Slam Dunk by Matt Christopher, Robert Hirschfeld Read Free Book Online Page B

lounge.
    “Hey, boys, glad you’re here,” Mr. Streeter said, shaking their hands. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he sat next to his wife and took her hand.
    “Good to see you,” said the coach. He looked as if he hadn’t had much sleep either.
    “We hear Barry’s okay,” said Grady.
    “The doctors sound more encouraging than yesterday,” answered Mr. Streeter. “Barry’s going to have some tough months ahead of him. But if he works hard with the therapist, he should be fine. Why don’t you go in and see him?”
    Julian and Grady started out, but Mrs. Streeter called, “Don’t stay too long, boys. He needs plenty of rest, and there’ll be a lot of friends and relatives stopping by today.”
    “We’ll make it quick,” Julian promised.
    Grady knocked on Barry’s open door, and he and Julian went inside. Barry was sitting in a wheelchair, with his injured leg propped up in front of him. He no longer had an IV in his arm, and his dressings were smaller.
    “Hey, guys,” Barry said, sounding as if he’d just woken up out of a deep sleep. “What’s happening? Sit down.”
    Julian was determined to be cheerful this visit. He pulled out a chair and sat. “Practice is at four on Monday, dude. And you better be on time.”
    Barry smiled. “Right. Listen, if I sound a little fuzzy, it’s because I just took a pain pill.”
    “It hurts a lot, huh?” asked Grady.
    “Not as bad as yesterday,” Barry replied, making a face at the memory. “But at least I’m going home.”
    Julian said, “I hear you’ll be doing physical therapy soon.”
    “I start Wednesday. I met the guy this morning. He looks even tougher than the coach. It won’t be fun, but he says it’ll be worth it.”
    “Sure it will,” Julian said. “Does that mean you’ll be able to play again... sometime?”
    “Probably,” Barry said. “I guarantee one thing — if working hard makes any difference, then I’ll play again for sure. Anyway, it’s good to see you two here together.”
    Grady and Julian looked at each other. Julian said, “I should have come with Grady the other day. I was really dumb not to.”
    “No biggie,” Grady said. “But this way, Barry doesn’t have to waste much time on us.”
    “Good thing, too,” Barry said. “My schedule is really full today. There’s lunch and dinner. And that’s about it.”
    “We’ll be around to hassle you a lot while you’re home,” said Julian. “You’ll be sick of us.”
    “Yeah, and I can’t even run away when I get bored.” Barry started to laugh and winced. “I have to remember not to laugh too hard.”
    “We won’t make any jokes,” Grady said. “And if we do, I promise they won’t be funny ones.”
    “So, how do the Tornadoes look?” Barry asked. “I mean, I know it’s early, but you think you might have a good year?”
    “I don’t know why not,” Grady said.
    “Too soon to tell,” said Julian.
    “The coach thinks you have some real talent,” said Barry. “If you could only find a decent center and a point guard, you might have a fantastic season.”
    His friends smiled.
    “I’m going to go to all your games,” Barry said, “so you better be good.”
    Grady grinned. “If we lose, it’ll be your fault for making us nervous.”
    Mr. Streeter stuck his head in the door. “Excuse me, some other people are waiting to see Barry, so if you boys could wrap it up...”
    Julian stood up. “We were just leaving.”
    “Yeah,” said Grady. “We know when we’re not wanted.”
    “Later, guys,” Barry said. “Thanks for coming. And thanks for coming together. I appreciate it.”
    “You should,” Grady said. “You think I
like
hanging out with this doofus?”
    Julian gave Grady a mock glare. “Try to pretend you like it. Like I do.”
    “I told you two not to make me laugh,” protested Barry.
    Julian was feeling a lot better about Barry and about himself when the boys returned to the visitors’ lounge. Mick and Len were