Football Double Threat by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page A

hurriedly threw on some clothes and stuffed his homework and books into his backpack. As it was, he barely had time to eat breakfast and brush his teeth.
    Bobby caught up to him just as he was entering school. “Check it out!”
    He showed Rocky one of the handbills he’d made. It pictured him standing on his crutches, looking stern and determined, with the slogan underneath. “I brought plenty of tape,” Bobby added, holding up a thick roll of gray duct tape, “so we can cover this whole school with these!”
    “Mmm, great,” Rocky said. “Just so long as I’m outta here —”
    “— by two forty-five. Absolutely. Meet me here after the final bell and we’ll get it done in no time.”
    To Rocky’s relief, Bobby was as good as his word. They started taping up the papers at two thirty, with Bobby handing Rocky the handbills and Rocky taping them to the hallway walls. At two forty-two, Rocky handed Bobby the empty roll of tape. He was turning to leave when he heard an angry yell.
    “What do you boys think you’re doing?!”
    It was Mr. Jenkins, the assistant principal. He was staring, aghast, at the handbills.
    “Who approved the wording and image on this paper?” he asked. “Anything that is displayed at school must have approval first. And where is your slip granting you permission to put these papers up? It is strictly against the rules to do so without written permission.”
    Rocky looked at Bobby, waiting for him to produce the permission forms. Bobby ducked his head.
    “I, uh, didn’t know I needed that stuff,” he said meekly.
    Mr. Jenkins tore down one of the papers. “Both policies were clearly outlined in yesterday’s student council meeting! You must take down every single one of these immediately! And don’t just throw the papers away. This school is making every attempt to ‘go green.’ So separate the paper from the tape and put the sheets in the appropriate recycle bins.”
    He handed Bobby the handbill and stalked away.
    Rocky turned to Bobby in dismay. “How could you not know? Weren’t you listening during the meeting?”
    “I guess I missed that part.” Bobby leaned against the wall and rubbed his leg above the cast. “Man, this thing is aching all of a sudden. You’ll help me take all this stuff down, won’t you?”
    Rocky had been on the verge of storming away. But the sight of Bobby in pain made him stop. So he swallowed his frustration, reached up, and started pulling down handbills.
    So much for safety practice,
he thought.
Coach Ward is going to kill me.

15
    C oach Ward didn’t kill him, of course, but he did chew him out good and long.
    Fortunately, Rocky made it to safety practice on time on Friday. But that night, he had trouble falling asleep because he was worried about the next day’s game. When he did finally drift off, his dreams were troubled.
    Rocky awoke close to dawn and couldn’t get back to sleep. So he dressed, left a note for his parents saying he’d gone for a walk, and stepped out into the gray-blue light of early morning.
    He walked aimlessly and wound up near the park. He was blowing clouds of breath into the air when, suddenly, he heard a sound. He looked around and saw a boy about his age. Rocky couldn’t tell who it was at first. Then he saw that the boy had a soccer ball with him — and realized it was Jared.
    Jared bounced the ball from knee to knee for more than a minute. When the ball finally fell to the ground, he began to dribble. Rocky stared in admiration as Jared’s feet flew over the dewy grass, guiding the ball with sure taps.
    Then Jared stopped short and booted the ball with a solid kick. He punched the air with his fist as if celebrating a goal and then raced to retrieve the ball. When he turned, he saw Rocky and froze.
    Rocky hurried over to him. “Man, you really know how to handle that ball!”
    Jared relaxed. “Thanks. My dad used to work with me on that stuff.”
    “Used to?” The second the words were out, Rocky