The Mighty Dynamo Read online

  ‘How is that going to help?’ Noah asked, his excitement fading a little. He couldn’t see where Stevie was going with this.

  ‘Well, I’ve spent the last six hours thinking about our problem. We’ve been focusing on the unstoppable force that is our principal. He, and he alone, has the power to get you back in the squad. But for some reason, yet to be determined, he doesn’t want you there. Your school idea made me realize that the only way to solve this problem is to remove Principal Hegarty from the equation.’

  ‘You want to kill our principal?’

  Simone sighed. Even Dave shook his head sadly.

  ‘Yes, Noah. I’ve hatched a grisly murder plan,’ Stevie said. ‘Meanwhile, back in the real world, I read through the rulebook again and again until I discovered something. Something interesting. The rules say that you have to play for a school in your area, which means you have to play for a school in Carraig Cruach.’

  ‘That’s the problem, Stevie. The only school in Carraig Cruach won’t let me play for them,’ Noah said.

  He was becoming irritated now. He didn’t like all this talk of rules and regulations. He wanted action.

  ‘Except that it doesn’t specifically say that you have to be enrolled in that school.’

  ‘What difference does that make?’ Noah asked.

  ‘Well, if the rules said that you had to be a student at the school you represented in the competition then you could only play for St Killian’s,’ Stevie said.

  ‘But I still have to play for a school in the area and since the only school in Carraig Cruach is our school, then the only team I can play for is St Killian’s.’

  He couldn’t understand what Stevie was trying to say.

  ‘Except St Killian’s isn’t the only school in the area.’

  Simone laughed. ‘I like the way you’re thinking, Stevie.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Stevie said with a smile.

  ‘Oh, right, yeah, good one, little dude. I get it now,’ Dave said a few moments later. ‘Do you think it’ll work?’

  ‘Will what work? Am I the only sane one in the room? St Killian’s is the only school here. Unless there’s some imaginary or invisible school I’ve missed. What’s going on?’

  ‘Noah, think about it. There’s more than one secondary school in Carraig Cruach.’

  As far as Noah was concerned there was nothing to think about. It must be all the thinking that Stevie did that had caused him to go mad. He’d always said that thinking too much was bad for you. The only thing he couldn’t figure out was why Simone and Dave were playing along with it. It was clear that the only school in town was St Killian’s. Sure, there was the girls’ school, St Mary’s, but that . . . No, wait, no, that couldn’t be what he meant.

  ‘Stevie, are you saying what I think you’re saying?’

  ‘Depends on what you think I’m saying.’

  Noah looked at Stevie. Stevie looked back at him. He looked at Simone. Simone looked at him. He looked at Dave. Dave was probably looking at him, but his hair was hanging over his eyes so it was hard to tell. Noah’s eyes widened until widening them any more would have caused his eyeballs to pop out and roll along the dusty linoleum.

  ‘What? You can’t be serious.’ Noah threw his hands up in the air. ‘No, no, no, no, no. Are you really saying that you want me to play for a girls’ school?’

  That was it? That was the big plan Stevie had spent hours coming up with? It was ridiculous. He was wrong about Stevie being practically a genius. This plan proved that. It was the opposite of genius. It was . . . Noah realized he didn’t know what the opposite actually was, but whatever it was, Stevie’s plan was definitely it. Yet, at the same time, it was the only plan they had.

  ‘Explain it to me again,’ he said, biting at his fingernails.

  ‘The rules don’t state that you have to attend a school to play for it. As long as it’s in your school area, you’re eligible. The organizers probably expect that you’ll play for your own school because, you know, normally you would, but whoever wrote the rules wasn’t precise enough. They’re also ambiguous when it comes to the competition because it doesn’t actually say that girls’ schools have to enter the girls’ competition,’ Stevie said.

  ‘Why would they need to say it? It’s just common sense. Girls play in girls’ competitions. Boys play in boys’ competitions. And I can’t play for St Mary’s because – in case you hadn’t noticed – I’M NOT A GIRL.’

