the ball with the outside of your front foot. You’re trying to commit that defender. This one’s only a cone, so it won’t move.’
    Everyone laughed. ‘Then you fire the ball at Danny, who’s waiting, half turned towards the goal. He’ll be the wall and the ball will bounce off him. You run on and score. Ideally you shoot first time, but the most important thing is to get your shot on target. Show us how it’s done.’
    TJ put the ball down and Danny took up his position. TJ sprinted forward, trying to keep the ball as close to his feet as he could. As he approached the cone he touched the ball with his left foot, as if he was going to take it past the defender on that side, and then used his right foot to fire the ball at Danny. He raced into the penalty area and Danny’s return pass fell perfectly for him to lash it into the net. There was a ripple of applause.

    ‘That’s good,’ said Mr Wood. ‘Now, TJ, you become the wall and Danny, you go to the back of the line. Tulsi, Rob and Jamie – you join them here. When everyone’s had two goes on one cone, we’ll swap round. Each cone gives you a different angle of attack on the goal. Remember, do it all as fast as you can.’
    ‘I’ll be rubbish at this,’ laughed Jamie. ‘Going fast isn’t my thing.’
    Tulsi didn’t say anything at all. She was at the head of the line and TJ was the wall. She took the ball forward towards the cone and hit it to TJ,