Gang Tackle by Eric Howling Page A

dollar,” Darnell said. “Just twenty thousand more downloads like that and we’ve got it made.”
    “That’s a ton,” Rico said. “Sounds impossible.”
    “How do we know if there’s been more than one?” Carlos asked.
    “I can find out,” Jamal said. “There’s an app that can track how our game is selling.” “Then what are we waiting for?” Carlos asked. “Let’s check it, dude.”
    “But I need to get online. And I don’t have a phone.”
    “Just give me a minute,” Coach Kemp said, disappearing around the corner. He came back a minute later carrying a silver laptop. “It’s all yours.”
    Jamal set the computer on the bench and went to work. In just a few seconds he had downloaded the app and keyed in the code for their game. Suddenly the screen was filled with numbers and colored boxes.
    Darnell wrinkled his brow. “Looks like a bunch of charts and graphs.”
    “That’s exactly what it is,” Jamal said. “Each one tells us how Sack the Coach is doing.”
    News that Jamal was checking out the game spread through the locker room. Eli, Malik, Davey and the rest of the team huddled around the laptop. Most of the players still had their raggedy equipment on. They all had their fingers crossed. Everyone hoped they could start thinking about new uniforms.
    “So what does that chart tell us?” Darnell pointed to a green box with a bunch of numbers.
    Jamal focused on the screen. “That list shows how many times the game has been downloaded since it came out three days ago.”
    “How many?” Carlos asked. “Five or ten?”
    “More like five or ten…thousand!” A huge smile spread across Jamal’s face.
    “Quit fooling around, man,” Rico said. “This is serious business.”
    “I’m not kidding. Sack the Coach has been downloaded over ten thousand times in the last three days.”
    “That’s what I’m talking about!” Carlos said, his eyes popping wide.
    “This blue chart shows where it’s been downloaded. Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Texas, California, New York… pretty much all ten provinces and all fifty states. There are even some in Australia, England and China.”
    “It’s a worldwide hit, man!” Rico shouted.
    “Now the big question,” Darnell asked. “How much money have we made?”
    Jamal ran his finger along the screen to where it said Total . “Ten.”
    “Only ten dollars?” Rico wrinkled his brow. “I thought it’d be more.”
    “You’ve got to do more math homework,” Jamal said. “How about ten thousand dollars!”
    The big huddle around the screen erupted. There was a volcano blast of cheers. Fists pumped the air. Knuckles were bumped.
    “And that’s after only three days. After a week we should have over twenty thousand. And you know what that means?”
    “New unis!” Carlos shouted, throwing his old jersey on the floor.
    The huddle picked up the victory cry and started chanting. “New unis! New unis! New unis!”
    Suddenly there was a knock on the locker-room door. Rico ran over and swung it open. Jamal was shocked to see who it was.
    “I could hear the cheering all the way to my office,” Principal Campbell said. “I came to find out what all the excitement is about.”
    “Looks like Sack the Coach is going to make enough money for new uniforms,” Coach Kemp said.
    The players exploded again. “New unis! New unis! New unis!”
    “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” the principal said. “Maybe all year.”
    Coach Kemp nodded. “With your permission, I’d like to order the team new uniforms.”
    “Permission granted!”
    For the second time in less than a week, Jamal saw Principal Campbell with a look he rarely saw—a huge smile.

Chapter Twenty-One
    “Listen up!” Coach Kemp cast his eyes around the locker room at the sea of new uniforms. “I’ve got a couple announcements.”
    Jamal had just finished pulling on his new team colors. A blue jersey with bright gold numbers. Blue pants with gold stripes down both