SVH09-Racing Hearts by Francine Pascal Read Free Book Online Page B

than she'd realized.
    Just then Bruce walked by with Ken Matthews. "Say, Mr. Wonderful." Lila grabbed Bruce by his custom-tailored shirt and made him stop in his tracks. "Aren't you going to congratulate my friend over here?"
    "Your friend?" Bruce said sarcastically. He didn't dare continue, though, as Lila glared at him. The girl could be dangerous if she wanted, and even Bruce lay back when he could see she meant business.
    "Yes, my friend," she said. "My dear friend Roger, the champion of Sweet Valley. So what do you say, Bruce?"
    "Congratulations, Roger." Setting down his tray on an adjacent table, he extended his hand to Roger, who shook it with pleasure. "What can I say? You ran a great race."
    "So did you, Bruce."
    "But don't get too cocky," Bruce added, "because now that I know you're around, I'm going to be prepared. Just keep your eyes open next week. And let that be a warning to you."
    Roger wasn't about to say there wasn't going to be a next week for him, not with the adoration he could see in Lila's eyes. The hug she'd given him on the field wasn't a farce. She truly liked him.
    Even if he'd been inclined to confess the truth right then, he would have been stopped by John Pfeifer, who approached the group. "Well, well, I'm in luck. I caught the two champions at once. Congratulations, guys. Roger, can I talk to you later? I want to do a special profile on you for The Oracle."
    "I'm busy after school," Roger admitted.
    "I understand. Practice and all," John answered for him. "Maybe we can talk now. What I'm really interested in is where you learned to run so well."
    "I kind of fell into it. You know me," he answered lightly, "always running around campus and everything."
    "But you must be doing all that running for a reason. Where do you run to after school, for instance?"
    Roger felt himself redden. "Oh, nowhere in particular," he fibbed. "You know the old saying, run for your life? There's a history of heart
    disease in my family, and I want to make sure that nothing happens to me." That much was true; his mother did suffer from a heart ailment that had forced her to retire from her assembly- line job at one of the Patman factories. "Running around the way I do helps build up the cardiovascular system."
    "Aha, an athlete who knows his biology," John said admiringly.
    "Well, I'd like to be a doctor someday." Roger revealed his most precious dream.
    "A doctor?" Lila's opinion of Roger shot up another ten points. "What kind?"
    Jessica smirked. "Does it make any difference to you, Lila?"
    Lila looked at her friend as if she were a pile of dirt. "I just thought, Roger, that with your interest in the heart, you might be thinking about heart surgery or something like that."
    "To tell you the truth, Lila, I haven't made up my mind," he said, not adding that at this point he would be lucky if he could put himself through college, let alone medical school. "But cardiology is certainly a strong possibility."
    "I'm very impressed," Lila said.
    Meanwhile, at another table, Elizabeth sat down with Enid and Todd. It was the first chance she'd had to be with her boyfriend since the race, and she was dying to know why he'd run.
    Todd put down his fork as he began speaking. "It doesn't make any difference. I didn't qualify."
    "Hey, that doesn't matter to me," Elizabeth said sympathetically.
    "Yeah, Todd," Enid added, smiling, "we still like you."
    Todd grinned. "Oh, I knew I didn't really have a shot. Yesterday Bruce got me riled up enough to want to enter the race but it wasn't until I heard about the coach this morning that I actually decided to do it. You know, just to show some support for him and the running program." He leaned back, propping his long legs up on the chair opposite his. "I'm sure going to miss the old guy."
    "Miss him? Where's he going?" Elizabeth asked.
    "Haven't you heard? The coach is retiring after the Bart."
    "You mean the board's actually forcing him out? I didn't think they could do that."
    Todd shook