  ‘That’s just a technicality,’ Stevie said.

  ‘Being male is just a technicality? There’s something wrong with you. Something seriously wrong.’

  ‘Look, Noah,’ Stevie said, using his calmest tone, a tone so calm it could have soothed a hippo with a toothache. ‘I know you’re not a girl. You don’t need to be a girl.’

  ‘Noah, just listen to Stevie,’ Simone said.

  Noah’s head had begun to hurt. He rubbed his temples.

  ‘OK, this is what I’m proposing,’ Stevie began. ‘Every school in the country is allowed to enter the tournament. St Mary’s haven’t entered, so their place is going spare. We take that place. We form our own team and play under the name St Mary’s. We are not girls. We don’t need to be girls. We don’t have to pretend to be girls. All we have to do is get a team together in a day and a half and enter the competition before the deadline passes. Since the rules don’t say girls’ schools have to play in the girls’ competition, we enter the team in the boys’ competition. There’s lots of boys’ schools called St Mary’s, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that the organizers won’t even notice. Anyway, technically we won’t be breaking any rules. Then in six weeks’ time you’ll play in the tournament.’

  Noah took a deep breath and let Stevie’s words sink in. It seemed to make sense, but there had to be something he was missing.

  ‘Mr Hegarty’s head will explode when he finds out,’ Noah said.

  ‘Like a pumpkin that’s just been hit with a six-kilo sledgehammer, little dude,’ Dave said.

  Noah quite liked the idea of getting under Hegarty’s skin, but he wasn’t so keen on the consequences that would no doubt follow.

  ‘I’ll never be able to play for the school again if I do this. He’ll make sure I won’t. But at the same time . . .’

  ‘There’s only just over one day left before the squad lists have to be sent off so unless you’ve got some other fantastic idea up your sleeve then this is going to be your only shot.’

  ‘All right,’ Noah said. ‘Let me get it clear – we’d be playing for St Mary’s School for Girls, but we’d be in the boys’ competition.’

  ‘That’s it.’

  Noah thought about it for a moment. It sounded like a plan. Except there was something wrong. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it . . .

  ‘We don’t have any players,’ he shouted. ‘That’s what’s wrong. How can I play an eleven-a-side football match by myself? We need more than one player, Stevie. We need a team. And guess what? We don’t have a team.’

  ‘Don’t get stressed, Noah. It’ll be fine. We’ll ask some of the other lads in school,’ Stevie said.

  ‘Don’t get stressed? Of course I’m stressed. Who are we going to get? All the good players are in the St Killian’s squad. None of them are going to leave and join us. You saw how they reacted when I asked for help. Anyway, they have half a chance of winning in a team that’s played together for a year and a half, not one that’s been patched together six weeks before the tournament starts.’

  ‘Maybe they wouldn’t join, but there are others who would. Carraig Cruach isn’t that small a town and there are plenty of kids who’d love to play in a big tournament. They’d have a chance of playing in the World Cup. That’s amazing. And there’s plenty of them who’d want to play with you. They look up to you.’

  ‘They look up to me?’ said Noah, surprised and a bit chuffed.

  ‘Oh yes, they think you’re fantastic,’ Stevie said. That was a white lie on his part. The only one who really looke
d up to Noah was him. ‘We could get Darren and Sunday. And some of the guys who kick a ball around the yard at lunchtime.’

  ‘My brother, Tony, is football mad,’ said Dave. ‘I’d say he’d be a definite to play. Although he’s only in primary school, he had to stay back a year. Would that be a problem?’

  ‘Not one that I couldn’t solve,’ Stevie said.

  ‘He might even have a friend or two who’d be interested.’

  ‘Is Tony as big as you?’

  ‘Nearly my height. A lot skinnier, though.’

  ‘He could be good in the air,’ Noah said.

  ‘We could ask some of the local businesses to sponsor the team for equipment and things like that,’ Simone said.

  The mood in the room was improving rapidly.

