Twister's Replacement

Chapter 5

The next day were the street hockey semifinals at the rink.  Leni, Otto, Reggie, and Sam were ready as they ever were.

"Well," Sam said, taking a breath, "this is it, Leni.  You ready?"

Leni nodded her head yes.

"Remember what we told you during practice," Otto reminded Leni.  "You've got this.  We've got this."

"Okay, you guys, let's rock!" Reggie exclaimed.

As the four teammates were about to take their positions, Leni spotted her entire family in the stands.  They came to support her.

"Good luck, Leni!  Kick some butt out there!" cheered her mom, Rita.

Sam, Otto, and Reggie turned and saw Leni's huge family.

"Hey Leni, is that your family?" Reggie asked.

"Of course it is," Leni said.

"Wow, your family is incredibly big," Sam said.

"I know it is," said Leni, "but that's okay with me.  Anyway, let's do this thing!  I, like, totally want to get into that mall right now!"

"We'll head in there if we win," Otto said laughing.  "Now come on!  We've got a game to control!"

Within seconds, the referee blew his whistle, and the game was underway.

Leni was able to often concentrate on the game by using the ideas she learned from practice: Soccer Cleat - Hockey Stick
Soccer Ball - Puck
Fashion Models - Opposing Players
Mall - Goal

Of course, Leni did make a couple of mistakes and lost some minor understanding, but Reggie, Otto, and Sam helped her focus.

It was almost the end of the second half.  The score was tied at two.  There were twenty seconds to go.  

Otto passed the puck to Leni, and she had the opportunity to score the winning goal.

I've gotta shoot that ball into the mall and past that fashion witch, she thought.  If I do, we win the game, and we get the free pass into paradise!

Leni had her eyes on the goal and aimed the puck toward it.  She took the shot right away.

The opposing goalie tried his best to reach for the puck...but he missed by half an inch!

GOAL!

The score was now two to three, with Leni's squad in the lead.

The timer had five seconds left, and the referee blew his whistle.

Leni's street hockey team won the semifinals!

The crowd went wild...especially the Loud family.

"YAY!!!" Leni screamed.

Otto, Sam, and Reggie dashed toward Leni congratulated her on the winning goal.

"GO LENI!  GO LENI!  IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!  IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!" they chanted.

"It's my birthday already?!" Leni asked with elation.  "I'm already a year older!"

"That's not what we mean, silly," Reggie said.  "It means that you did an great job with that shot you just took, and we're happy that we won the game.  Our team gets to go to the finals!"

"What about the mall?" Leni asked.  "We still get the free pass, right?"

"Oh...and that, too," said Reggie.

"YAY!!!"

The Loud family bolted to the rink to congratulate Leni as well.

"Nice work out there, dude!" Luna said.

"Oh!" Leni said.  "Thanks, Luna!  Now if you will all excuse me, I've got a mall to get into!"  She ran toward the opposing goal.  But she couldn't find the entrance.  "Hey, where's the entrance?  There's gotta be one around here."

Everyone laughed.

Later that day, Otto, Reggie, Sam, and the whole Loud family went to beach to celebrate the hockey team's accomplishment.

"Come on, Leni!  Surf's up!" Reggie said.  

That's when Twister appeared.  "What's up, dudes and dudettes?" 

Otto, Reggie, and Sam turned around and were surprised to see that their friend was back.

"Hey, how was your vacation?" Reggie asked.  "We missed you!"

"It was good," Twister said.  "How did you guys do at the semifinals?"

"Awesome, dude!" Otto said.  "You should've been there!  Leni scored the winning goal for us!"

"Who's Leni?" asked Twister.

Otto pointed a finger toward Leni, and Twister saw for himself.

"That's your replacement?  That blonde teenager?" 

Otto, Reggie, and Sam nodded.

"We've had a little trouble with her," said Reggie, "but...we hung in there."

"Well, I'm glad to hear about it," said Twister.  "Anyway, I have pictures I took at Niagara Falls on my phone if you want to look at them."

"Pull them up, dude," Otto said.

Twister pulled out his phone and showed his friends the pictures.

"Wow!  That's actually amazing, Twist!" Reggie said.

"You must've had a fun time up north," Sam said.

"Sweet!" Otto said.  "Hey, we'll need to be ready for the finals.  You sure you can be ready in time?"

"I thought you would never ask, Ottoman," Twister said.  

"Awesome!" Otto said.  "Practice is tomorrow at The Pier."

Everything was back to the normal routine the next day.  Leni went back to Royal Woods with her family.  Twister was glad to be back in his hometown and practice with his friends.  And Sam, Otto, and Reggie were delighted to have Twister again.

THE END