Peter told Wendy about many other things. He talked about the other members of the Pirates team. Everyone there had an English nickname. Colin was the captain, the oldest in the team, and the one he feared the most; Grant was the big boy who towered over him like a mountain when they met each other on the pitch. They rarely gave Pete more than a disdainful glance. He also told Wendy about Hank and Dylan, who were not such good players, but who were all the more violent during the game, pushing and shoving and constantly teasing them, especially poor Tootles. He also told Wendy how much he disliked Captain Hook, the Pirates’ coach, who was very strict, tolerating no weakness on the pitch, even Colin and Grant were afraid of him.
Wendy told him that she had recently moved here from another town with her parents and her two brothers, John and Michael, and Nana, their dog. Much to Peter’s surprise, Wendy turned out to know and love football – and even gave coaching sessions to younger children.
They agreed to meet again the next day at the playground, with Peter bringing his friends and Wendy bringing her two younger brothers.” “Peter was looking forward to the next day’s meeting. He was worried as to whether everyone would fit through the hole under the fence, but even Tootles squeezed through, albeit not easily. The boys couldn’t get enough of the playground. They’d never seen such a cool slide, swing, or monkey bars, and they couldn’t imagine what the zipline was like, but after Peter showed them, they almost fought over who should slide down it first. They were so engrossed in the game that they didn’t even notice the arrival of Wendy, John and Michael until Nana caught their attention with a lively bark and then ran to Peter.
“He recognizes you,” Wendy laughed.
“Boys, this is Wendy,” the boys suddenly stopped running and gave Wendy shy, puzzled looks.
“This is John and Michael, and this is Nana,” Peter laughed and patted the puppy that was tugging at his trousers.
“Do you like snowballs?” Wendy asked, and then, seeing that the boys had no idea what she was talking about, she smiled, pulled a large plastic box from her bag, took the lid off and offered the boys a coconut-chocolate chip cookie.” ““And what’re your tactics?” Wendy asked Peter from the swing, while the boys were eating their cake and he told her about their line up for the big game.
“We have the best chance with short passing,” Peter began with a proud and serious expression. It felt good to show off his knowledge to Wendy, this smart girl who listened so attentively. “The important thing is to possess the ball as much as possible. We’re quicker than the Pirates, we can disrupt them with fast movement and lots of quick passes”.
“I mean, we’re playing tic-tac-toe,” Nibs interjected with a grin, a snowball in his mouth.
“And how do you get the ball?” Wendy asked.
“Bicycles,” Peter and Nibs laughed. They were both brilliant at bicycle kicks.
“Sounds good,” Wendy smiled.
“But you need a good goalkeeper, without one it’s hard to win,” said John from the swing next to Wendy’s.
“And a substitute if one of you gets injured,” added Michael.
“I know, but where do we get a goalkeeper and substitutes?” Peter spread his hands.
John and Michael got up from the swing almost at the same time.
“We could do it”. ” “Peter couldn’t believe his ears. What luck! Finding a goalkeeper and a substitute at the same time! John turned out to have played in goal a lot at their old school, and Michael had played football in almost every position, able to substitute for anyone if needed. Peter gratefully agreed to let the boys join in, and they agreed to train together the next day, if Teacher Tinkerbell agreed. And Wendy could give them extra training sessions in the afternoons.
Peter was very happy about having her as a friend. This was no ordinary friendship: Wendy’s look reminded him of his mother, whose face he no longer remembered. He saw that she was a good influence on the others too: Tootles and Curly seemed to be more adept in the following days’ training, they were more focused, showed off much less, became more reserved, and paid more attention to the others. And Wendy, by some miracle, could tell the twins apart! She noticed that Patrick blinked a lot when he was asked a question, and skipped a bit when he ran, while Lachlan nodded his head to the right when he was spoken to, and ran for the ball with a flatter, longer stride.” ““Do you think we stand a chance?” Peter asked Wendy in the yard after one of the training sessions.
“It’s difficult to say, since I have hardly seen the other team play football, but sure. I think you are playing well. And what is also very important: you are a team that sticks together and loves football. I’m glad you let Michael and John join in”.
“I’m happy too. I don’t know what we would have done without them”.
Rob then cut across the yard. He walked past them, looking at Peter, turning his head away without greeting him.
Peter gave Wendy a meaningful look. Wendy patted Peter’s shoulder.
“He needs a little snowball, which would certainly melt his heart”.
“He needs some snowballs in his face! Real ones,” said Peter angrily, only half-joking. Wendy laughed.
“You know what I noticed?” She asked after a pause. “Tootles gives long, curved passes quite well. Just now during training, he also sent a nice, accurate ball forward to Nibs. With a little practice and encouragement, he could become even more confident. I can see some goal strike passes coming from him”.
“From Tootles?” Peter laughed.