The Grove’s gym was part of the school building, whereas the gym at Prescott-Mather was made of glass and polished steel and stood on its own plot of land. In the gym were a basketball court and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The soccer field was behind the gym and was surrounded by woods. The stands were filled with parents and students, even though the teams were only playing a scrimmage. Madison didn’t look for her father in the crowd. She knew he wouldn’t be there. Madison’s father rarely made it to her games. She was sure if her mom was alive she would have made it to every single one of them.
The bus stopped and Coach Davis got off first. The Prescott-Mather coach was waiting for her, and the prep school players were lined up at her side. The coaches shook hands and chatted for a moment. They seemed like old friends. Then Coach Davis motioned for the team to get off the bus. The girls were already wearing their soccer gear. After they shook hands with their rivals, Coach Davis led them to the visitor’s bench, where they huddled up and she gave them a short pep talk. Then she read off the starting lineup before sending the team out to warm up.
Madison was not starting, but she hoped that she’d get in the game at some point so the coach could see how well she played against a really good team. Thinking about playing against Prescott-Mather brought back memories of the last game she and Ann had played together. Madison blinked back an unexpected tear. For the first time in her soccer career she would be playing a game without Ann. Where was she? Was she safe? Madison would have given anything to know the answer to those questions.
With two minutes left, Pettygrove and Prescott-Mather were tied 1 to 1 and Madison was still on the bench because Coach Davis was only playing her starters. The coach looked more intense than Madison had ever seen her, and that was saying a lot. She stomped along the sidelines yelling at everyone, her face bright red. She was acting like this was the state finals. Madison had convinced herself that she would never get a chance to play when Carrie Metzger twisted her ankle and limped off in pain.
“Kincaid, get in there,” the coach shouted. Jumping up, she raced onto the field. Her adrenaline was pumping. If she could just have the chance to get a shot on goal, the coach would see how valuable she could be to the team.
That chance came with a minute left. Marci had the ball and The Grove was moving upfield. Two defenders raced toward Marci, and she realized that she had to get rid of the ball. Marci looked to her left and saw that her closest teammate was being guarded. Then she turned to her right and saw Madison.
No one was between Madison and the goal because the defenders were concentrating on The Grove’s stars. If Marci passed the ball, Madison would have a chance to score and win the game. Marci hesitated. Madison could read Marci’s thoughts: The last thing Marci wanted to do was make Madison Kincaid look good, but beating Prescott-Mather was even more important. She faked one way and sent a beautiful pass toward Madison.
As Madison broke toward the ball, she calculated her next move. Only the goalie stood between her and victory. A short distance behind the goal was the forest. When Madison was inches from the ball, she saw movement in the trees.
Standing on the edge of the woods, staring at Madison, was a girl who looked exactly like Ann Beck.
Madison’s mouth dropped open. She took her eyes off the ball and tripped over it. Her feet went flying and she hit the turf face-first. When she looked up, all she could see were feet racing by her. She pushed up to her hands and knees and saw players fighting for the ball, but all she could think of was the girl in the woods. Had she seen Ann or had her eyes played tricks on her?
Remembering the game, she leaped to her feet. Before she could get to the battling players, the whistle blew and the tie game was over.
“Thanks for nothing, you spaz,” Marci shouted at her angrily as she raced toward the bench. Madison hung her head. She had cost the team a chance to win. The other girls glared at her. Instead of being the hero, Madison was the goat.
When she got to the bench, Coach Davis gathered everyone around her and bawled them out for not playing hard enough to win. Standing on the edge of the huddle, eyes down, she expected to be the object of the coach’s wrath, but Coach Davis ignored her, which was even worse than a tongue-lashing.
Prescott-Mather had set up a table with cold drinks and snacks. In a voice heavy with disgust, the coach told her team they could get refreshments even though they didn’t deserve any kind of reward.
Madison headed toward the table, then veered off and streaked toward the woods. When she reached the spot where the girl had stood, she saw a path leading into the forest. She jogged along it. After a little while the path ended at one of the school’s dorms. It was past five and she saw only a few students. None of them was Ann. She wanted to ask them if they knew Ann, but she had to get back to the team or the bus would leave without her. By the time she joined her teammates on the bus, Madison wasn’t even sure if she’d seen Ann at all.
Chapter 15
The Outcast
All of the starters gave Madison the cold shoulder on the ride back to The Grove. To Madison’s relief, Gail didn’t protest when Madison sat with her again on the trip back to school. The other alternates were influenced by the starters and would not meet Madison’s eye. When the bus stopped, Madison waited until everyone was gone before she got off. She was so embarrassed that she didn’t want to be around the other players. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she headed for her father’s law office.
Traffic was heavy because the people who worked downtown were driving home, but Madison was walking with her head down and she didn’t notice. It was starting to get dark, and a chilly rain fell on her. She made no attempt to shield herself from the large, wet drops that soaked her hair and dripped down her face. The gloomy weather fit her mood perfectly. She couldn’t believe she’d muffed her first chance to play for The Grove in such spectacular fashion. She wouldn’t be surprised if the coach never played her again. Was it possible that her middle school soccer career had ended before it had a chance to begin?
As Madison reran the awful moments of her disgrace in her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about why she’d tripped over the ball. Was the person in the trees Ann Beck or had her imagination played tricks on her? Had she convinced herself that Ann was the girl in the woods because she missed Ann so much? She wanted that girl to be Ann because it would bring her a step closer to solving the mystery surrounding her friend’s disappearance and make her humiliation on the soccer field a little more bearable. If the girl wasn’t Ann, Madison had destroyed her soccer career for wishful thinking.
The waiting room at Kincaid and Kirk was empty when Madison walked in. It was late, and most of the employees and attorneys had left. Peggy looked up from her work when the door opened. She started to smile but stopped when she saw how dejected Madison looked.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Dropping her duffel bag, Madison slumped on a chair across from Peggy’s desk.
“I just made a complete fool of myself in our scrimmage at Prescott-Mather. The coach will probably keep me on the bench forever.”
“I can’t imagine anything that happened in a single game being that catastrophic, let alone in a scrimmage,” Peggy said.
“You didn’t see what I did,” Madison replied gloomily.
“Why don’t you tell me about it?”
Peggy listened carefully while Madison told her about tripping over the ball and falling flat on her face at the most crucial point in the game.
“You’re not the only player on your team who didn’t break that tie, Madison,” Peggy said firmly when Madison was finished relating her tale of woe. “The other girls had the whole game to score a second goal.”
“That’s true, but I’m the only one who looked like a clown. On the ride back everyone treated me like I had a