  ‘And I know a rep for a sportswear company. Elaine Stokes. She’s really nice. She might be able to get us a few jerseys on the cheap,’ Dave said.

  Noah wondered if he was feeling all right because part of him had started to think that this might actually work. It’d be tough and they had very little time to get organized, but you never knew unless you tried. And if it was the only way to get into the tournament then he had to go for it.

  ‘Wait, aren’t we forgetting something?’ Simone said. ‘Something important.’

  ‘I know what you’re thinking and I was about to get to that. It’s possibly the most important thing of all,’ Stevie said.

  Noah was perplexed again. They were always talking about things that he hadn’t quite figured out just yet. He wondered if they did that just to confuse him.

  ‘What’s the important thing?’ he asked. ‘And just give it to me straight. None of your riddles this time.’

  ‘We can’t just play for St Mary’s because we feel like it. The principal has to sign the entry forms. We have to get her permission,’ Stevie said.

  ‘You mean that if Mrs . . .’

  ‘Power,’ Simone said.

  ‘If Mrs Power says no, then we can’t enter the competition?’

  ‘That’s it,’ Stevie said. ‘She’s our only hope.’

  ‘Well, what are we doing sitting around chatting? Let’s get over there and ask her now,’ Noah said, grabbing his coat.

  He rushed out of the kitchen door. In less than three seconds he was back.

  ‘Ahm, where does she live?’

  ‘We’re not going to visit her now. It’s far too late. We’ll go to the school first thing in the morning,’ Simone said.

  There was so much to do if their crazy plan was going to work that Noah wanted to get started immediately. But no matter how much he begged and pleaded he couldn’t persuade his sister to change her mind. He’d have to wait until the morning.

  Dave said he’d make sure Stevie got home safely and an hour later Noah was lying in his bed, once again with far too many thoughts running around his head. He was convinced that with so much to consider there was no way he was going to fall asleep, but a few minutes later he was snoring and Simone had to call him three times the next morning before he woke up.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THIRTY HOURS, SEVENTEEN MINUTES,

  FOURTEEN SECONDS TO TOURNAMENT DEADLINE

  ‘Tense and nervous are not the words, though they are the words’

  Chris Kamara

  Stevie paced up and down the almost empty corridor of St Mary of the Immaculate Conception School for Girls, his perfectly polished black shoes click-clacking on the floor.

  ‘Any chance you could stop doing that, Stevie?’ Noah said.

  ‘Sorry. I’m just a bit anxious.’

  ‘Me too,’ Noah said. He had hardly any fingernails left after the last few days. ‘I wonder what’s taking her so long.’

  They’d been in the school since eight that morning and Simone had been in the office with Mrs Power for almost twenty minutes already. At first Noah had been confident that Mrs Power was going to say yes to their proposal – after all, he thought, it was no skin off her nose whether they played or not – but the longer Simone stayed in the office the more worried he’d become.

  Eventually, when his patience was just about to snap, the office door opened and Simone emerged. Noah couldn’t read her expression. She wasn’t smiling, but at the same time she didn’t look particularly upset either.

  ‘Are we in?’ he asked.

  ‘She didn’t say no,’ Simone said. ‘But she didn’t say yes either.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ Noah asked.

  ‘It seems that she dislikes Mr Hegarty. She didn’t say it outright, but I get the impression that she thinks he’s a horrible man, a buffoon, and she’d really enjoy upsetting him. You may not believe it, but she has a great sense of humour.’

  ‘Then why won’t she agree to what we asked?’ Stevie said.

  ‘She wants to talk to you before she makes any decision,’ Simone said to Noah.

  ‘Me? Why would she want to talk to me?’

  ‘I don’t know, but you’d better get in there because she has lots of things to do and only about five minutes to spare,’ Simone said.

  Noah was getting used to being in principals’ offices. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to Mrs Power, though. He couldn’t decide if he really liked her or was really frightened of her. She was much smaller and looked a lot more frail than Hegarty, yet she exuded an authority that was at odds with her appearance.

