The Real Lucky Charm

“Look at all the stuff there is to do,” Mia Robinson said, stepping out of the boys’ basketball line on Saturday afternoon. She read the signs on the tables in the gym. “Art. Drama. Football. Ballet.”

“I didn’t know they had so many choices,” Gabbie Gilbert, Mia’s best friend, said.

“Me either,” Mia said. It was her first time attending Fall Sign-up Day at the recreation center. She came with Marcus, her twin brother, who was standing in the boys’ basketball line. Mia and Gabbie had come along because their mom promised to take them to the movies afterward.

Mia glanced over at the next registration table. She hadn’t noticed the table earlier. But now the sign on it caught her attention:

WANTED: A FEW GOOD GIRLS!

A tall woman standing behind the table waved at the girls. “Looking for something fun to do?” she called out.

“Sort of,” Mia said in a curious voice. She noticed a second sign on the table that said: GIRLS BASKETBALL.

“I’ll be right back,” Mia said.

“Wait for me!” Gabbie said, following Mia to the girls’ basketball table.

“Hi,” the lady said, “I’m Coach Dilbert.”

Mia and Gabbie introduced themselves.

“I didn’t know we could sign up for girls’ basketball,” Mia said.

“This is the first year,” Coach Dilbert said. “Would you girls like to join a team?”

“Sure!” Mia blurted. “I’ll ask my mom when she finishes registering my brother.”
Gabbie gave Mia a puzzled look. “I thought you weren’t going to sign up for anything.”

“I wasn’t,” Mia said. “But that was before I knew they had a girls’ basketball team.”

Like lots of ten-year-olds, playing basketball was one of Mia’s favorite things. She enjoyed it almost as much as writing and bike riding.

Coach Dilbert smiled at Gabbie. “We can find a spot for you, too,” she said.

Gabbie hunched her shoulders. “I’ve never played on a basketball team before.”

“Neither have I,” Mia said. “Come on! It will be lots of fun.”

Gabbie swayed from side to side. “All right, I’ll join,” she said.

“I’m done!” Marcus said, walking over to Mia. “We can go to the movies now.”

“Not yet,” Mia told her brother. “I want to sign up for basketball, too.”

“Huh?” Marcus said.

Mia pointed to the sign on the table. “The girls’ basketball team.”

“That’s great, honey!” their mom said, joining them. “I’m glad you found an activity.”

“Cool!” Marcus said. He was still psyched from his last basketball season. He was MVP of the Titans, his recreation center team.

“I want to play, too,” Gabbie told Mrs. Robinson.

“We’ll get a registration form to take home to your parents,” Mrs. Robinson said.

When they got back in the minivan, Mia called her dad from her mom’s cell phone.

“Guess what, Dad?!” Mia said. “I joined a basketball team.”

“A girls’ basketball team,” Marcus added.

It was a few hours later when they got home from the movies. The phone was ringing when they walked into the house.

“I’ll get it,” Mia said, dashing into the kitchen. She grabbed the phone off the kitchen counter and pressed it against her ear.

“Oh, hi Coach Dilbert,” she said. Mia hadn’t expected to hear from her new basketball coach so soon.

“Really?!” Mia asked. She sounded surprised. “Okay. Yes, I’ll tell them.”

Mia hung up the phone and whirled around. She had a glow in her eyes like a reporter who just got a juicy news scoop. “They aren’t having a girls’ team after all,” Mia said. “Not enough girls signed up.”

“So what do we do now?” Gabbie asked.

“The coaches are combining the eight-to ten-year-old girls’ and boys’ teams,” Mia said. “There’s only going to be one team for kids our age. A co-ed team!”

Marcus coughed and almost choked on a piece of candy. “You mean the girls are going to play on the boys’ team?” Marcus asked.

“The co-ed team,” Mia said, correcting him.

“Are you serious?” Marcus asked. “Who are we going to play?”

“All-boys teams,” Mia said. “We’ll be the first and only co-ed team in our league.”