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Move from Texas to Florida
Paul was on his way to Florida to Texas. Before he left, his imagination of a zombie following him representing that he was part of the family and that problems follow you no matter where you go. -
Muck Fire
Paul wakes up to the smell of smoke and alerts his mother. She then calls the fire department. When they arrives twenty minutes later a firefighter explains to Paul's mother that that fire has been burning ever since he could remember and that she has to get used to it. Later that day, Mom was talking to the President of the Homeowners Association, Mr.Costello. After Erik and Dad show up they start talking about how Mr. Costello's son Mike and Erik would be playing on thew same team. -
Visiting Paul's New School
Paul and his mom go to check out his new school. However Paul's mother tries to find every way possible on how to criticize the school. What she dislikes the most is that they don't have a gym or an auditorium. Paul's mom also brings up the fact that he is legally blind to the principal which he denies. -
Practice
Paul, Erik, and their parents went to go watch football tryouts. A storm was coming and the sky was grey. Paul and his mother decided to go to look at some soccer players. Paul went in to play with them and he was much better than them. Paul knew that he was going to make this school's soccer team. -
First Day of School
It is Paul's first day of school which makes him think of how when he was younger Erik told his friends that Paul had optical damage because he stared at the sun during an eclipse. But Paul doesn't remember it ever happening. Paul meets Joey by the bus and they talk about Mike. Afterwards Paul gets in to class and his teachers names were Ms. Alvarez and Mrs. Hoffman. He was sent to Mr. Murrow's office with Kerri Gardner to act as his eyes but Paul says he can see fine. -
Erik and His Friends
Paul thinks about Erik. Specifically about Erik's relationship with Arthur. Arthur's sister's name is Paige who was a cheerleader that he thought Erik was probably going to date and Arthur was dating a girl named Tina Turreton. Paul predicts that Arthur is going to replace Mike and Arthur would do anything to stay in the "Erik Fisher Football Dream". Paul was afraid of Erik before and now he has to be afraid of Erik and Arthur. -
Befriending Joey
Paul starts noticing changes about his mom. In short, she looks at things differently at how she looks at houses and how the smallest details wrong or doesn't match, she talks about to Paul. Later as Paul runs laps, he and Joey were getting closer and becoming friends. Joey talked about how this house had been struck by lightning three times in a row and now it was for sale. -
Soccer Tryouts
After Language Arts, Paul went to the Soccer Tryouts with Joey and Joey said that half of the kids who made it wouldn't actually play and the other half was playing. The captain's name was Gino and at the end of the soccer practice, as Paul was trying out for goalie Gino was going to kick the ball in his goal but Paul blocked it. As Paul left he was confident that he made the team. -
Mike's Death
As Paul and his mother were unloading groceries into their kitchen Erik and Arthur telling them that Mike Costello died during practice. Joey saw it happen. Paul's mom was terrified and when she wasn't looking, Erik and Arthur were cracking jokes about it. Paul suspected that Erik and Arthur were responsible in a way and that something was wrong. -
Aftermath
After Mike's death Paul's mom wanted his death to be honored but nothing happened. Football practice wasn't canceled and no one left home early. Joey didn't show up to soccer practice with Paul. Paul's parents were arguing about how football practice should be canceled but and Paul's father wanted it to continue, which it did. Paul mentions something about the eclipse story and how Erik has his piece of the story and how he needed it. -
The Meeting
After the death of Mike, Paul's mom and dad hosted a meeting in their home for the argument Paul's mom had issued about practice. Her argument was not to cancle practice, but to play it when it's not raining so nobody gets struck by lightning like Mike. Coach Warner didn't want that to happen so he made a lot of excuses to prevent it from happening and Paul's mom ultimately lost the argument. -
Paul Leaves The Team
Paul was out playing soccer when the coach called him over to talk to him about his vision while Paul was thinking that he was going to be rewarded for his efforts. The coach said he couldn't play on the team because of his eyesight. Paul started crying on the field and took his anger out on his mom. His mom said she would never talk about his vision again which meant a lot to Paul. After Paul's dad talked to the coach, Paul was going to be the manager of the team from then on. -
The Pre-Funeral (later on September 8th)
Paul went to Mike's funeral home the day before and didn't know how to react. He was a little nervous and copied what his parents were doing. He met Joey at the funeral home and he told him he'd been kicked off the soccer team but they were soon separated. Lots of people were there like parents, soccer players, and football players. After the visit Joey told Paul that he needed to stop thinking about his brother's death and needed to do something else. -
The Carnival
