The Rise of Rachel Stark by J.A. York Read Free Book Online

we're going back to Tennessee."
    "Nope," Sheldon said. "You can't
leave until after football season. Unless you're as good of a
basketball player as you are a football player. Then you can't
leave until next spring."
    Rodney's face broke into a wide
smile.
    "You know," Bull said, "as an
adherent of the Native American Drum Religion, I've always
wondered: Is the
pope a Catholic?"
    "Hey, everybody," Sheldon said.
"Did you hear that? Bull has learned a new word. Adherent. He's an
adherent."
    "I hear that he is an adherent,"
said Jimmy.
    "Where did you hear that?" Sheldon
asked.
    "H-e-r-e, h-e-r-e," Jimmy
said.
    "You know," Bull said, "as an
adherent of the Native American Drum Religion, I've always
wondered: When you say 'hear, hear,' is it 'h-e-r-e, h-e-r-e,' or
'h-e-a-r, h-e-a-r'?"
    "Depends on where you are," Jimmy
said.
    "Where-where?" Bull
said.
    "There-there, don't worry, little
boy," Jimmy said.
    "If you're talking about rabbits,
it's 'hare, hare'," Bull said.
    "And," said Sheldon, pausing for
effect, "if you're talking about ladies of the evening, it's –
"
    "Sheldon!" Tabby shouted. "All
right already, you guys."
    "Gee, a guy can't even have any
fun," Sheldon said. "You mean you cannot bear-bear to hear-hear
this anymore?"
    She punched Sheldon in the arm.
Hard.
    "Hey, be careful. That's my
driving arm. Not to mention my throwing arm," said Sheldon, Chante
High's all-star quarterback.
    "Yes, do not, I repeat, do not,
mess with Sheldon Beasley's throwing arm. Driving arm, OK, but lay
off the throwing arm," said Jimmy, a wide receiver who already held
the Chante Valley Conference record for most receptions in a single
season.
    "Football," Rachel said. "Are you
guys going to have a good team this year?"
    The four boys suddenly became
all-business. The football team had been practicing since two weeks
before school started.
    "Good, no," Bull said. "Great,
yes."
    "Really?" Rachel said.
    "Really," Bull said.
    "Last year we were undefeated and
won the conference title," Jimmy said. "And we did it with only one
good running back – Bull."
    "You need five yards, I'll give
you five yards," Bull said. "You need 50 yards, I'll give you five
yards.
    "In other words, I'm a tough
between-the-tackles runner. But I'm no speed demon. We didn't have
a speed demon. But if we needed a long yardage play, we had the
best pass-catch combo in the whole state – Beasley to
Blaze.
    "But this year, you know what?
We've got that speed demon. And he's sitting in the back seat of
this car. We not only have Beasley, Blaze and Evenshot, we have
Stark."
    Rodney gave a nervous,
self-effacing chuckle.
    "And so," Bull said, "we're not
only going to go undefeated again and win the conference title
again this year, we're going to stampede through our schedule like
a herd of wild … well, bulls."
    "And that's no bull," Sheldon
said.
    "I am so sick of that joke,
Beasley," Bull said.
    "In this case, it's not a joke.
Normally it is, but not in this case," Sheldon said. "Your take on
how we're going to do this fall was not a bunch of … bravado. Well,
OK, some bravado maybe, but …
    "I don't want to jinx anything,
but almost all of the starters from last year's team are back. They
have another year of experience under their belts. They are winners
– they know how to win. Defensive line, defensive backs offensive
line, the backfield, receivers, special teams, you name it. We are
solid at every position. There are always injuries and everything,
you never know what's going to happen. But all things being equal,
I think we are going to be unstoppable.
    "And Rodney, well, I'm serious, we
had a missing piece last year, and we almost lost a couple of games
because of it. But you, my man, you are like lightning. I would not
want to try to tackle you in the open field. We're really glad
you're here. Tennessee's loss was our gain."
    "Thanks, man," Rodney said. "I'm
glad to be here too."
    "And if you think Rodney is a good
football player, wait till you hear Rachel