Tino stood before the wooden goalposts and kicked the ball. It whistled past the left post and thumped softly into the grass. The other kids giggled.
"Again!" Tino called, already sprinting after the ball across the field.
He kicked again — CLANG! The ball bounced off the crossbar and rolled straight back. "My turn!" a teammate called, tapping it toward center field.
Tino ran and kicked hard — but a teammate swooped in and blocked it with a foot. The ball rolled wide and stopped against a dandelion.
The ball came to rest beside a fluffy white dandelion clock. Tino wiped his sneaker on the grass and lined it up again.
He took a deep breath and backed up for a big run. The whole field seemed to go quiet.
Tino took a big run-up and kicked the ball straight. It flew over the grass and squished right into the net! "I scored!"
He pumped his fist and yelled, already sprinting across the field with the net still shaking behind him.
The other kids grabbed his hands and pulled him into a circle. They jumped up and down together.
"One, two, three, four, five!" they counted out loud. Then they all dropped to the ground in a heap of laughter.
They lay in the warm sun, breathing hard, still smiling at each other.
The park was quiet now except for the sound of kids breathing and the wind in the trees.
