B003J5UJ4U EBOK by David Lubar Read Free Book Online Page B

his innocence. He pulled the glasses from his face and held them out. “See for yourself.”
    Fritz snatched the glasses from Cheater and stared through the lenses. “These aren’t any kind of prescription.” He dropped them on the floor. “You must be using them to cheat.”
    “I have a mild astigmatism,” Cheater said. It was true—his glasses only made a tiny correction. But he felt he needed them. He used his eyes so much. He read constantly. His brother kidded him about it, calling him a book sucker. He wished his brother was here right now. Or his friends from Edgeview. He wished anybody was here besides these four angry poker players.
    Fritz stomped down on the frames. “I guess we’ll have to beat the truth out of you.”
    Cheater closed his eyes as more thoughts tumbled toward him, crackling with enthusiasm and anticipation.
Let’s kick his butt.

flinch prepares for battle
    “ FOLKS, PLEASE WELCOME Willis Dobbs.”
    Flinch stared out at the crowd as the applause came to an end. He loved the thrill of starting a set. He loved the applause. He loved the laughs. But he loved the combat most of all. At least, the verbal combat. He couldn’t help clenching his teeth when he thought about other forms of combat. Last summer, right after he’d gotten out of Edgeview, he’d used his talent for a different type of battle. It hadn’t been pretty.
    There’d been a boxing program at the Rec League. His mom had fussed a bit when he’d asked permission, but she’d finally given in. He’d signed up, figuring his talent for seeing slightly into the future would make him unbeatable. Up until Edgeview, his talent had done nothing but get him in trouble. He interrupted his teachers whenever they talked to him, and seemed distracted and jumpy all the time. Everyone thought he was twitchy and weird, but all he’d been doing was reacting too soon. Now, he hoped to use his talent to fit in.
    The first time he stepped into the ring to spar, he was matched up against a scrawny kid named Juan who livedright down the block from him. Juan was always walking around with his nose in a book. He reminded Flinch of Cheater.
    “You trying to be tough?” Flinch had asked after they’d put on their gloves. He wanted to take slow, deep breaths, but his lungs wouldn’t cooperate.
    Juan grinned. “Sure. Why not. Just don’t hurt me too much.”
    “No problem. I’m totally new at this, too. So don’t hurt me, either.”
    “You’ve got a deal.”
    The bell rang. Buzzed with adrenaline, Flinch had sidestepped Juan’s first awkward punch and thrown a counter-shot to the jaw that dropped him like he’d been zapped with a stun gun. Juan wasn’t the only one stunned. The whole gym went silent as heads turned toward the ring.
    Flinch had looked down at Juan lying there with his eyes rolled halfway back in his head. He waited to make sure Juan was okay. Then he climbed out of the ring. He felt like he’d just done something dirty and shameful.
    “Hey,” the trainer had called. “Where you going? You got the stuff, my man. I can make you a champ.”
    “Takin’ my stuff elsewhere,” Flinch said.
    He’d tried baseball, basketball, and even fencing. He wanted to find something to help ease the stress of constantly keeping track of his actions. But there was no joy when you knew ahead of time exactly where a pitch would cross the plate. The first hit or two felt good. Pretty soon, it all started to feel cheap and easy. Worse, it got boring—likeplaying a game of cards when you could see everyone else’s hand.
    But there was joy now, because victory wasn’t guaranteed. He lived and died not just by his hidden talent, but by his true talent. Flinch reached out and pulled the mike from the stand. Then he smiled at the crowd.
Bring it on,
he thought.
Give me your best shot.

martin walks the walk
    “ DROP DEAD !”
    The second he shouted those words, Martin knew he’d crossed a line. But there was nothing he could do about it.