Lucky Pair of Shoes

Football practice had just ended, and Jeremy took a seat on the cold, metal bench next to three of his teammates. “Another good practice, guys,” Jeremy said, wiping the drops of sweat and rain from his face. “We’re sure to beat Lincoln High next week if we keep playing like that!”

All four boys were covered from head to toe in mud, but the smiles on their faces made it obvious that they didn’t seem to mind. Football practice was usually fun, but when you get to practice in the mud, it’s a whole different game. There was talk about canceling the practice due to the weather, but the upcoming game against Lincoln High School was just too important. Lincoln High had taken home the championship trophy the past two years, but Jeremy was sure this was the year North High was going to take it back.

“I gotta get home before it gets dark,” said Victor, as he started to pack up his backpack. “Last week I was ten minutes late, and I had to hear about it the entire night. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at school.”

Victor headed off down the street, as the other three boys started unlacing their dirty cleats and replacing them with clean sneakers from their bags.

“Have you guys seen my shoes?” asked Jeremy, with a confused look on his face. “I know I put them in here this morning.”

“Isn’t that them over there?” said Tommy, pointing to a pair of shoes resting under a nearby tree. “It looks just like them.”

Tommy was right—the shoes did look exactly like his shoes, but who took them out of his bag? Probably just one of his teammates trying to be funny.

“Very funny, guys, but now they’re going to be all wet!” Jeremy walked over to grab the shoes, but to his surprise, they were completely dry. “That’s weird,” he muttered, but he walked back to the bench without giving it much more thought. As he slipped the first shoe on over his muddy sock, an unusual tingling sensation overcame his body.

“Um, guys,” he said, “I’m not sure if these are my shoes.”