It was the day of Mike's funeral and Paul's family wasn't invited. Paul's parents fought over Coach Wanrner's choice to let his players play in lightning. Paul's dad left with Erik. After the funeral at 2:30 Joey called Paul to see if they could meet at the carnival. While driving to the carnival, Paul looked at all the citrus trees and thought about them. When they got at the carnival they met up with some of their other friends and talked. Paul and Joey were picked up at 7:00. -
The Sinkhole
Paul was back at school and was in third period when he was called up to the principal's office with Joey. He asked them if they were the ones who had done the graffiti at the carnival. Luckily Paul knew who it was and told on them. The boys were then released to go back to class when a sinkhole hit. They quickly made it to a classroom where everyone was being kept. A school bus came to pick up all the kids and take them home. Paul was scared regardless. Later, Paul's dad had to take the heat. -
No School
Paul had been thinking about the sinkhole and came to the conclusion that he had no school for a while and that Old Charley Burns was trying to take control of the case which Paul's dad is happy about. But what Paul found most interesting was that the football stadium was damaged and Erik Fisher lost half of his audience. -
Bye Bye Old Charley Burns
Paul was thinking about dad and how he got his job. He was thinking about how Old Charley Burns when he had his dad's job. He was thinking about how Old Charley was living the high life and getting paid but he was taken out of the buisness by developers. Then, Paul's dad had the opportunity to take the job except the same thing that happened to Charley wouldn't happen to Paul's dad. -
The Goalie Returns
Paul's dad was getting calls from all over the state about the incident and Paul's dad would say Charley Burns did it and now he's gone. Soon after that Paul, his mom, and his dad attended the school meeting and at the meeting they announced that school would start on the following monday. Paul was upset about this. After the meeting Paul and his parents decided he would be returning to his school without an IEP meaning he could be a goalie again. -
Tangerine Middle School
It was Paul's first day at Tangerine Middle School and he didn't have an IEP. He was excited. Paul was given a tour by a girl named Theresa. During lunch, Paul asked Theresa about the soccer team and she talked about how her twin brother was on the team. Her brother's name was Victor who was a decent player. What Paul found interesting was that there were female players. At the end of the day Paul's mom told him that his IEP was destroyed in the sinkhole, which Paul was thankful for. -
The Guilt
The next day Paul talks to Theresa at lunch and her friend Victor is picking on him telling him he'll never make the team. But Paul recognized them, they were the kids who vandalized the carnival. Paul actually got away with ratting them out because they didn't know who did. After that, there were tryouts and Paul blocked all the shots until he blocked one from Victor and then Victor kicked it out of his hands which didn't count. Paul was confident that he made the team as his mom picked him up. -
Erik Acts Like a Jerk
Joey comes over to Paul's house while Erik and Arthur are there. Paul and Joey are having a good time until Erik and Arthur make comments about Mike being dead and make fun of Joey but Joey doesn't get it. Paul then tells Joey and Joey starts to cry because he doesn't think that he was honoring Mike by standing up to them and Joey thought he was a coward.Paul started comforting him and tried to convince him to come to Paul's school. Joey said he would think about it. -
Paul's First Game
Paul starts to play his first game of soccer at Tangerine Middle School. Paul talks about this game differently though, he describes it as a war which it was. All the players were playing dirty. At one point some kid smeared mud in Paul's eyes and Paul started beating him up. The game ended one to one. Later that day Joey called Paul telling him that he was coming to Tangerine Middle School which Paul was generally happy about. -
Erik's Humiliation
It was the day of Erik's big game. Paul and his parents were there to watch it, and about halfway through, it started raining. This caused Paul's mom to go back in the car and wait for the game to be over. By the end, Erik's team was losing and Erik had an opportunity to punt the ball, he had a chance to save the game. But Arthur wasn't Erik's holder, it was Antoine. When Erik was about to kick the ball Antoine moved the ball causing Erik to fall and Antoine scored the winning touchdown. -
Victor's Injury
It was Paul's second game and it was against a team that beat his current team the previous year so Victor wanted to win. Both teams ended up in a time halfway through the game and Victor's forehead started bleeding so Paul took his place. Paul then scored a goal.. After Maya scored some goals after that, Paul's team had won. Later that day, Paul called his grandma and said he was fine after the sink hole. Joey's girlfriend tried to make Paul say he liked Kerri Gardner in the phone with her. -
Joey's Place on the Team
The day after the game there was practice. Victor still wasn't allowed to come to it though and Paul took his place once again. Paul was doing fairly well during practice and then Victor came back at the end of practice. Victor started antagonizing Joey and Joey took it personally. He was really angry riding home with Paul. When Paul's mom offered Joey to come into their house, he refused, because of Erik. -
Disrupted Practice
