Bernard Beagle Kicks Off

By Daniel Murphy

Bernard Beagle dreams of playing soccer for his school team. There is just one problem - he is terrible at sports.

Cody Fisher, captain of the Bayview Primary Tidal Waves, is Bernard's one-way ticket to the midfield.

But following his dream won't be easy. There's a savage dog on the loose in Woodland Bay and Sadie But

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Murphy
• Release date: Nov 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994567512

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

I am standing on the school oval with twenty-five sunburnt faces staring at me, waiting. This is grade six Physical Education. My sweaty legs are glued together, wrapped in green shorts at least two sizes too small. The brim of my hat seems to close in on my short brown hair.

I shut my eyes.

I’m on the edge of the eighteen yard box, staring at the goalkeeper. He’s waving his arms, trying to put me off.

‘You can’t do it!’ he shouts, punching his gloves together.

The crowd is roaring. Their flags wave around behind the goal. The commentators are telling everybody how good I am. I had never missed a penalty kick.

With my hands glued to my hips, I steady myself. I take a deep breath and move towards the ball. I drive my foot into its middle and it flies straight into the bottom corner of the goal. The white netting ripples.

I throw my hands to the air. The crowd leaps to its feet, screaming with excitement. My team mates rush to my side, lifting me onto their shoulders and chanting my name ...

I wish.

There is no goalkeeper – only my sports teacher, standing behind two orange cones, hoping that this time, for once, I can get the ball on target. She is too far away to hear the insults hurled at me from my classmates.

‘You’re going to miss, just like last time,’ they hiss.

‘You’re too fat, Bernie!’

‘Come on, Bernard! Hurry up!’

I look over at them and see my friend Jack, right at the back of the line, watching me through his gigantic glasses. He smiles, nodding his encouragement.

‘We don’t have all day, Bernard,’ says the teacher.

I turn to look at the ball, squinting. Bright sun beams reflect from its surface. I set an expression of determination on my face, hoping it will help me to complete this task and avoid the embarrassment of another failure.

I approach the ball and swing my foot back. My muscles quiver as my toe connects with the ball ... oh, wait! That was the ground. I stumble and my shin smacks into the top of the ball. As I hit the grass, elbows first, I watch the ball roll a couple of metres before coming to a stop in a patch of weeds. Everybody except Jack and Miss Jordan burst into laughter.

‘You suck, Bernie!’

‘Look out for that grass over there! It might trip you up!’

My head drops to the ground and I pull the brim of my hat over my eyes. I’ve done it again.

CHAPTER TWO

Could you hand these out for me, Bernard?’ asks Mrs Mountain. She smiles at me over her curved nose. Her name fits.

She hands me a pile of papers and I stand up, glancing at the first one. A worksheet. Multiplication. I don’t mind. I am good at maths.

In the corner of the classroom furthest from the teacher’s desk, I hear a sudden burst of laughter. I look towards the noise, a smile forming on my face even though I don’t know what is funny. A group of girls sits on that table.

I do my job quietly. As I move around, most people ignore me, not bothering to say thank you. But really, I’m ignoring them. All the time, I keep one eye on the table in the corner. All six girls are smiling. It must have been a funny joke.

I arrive at the girls’ table last and start handing out the worksheets. Immediately, they go quiet, watching as I slide each piece of paper onto the table.

‘Thank you, Bernie.’

I search for the owner of the voice, grinning automatically. It is Sadie Button, the nicest girl in the class. I look at her for a moment and she looks at me. I like her blonde hair. It looks different every day but I like it the most when she has two tails sticking out at the side.

I try to respond but my words don’t come out, my lips trembling.

One of the others, Katie, throws her arms into the air and ducks for cover. ‘He’s going to vomit!’

The girls start to giggle again.

Mrs Mountain calls out from the front of the classroom. I need to hurry up.

Face burning, I hurry away, without looking behind me. I’m very careful to avoid tripping over. I’d already experienced enough embarrassment today and chair legs can be hazardous.

Mrs Mountain rings her bell and the class goes quiet. ‘Make sure you are using pencil in maths,’ she says. ‘I don’t want to see any pen.’

I sit down in my seat.

‘We will go through the first question together,’ Mrs Mountain continues.

I look down at the table. I can’t believe it – I’d left the last few worksheets with the girls!

From his place across the table, Jack is staring at me. I look up at him. He shrugs and turns back to the front of the classroom, eager to listen to the teacher.

I raise my hand.

Mrs Mountain stops and looks at me. ‘Yes, Bernard. Is this a question about the sheet? I am going to explain everything first, then we can have question time.’

‘I don’t have one.’

Mrs Mountain sighs. ‘Well, if you don’t have a question, why was your hand up?’

‘I mean I don’t have a sheet. I left them over there.’

The teacher chuckles and stands up. ‘What are we going to do with you, Mr Beagle?’ she says.

The class laughs.

When Mrs Mountain finishes explaining the instructions, I start to work out the problems on my own. I can remember most of the basic multiplication sums like three times four or two times five. Even my eight and nine times tables are pretty good but anything higher than ten requires a bit more attention. It’s not that I don’t know the answers. It just takes longer to remember them.

‘Are you talking to yourself?’

I keep working, talking my way through one of the harder problems.

‘Bernard?’

I look up. Jack is staring at me – so is everyone else at my table.

‘You’re talking really loud,’ he says, eyes wide.

Everyone nods and I lock eyes with Cody Fisher. He shakes his head then looks down at his worksheet.

‘Sorry,’ I say. My face heats up.

All Cody’s friends call him ‘Captain’. We’ve been in the same class at Bayview Primary School since our first year. He is a great player and seems pretty cool. I think I am usually invisible to him.

‘Don’t forget to glue your worksheet into your maths book!’ says Mrs Mountain as she wanders around the room, writing little red ticks and crosses on each of our sheets. ‘Ten minutes until lunch.’

I have been dawdling. I take a breath and shuffle in my chair. These chairs are torture! They’re okay first up but by the end of the day the plastic spots have been etched onto your bottom.

I’m dawdling again.

CHAPTER THREE

Bayview Primary School is right near the beach. There are three primary schools in Woodland Bay. Ours, Hillside Primary, and Woodland Bay. Today, as I walk across the soccer pitch on my way home, I imagine playing as the goalkeeper for one of the best clubs in the world. I am playing my first game for my new team ...

The referee blows the whistle. The match begins. I have to squint, following the ball as the opposition kicks off. Their winger takes the ball and passes it down the line to their striker. He turns my defender and a stream of opposition players arrive in my penalty box ...

But I’ll never play for one of those clubs. I’ll never even play for my school.

I can’t kick a ball at all, even if it isn’t moving!

When I’ve crossed the field, I step through the gate and turn right. I walk along the path, the fence on my right and thick bushes on my left. Soon, I reach the main road and head towards my street. The sun is still shining and I can feel sweat forming on my back where my backpack is rubbing against it.

I like walking home from school. If we lived further away my dad would probably pick me up in the car. Actually, Mum would get me because Dad seems to be busy in his office most days. He’s a writer for a website on the Internet. I think he writes all different things online and he has even written a novel.

I turn off onto Log Road. One time I asked my dad why our street was named after a fat piece of wood. He said there used to be a logging camp on this side of the river when the first people came to Woodland Bay.

Walking along Log Road is like going through a tunnel because the thick branches of the trees reach over the road. Up ahead, I see a backpack bobbing up and down. It must be Cody, walking home. Sometimes we walk right next to each other but he never talks to me. His house is