That Saturday afternoon, Benjy came over. It was the first time he had been at the house since that day his mother had come after him.
“Can Paul come over to my house?” he asked. His eyes were big as walnuts as he looked from Glenn to Judy and then to Paul.
Mom appeared from the next room. “Hi, Benjy.” She smiled.
“Hi, Mrs. Marlette.”
“Can I go over to Benjy’s house, Mom?” Paul asked hopefully. “Can I, Mom?”
“I guess you can,” Mom said.
“Oh, boy!” cried Paul. He got dressed and hurried out with Benjy. Both looked as happy as ever as they ran down the porch steps and headed for Benjy’s house.
“I wonder if Benjy’s mother knows about it?” Glenn said.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” replied his sister.
A half hour went by. Then someone was at the door. It was Paul. He was smiling and breathing as if he were in a terrible rush about something.
“Well, he stayed for a while,” said Glenn. “They were probably playing somewhere where she couldn’t see them.”
Paul went to his room, came out with something in his hand, and left again. Glenn looked curiously at Judy. “That was the present he was going to give Benjy at Christmastime,” he said. “He’s kept it all this while!”
Noontime came and Paul had not re-turned for lunch.
“Maybe you should go over there, Glenn, and tell him to come home,” Mom suggested. “Those two kids are probably stuck somewhere so that even Mrs. Myles doesn’t know where they are.”
Glenn put on his parka and walked over to the Myles’s house. He didn’t see the kids out front nor out back, and wondered what to do. If he knocked at the door and asked for Paul, Mrs. Myles might look at him as if he were insulting her or something.
Doggone Paul. Where did he and Benjy go?
He heard a creak and saw the back door of the Myles’s house open. Mrs. Myles looked out. There was something on her face Glenn had never seen before — a real, genuine smile.
“Glenn, if you’re looking for Paul,” she said, “he’s in the house, playing with Benjy. Benjy has a racing car set and they’re having the time of their lives.”
Glenn stared. “Oh? Well — he’s got to come home and eat.”
“He’s going to eat with us,” Mrs. Myles said. “I phoned your mother just a minute ago. She said it was all right. Would you like to come in, too? We have enough for all of us.”
Glenn trembled. “No. No, thanks, Mrs. Myles. Mom’s got the stuff almost on the table already. Then it’s all right for Paul to stay?”
“Of course it is.”
He smiled. “Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Myles. I’d better get home then. Good-bye!”
“Good-bye.”
Mom’s eyes twinkled. “That’s what Mrs. Myles told me,” she said.
“Well, it’s about time!” cried Judy, and she started to dance about the room. “Guess it just takes some people longer to open up their eyes.”
“And their hearts,” added Mom.
Glenn went to the living room and plunked himself in front of the keyboard Mom and Dad had given Paul. He struck a chord. “Wow!” he cried, and grabbed hold of his nose.
“What a sour one that was!” Judy laughed. “Maybe you’d better have Paul teach you to play that thing!”
“You’re right!” Glenn laughed, too. “Well, that’s only fair, isn’t it? I taught him basket-ball. He can teach me music!”
The #1 Sports Series for Kids
MATT CHRISTOPHER®
Read them all!
Baseball Flyhawk Dirt Bike Runaway
Baseball Pals Dive Right In
Baseball Turnaround Double Play at Short
The Basket Counts Face-Off
Body Check Fairway Phenom
Catch That Pass! Football Fugitive
Catcher with a Glass Arm Football Nightmare
Catching Waves The Fox Steals Home
Center Court Sting Goalkeeper in Charge
Centerfield Ballhawk The Great Quarterback Switch
Challenge at Second Base Halfback Attack *
The Comeback Challenge The Hockey Machine
Comeback of the Home Run Kid Ice Magic
Cool as Ice Inline Skater
Dirt Bike Racer The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
Lacrosse Face-Off Slam Dunk
Line Drive to Short ** Snowboard Champ
Long-Arm Quarterback Snowboard Maverick
Long Shot for Paul Snowboard Showdown
Look Who's playing First Base Soccer Duel
Miracle at the Plate Soccer Halfback
Mountain Bike Mania Soccer Scoop
Nothin’ But Net Stealing Home
Penalty Shot The Submarine Pitch
Prime-Time Pitcher The Team That Couldn’t Lose
Red-Hot Hightops Tennis Ace
The Reluctant Pitcher Tight End
Return of the Home Run Kid Top Wing
Roller Hockey Radicals Touchdown for Tommy
Run For It Tough to Tackle
Shoot for the Hoop Wingman on Ice
Shortstop from Tokyo The Year Mom Won the Pennant
Skateboard Renegade
Skateboard Tough
All available in paperback from Little, Brown and Company
Matt Christopher®
Sports Bio Bookshelf
Lance Armstrong Mark McGwire
Kobe Bryant Yao Ming
Jennifer Capriati Shaquille O’Neal
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Jackie Robinson
Jeff Gordon Alex Rodriguez
Ken Griffey Jr. Babe Ruth
Mia Hamm Curt Schilling
Tony Hawk Sammy Sosa
Ichiro Venus and Serena Williams
Derek Jeter Tiger Woods
Randy Johnson
Michael Jordan
LONG SHOT FOR PAUL
No one tries harder than Paul …but is that enough?
Paul Marlette is a special needs kid — a little slow to learn, but always eager to try. His brother, Glenn, is determined to teach him to play basketball well enough to become part of the Sabers team. Under Glenn’s patient guidance, Paul improves. But there’s sti11 a lot to overcome: Paul’s difficulty grasping the rules of the game, coach Munson’s desire to have a powerhouse team, and the other Sabers who aren’t sure they want Paul on the team. Can Paul and Glenn succeed in the end?
Matt Christopher is the name young readers turn to when they’re looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. For a listing of all his titles, please see the last pages of this book.
* Previously published as Crackerjack Halfback
** Previously published as Pressure Play