Paul was at practice when all in a sudden a van pulled over which had Tangerine Times written on it's side. It had been Paul's mom's fault for calling them so the top scoring girls could be in the newspaper. Betty Bright was furious and demanded privacy for the girls. Shaundra was granted privacy but Maya wasn't -
Joey Quits
In class, Paul had been assigned into groups of four to six people for a science project. Tino, Theresa, and Henry D. were in a group together and Paul asked if he and Joey could be in the same group. Tino agreed but Joey didn't want to be in their group after what happened during practice. Paul tried to convince he but Joey revealed that he had quit the soccer team that morning and continued to talk about how disgusted he was to be at that school. It would seem that they're not friends anymore. -
Joey vs Tino
Paul has a flashback of him talking to Joey noticing that Joey wasn't really excited to be at Tangerine Middle. Paul had the flashback as Tino talked about his science project and how his brother Luis was making a new type of tangerine. Tino aggravates Joey during the process and the Tino lunges at Joey. Joey then talks to Paul saying he was better than this and he is Tino's guard dog. After the incident, Tino gets suspended for three days. -
Erik's Scholarship Options
Since Paul's mom was hosting a home owner association meeting he had to use his dad's computer for his homework. Paul was listening to the entire meeting which mainly talked about killing the mosquitos that carry disease and the firefighters doing nothing about the muck fire. Paul then found a file on his dad's computer that showed Erik's scholarship opportunities, Paul then had go off the file because his dad was coming upstairs. But Paul said he would be back later on the file. -
Memories
The next day at school Joey wasn't there because he was enrolling at his old school because of Tino. After school Paul was getting a ride home from Henry's older brother. But before that, Paul met Luis, he learned about Luis's extensive research about tangerines. When Paul was home a saw Erik and Arthur in the back yard practicing. Paul then has a flashback about when he really lost his vision which was when Paul's dad was trying to test if Paul's vision was ok with Erik and Paul couldn't see. -
Highlights
Lots of things happened the past month that Paul reflects on. He talk about how Old Charley Burns had a heart attack and died, and Paul's dad didn't even attend his funeral. He also talked about how Erik gained a reputation as a good foot ball player instead of a joke. The final thing Paul talked about was that his team had beaten seven teams in a row and the team had gained a powerful reputation. -
Cruz Grove
Paul shows up Cruz Grove for the science project but Tino isn't very happy about it. Luis is nice however and they work for the remainder of the day. Tino tells Paul things about Luis like how he was the goalie for the Tangerine Middle soccer team and that he hurt his leg cutting tangerine branches. After that Luis didn't stop working until his mom died. Paul, feeling open with Tino tells him that he got him suspended and Tino kicks Paul in the back waving as Paul's mom picked him up. -
Mr. Donnely
Paul's parents were invited to Mr. Donnely's house which was Paul's dad's opportunity to advertise Erik to Mr. Donnely. Paul's mom had a grudge against Mr. Donnely for not responding to her calls about the architectural committee. Others showed up to his home as well. Mr. Donnely was impressed with Erik and a good host. He then started talking about Betty Bright's tracking running days which Paul didn't know about but she was ultimately eliminated when a German punched her in the face. -
No Game
The War Eagles are playing against the Manatees which is not a very good team. Paul and Maya score a goal each but then it starts to rain. This causes the referee to make the verdict of the game, to have never even happened. Victor is outraged and demands to play the Manatees, however his demands are not met. The War Eagles were still undefeated but something like that on there record was something to be upset about -
Publicty
Paul's team was being featured in the Tangerine Times paper. As Paul reads the paper, it states that Maya is the top scoring soccer player in the county. She scored more than Victor and Gino. What Paul took away from this was if Betty Bright was okay with this publicity and how all of it could come into play later setting up a disaster. -
Tangerine Middle vs Lake Windsor
It was the final match for the county title. Paul was ready to take one his old team. The game itself was a very close match . Midway through the game the score was two to two. Shaundra threw up in the goalie post causing Paul to be the goalie. Victor knocked Gino making them go for a penalty that could have ended the game. Paul missed the kicked and Gino missed the goal. The War Eagles had won. Paul wanted to ride the bus home. When he got home in tears, he had taken quite the ride. -
Tino Gets Hit
It was Paul's turn to let his science group come to his house and everything was going really well. Paul, Tino, Theresa, and Henry D. all went in Paul's backyard and started playing soccer. But then, Paul saw Erik and Arthur coming and was immediately afraid.When Erik came to them he made a comment about field laborers coming to take a break referring to Paul's friends. Then Tino gets hot headed and makes fun of Erik. Erik hits Tino in the face and the science group leaves. -
Luis Gets Hit (Even Harder)
