Baseball Great by Tim Green Read Free Book Online Page B

emerged the shadow of a person.
    â€œHe always comes out the back,” Jaden said, nodding toward the door.
    Josh watched as a second dark figure appeared from the shadows and approached Jaden’s dad.
    â€œWho parks back here?” Josh asked, watching as the second figure melted back into the shadows as if it had never been there at all.
    Jaden shrugged. Looking at Josh, she said, “People dropping things off or picking them up, I guess. Why?”
    â€œThat’s a nice car,” Josh said, pointing to the small black one in the middle of the others as Jaden’s father jogged down the concrete steps still wearing a long white examination coat.
    â€œThat Porsche? It is nice,” Jaden said. “When my dad’s working for the Yankees, I’m hoping he’ll get something like that.”
    â€œYeah, I know someone who’s got one of those,” Josh said.
    â€œReally? One of the Chiefs?” Jaden asked.
    â€œCoach Valentine,” Josh said, walking toward the car to get a look at the license plate in the shadows, unable to make it out. “But what would he be doing here?”
    Jaden kissed her father hello and introduced him to Josh. Josh shook the doctor’s hand, but his eyes were on the black car.
    â€œBetter look out,” Jaden’s father said. “Here comes a truck.”
    Together, they moved away from the center of the blacktop. As the truck pulled in, its headlights shone on the row of cars. Josh blinked and saw, without a doubt, a license plate that read DOIT2IT.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    â€œI THOUGHT WE WERE all running,” Benji said with all the surprise he could muster.
    Josh rolled his eyes. Jaden took a bite of her sandwich without saying anything.
    â€œWhat?” Benji said. “You think I was afraid? I knew you didn’t want to fight that guy, and I figured if I high-tailed it out of there, you’d follow. By the time I turned around, you guys were gone. I sent a text, but glamour boy here had his phone off.”
    â€œWhat’d you do?” Jaden said. “Run till you hit the Canadian border?”
    â€œNow, that’s the kind of thing that makes it hard to be your friend,” Benji said, scolding her with his index finger.
    â€œI’m so upset, I’m going to have to stop eating,” Jadensaid, taking a huge bite of her sandwich and chewing wildly.
    â€œDon’t worry, Lido,” Josh said through a mouthful of lettuce and bologna on white bread. “I know you got my back if I need you.”
    â€œYeah, you know that, dude,” Benji said with a defiant nod at Jaden.
    Jaden just closed her eyes.
    The rest of the school day went as well as school can go, with no pop quizzes and not a lot of homework. Josh had to dodge the other kids on the team and their questions as best he could, and to those he couldn’t dodge he’d just shrug and say he couldn’t do anything about it. His dad needed him.
    At two-twenty, those who didn’t believe him had the chance to see him run down the front steps of the school, pass the buses, and jump into his dad’s waiting car, which sped all the way to the Mount Olympus Sports Complex.
    When they arrived, Josh and his dad saw cars, trucks, and SUVs racing in and out of the circle in front of the giant bubble. It reminded Josh of a pit stop, with each player jumping from his parents’ vehicle and sprinting for the door.
    Josh’s dad wished him good luck and told him he’d be back to watch the end of practice. Josh got out of the car and, caught up in the atmosphere, hurried inside like the others. He changed into workout shorts and aT-shirt in the locker room, then followed the stream of players into the weight room.
    Stacks of metal plates clapped together intermittently, making the whole place sound like a construction site. The smell of rubber mats and stale sweat filled the air, along with the grunts, shouts, and angry cries of the