  ‘Welcome, Noah. Your sister has explained your plan to me,’ she said, indicating that he should sit down. He did so immediately even though he’d have preferred to remain standing.

  ‘It’s not really my plan – it’s my friend Stevie’s,’ Noah muttered.

  ‘Speak up,’ Mrs Power said sharply. ‘No one likes a mumbler.’

  Noah sat straighter in his chair and spoke a little louder. ‘Sorry, what I was saying was I can’t take credit for the plan, because it—’

  ‘Let’s hurry this up, Noah,’ Mrs Power said, a touch impatiently. She glanced at the clock on the wall behind Noah’s head. ‘The gist of it is that you want to play football for my school in some world league competition and you need my signature on the entry form. Is that correct?’

  Noah nodded as quickly as he could in order to keep things moving at a pace.

  ‘I admire creativity when it comes to problem solving and a little mischievousness is very good for the soul so I must admit I like the idea of you boys playing for a girls’ school,’ Mrs Power said, her fingers tapping furiously on her desk. ‘On the other hand, some parents may disapprove of this kind of thing and I do have to consider how St Killian’s might respond too. It’s important for schools in the town to have a good relationship with each other.’

  ‘Is your answer no, then?’

  ‘The scales are in the balance, young man, and if they remain in the balance then I will say no. I need a very good reason from you if we’re going to tip them towards the yes side. Tell me why it’s so important for you to play in this tournament.’

  ‘I like football,’ Noah said, realizing as soon as the words were out of his mouth how feeble they sounded.

  Mrs Power arched an eyebrow. ‘You like football?’

  ‘I really like it,’ Noah said.

  ‘You really like it?’

  ‘Really.’

  I’m an idiot, Noah thought.

  She looked at him for a moment, then smiled sympathetically. She got to her feet.

  ‘Thanks for coming to see me, Noah. Unfortunately, I have to say no on this occasion. Now, if you’ll excu—’

  ‘You can’t say no,’ Noah blurted out.

  ‘I can’t?’

  ‘No, I mean, yes of course you can. Say no, I mean. It’s your school after all. And you’re Simone’s boss and I’m not a pupil here. And I didn’t mean to shout. Sorry about that. So, to sum up, you’re in charge,’ Noah said, ‘but please don’t say no.’

  To his surprise, Mrs Power sat down again.

  ‘Tell me why I shouldn’t,’ she said.

  Noa
h opened and closed his mouth. This was difficult. All of a sudden his throat felt dry and scratchy.

  ‘I’m a very busy woman and the clock is ticking,’ Mrs Power said.

  Noah couldn’t hear the clock ticking because his heart was beating so loudly. He had to give her a good reason for signing the form, but he didn’t know where to start.

  Mrs Power began to shift uncomfortably in her seat. He knew she’d leave now unless he said something. Anything.

  ‘My father is in Australia,’ he said.

  That wasn’t where he wanted to start, but those were the words that had popped into his head and once they were out there he thought it best to keep going. He must have said something right because Mrs Power settled back into her chair and despite the occasional stumble the story soon began to flow.

  He didn’t tell her about his mam, even though she probably already knew all about what had happened to her. He didn’t want to talk to anyone about that, so he told her about his father instead. He told her that his dad had been out of work for a long time and it was only a few months ago that he had been lucky enough to find a job in the mines in Australia. Noah explained that Simone had given up her place at university to remain at home with him and now she was working two jobs to pay for food and bills while their dad’s wages paid the mortgage.

  ‘She should be at college. She’s very clever,’ he said.

  ‘She was the brightest in the school when she was here,’ Mrs Power said.

  ‘I need to make enough money so she can give up work and start studying. And then I can bring my dad home. The only way I can earn money like that is by becoming a professional footballer.’

  It was uncomfortable saying all those things to a stranger when he hadn’t even said them to his best friend, but it felt good too, as if a weight was being lifted from him.

  ‘I don’t know much about football,’ Mrs Power said. ‘But I can only imagine that there are thousands and thousands of young boys who want to be professionals. The odds of making a living at it appear to be very slim.’