Paul didn't tell his parents about how awful Erik was because he though they probably wouldn't believe him. Paul's mom was taking Paul to Erik's conference meeting because his grades were slipping. Paul wanted to avoid Erik so he ducked under the bleachers. Luis came up to Erik yelling at him for hitting Tino, and Arthur knocks him out with a blackjack. Luis looks like he's bleeding out. Afterwards Paul is taken home. -
Thanksgiving
It was Thanksgiving and Paul's grandparents were coming over. However, it didn't mean much because Paul has decided to spend his Thanksgiving at Cruz Grove doing manual labor all day and having a sleepover with Tino. Victor and some of the War Eagles were there. Paul was working until he saw Luis. Paul talked to Luis about how he saw Luis get knocked out by the blackjack. Luis told Paul not to be afraid of Erik and Arthur. -
Unconscience
The day after Thanksgiving Paul wakes up early eating breakfast when his dad comes in the kitchen talking about football. He talks about how Erik didn't really do anything. Paul asks his dad if he knows what position he plays in soccer and his dad is clueless. Then Paul's mom asks if Erik even has a future in football. That scared Paul's dad. Later that day, Paul went into his backyard and passed out. He couldn't say he remembered why though. -
Erik's Surprise
Paul was expecting Luis to beat up Erik and Arthur after school, but that didn't happen. Paul hoped it happened later that day but still nothing. It was very confusing for Paul. Kerri Gardner came to Paul's house asking him if he could be his date to Joey's house, and he said yes. After that, Paul's mom was having a home owners association meeting and listening to it Paul could tell that all of their problems were gone except for robbery. -
Luis's Death
Paul had discovered that Luis died in the morning. Paul then pretended to be sick and went home. He was shocked. Henry D. told him that he had been found dead at Cruz Grove. Paul then did research on aneurysm and how Arthur technically killed Luis with the blackjack on Wednesday but it took five days to actually kill him. Paul was sickened with that knowledge. He told his mom that Luis had died but nothing more. Like the fact Erik and Arthur killed him. -
Rage
Theresa warns Paul about coming to Luis's funeral, she said that Victor and Tino really didn't like him or want him to go. So Paul didn't go. Paul was alone and thought to himself at a lake. Then, some homeless kid walks up to Paul and tells him an alligator is in this lake. Paul says his parents lied to him and went on in rage talking about people he knew that died and went on until that kid went away. -
Tears
It was Luis's funeral. Paul wasn't invited and when Paul was home alone after his mom went to work, he got on the same shirt he wore to Mike's funeral. He went into his backyard, dug up some dirt and started crying. He thought about Luis, who would be in that same ground forever. He felt like a different person. -
What Really Happened
It was time to get to Joey's party and Erik and Arthur were getting awards when all in a sudden Victor and Tino beat the crap out of them and everything went chaos. Afterwards Erik and Arthur cornered Paul in the confusion and were going to beat him up. Paul then made Arthur afraid by telling him others knew what he did to Luis. Paul ultimately avoided it. Paul then remembered how he became blind while confronting his parents telling him about Erik's friend spray painting his eyes white. -
Antoine Thomas
Betty Bright went to Mr. Donelly's house with Antione Thomas. Paul, being neighbours with him went over to check them out. Shaundra was outside in Betty Bright's car. Shaundra told Paul that Antoine's football fame had caused her to be afraid of publicity because they lived in Tangerine. Afterwards, Betty Bright came out of Mr Donelly's house with Antione and was ready to drive to the police station to report Arthur. Paul was happy to know it. -
Bad News
Paul woke up to the newspaper bringing bad news. Antione Thomas had confessed that his eligibility to play for the Lake Windsor football team was unauthorized because he lived in Tangerine. Since Antoine had won almost all the games in the past three seasons, the team had lost all it's wins. Later that day mom hosted a meeting about the robbers who were Erik and Arthur. When Arthur's dad was asking for a second chance from the people he robbed, Paul told the deputy that Arthur killed Luis. -
Expulsion
Paul was to see the principal and was driven to school. Theresa was sorry for Paul and told him that he threw away his life. Victor and Tino were suspended for 3 weeks after they came out of the principal's office. However when Paul came out of the principal's office he was expelled. Everyone in the halls of the school were comforting Paul as he left. Paul decided that he would come back next year because they made exceptions for other people. -
St. Anthony's
The school Paul was going to go to next year was St. Anthony's, he told Tino about it. He said that their team sucked, but it was okay because Paul wasn't going to play for them. Erik and Arthur were going to get arrested for their crimes after all sentences were collected and Paul was to write his. Paul's dad abandoned him in his time of need. Paul wrote the entire truth to the police liked they asked, and Paul's parents also read it in shock. -
The Last First Day of School
No one talked about Paul's sentence in the morning and Paul's parents decided that Paul's dad was gonna take him to school. On the way Paul thought about all his friends and where they would be if some of them if they were alive an then the book ends.
