Snowboard Maverick by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page A

triumph. “Yes!”
    From that moment on, something clicked in Dennis. He began to improve quickly, getting the feel of it. Twice more he made
     it down without falling. On his third try, he was actually doing it without even wobbling, when two boarders suddenly sped
     by him, calling his name.
    “Hey, O’Malley!”
    Dennis recognized their voices: Rick Hogan and Pat Kunkel. Those two guys always seemed to show up at just the wrong moment.
     The last time they’d watched him snowboard, Dennis had landed right on his behind!
    The surprise of hearing his name called out threw Dennis off momentarily, and he began flailing again, trying to regain his
     balance. He could hear Rick and Pat laughing at him as they pulled up at the bottom of the hill. Dennis gritted his teeth,
     determined not to give them the satisfaction of seeing him fall again.
    But just as he thought he’d finally righted himself, Dennis’s feet went out from under him, and he tumbled backward into the
     snow, sliding to a stop right at Rick’s and Pat’s feet!

8
    H oo-haw!” They howled with laughter, slapping each other five and pointing down at Dennis. “You’re really cool, O’Malley,”
     Rick mocked him. “Do you think you could teach me to snowboard like you?”
    That cracked Pat up. Everything Rick said cracked Pat up. It made Dennis want to pulverize them both. But all he could do
     was drag himself to his feet and try to ignore them.
    Now Robbie came twisting down the hill on his board toward them. “Here comes the rescue squad,” Rick said, and Pat howled
     with laughter.
    “Shut your face, Hogan,” Robbie shouted. “He’s just learning!”
    “Are you his teacher, McIntyre?” Rick asked, wide-eyed. “That explains his style!”
    “Cool it, Rick,” Dennis warned. “Don’t be such a jerk.”
    “He can’t help it,” Robbie commented. “He was born that way.”
    “Shut up, you little metal-mouthed chipmunk!” Rick shot back, and a fight might have started if Dennis hadn’t stopped it right
     there.
    “Everybody calm down,” he said, motioning to Robbie and Rick. “Just quit it, right now.”
    Robbie may have been short, but he looked ready to fight with Rick and Pat, even if it was two against one, and both of them
     were bigger. But Dennis, who always preferred to talk rather than fight, didn’t want anybody to get hurt — especially since
     it would probably be Robbie.
    “See ya, squirt,” Rick said to Robbie. “Come on, Pat, let’s get out of here. Hey, O’Malley, better go back to your easy-riding
     skateboard before you hurt yourself.”
    Dennis felt his face go red. He only hoped Rick and Pat thought it was from the snow and cold. The two of them walked off,
     carrying their snowboards and laughing.
    Robbie glared after them, then turned to Dennis. “You should have let me beat the stuffing out of them,” he said.
    “Robbie,” Dennis said, shaking his head, “what would that accomplish? They’d still be just as jerky.”
    Dennis was mad, too. But more than that, he was discouraged. He felt like throwing his board away and quitting, right then
     and there.
    “Come on,” Robbie said, tugging at Dennis’s arm.
    “Come on where?”
    “To the top of that hill over there, where Tasha is.”
    “That hill? That’s the highest one here!”
    “That’s right. And you’re going down it, with no biffing. Right now!”
    “Robbie —”
    “Just do it, Dennis. It’s important to finish your first day on a high note.”
    “But your mom’s coming — see, there’s the van, coming down the road!”
    “She’ll wait five minutes. Come on!” Robbie practically dragged him up the high hill, where Tasha was waiting for them.
    “What happened?” she wanted to know.
    “Rick and Pat were being their usual selves,” Robbie said. “Dennis stopped me from beating them up.
    “Good thing, too,” Tasha said. “You ought to quitpicking fights with people, Robbie. At least until you have your growth