Boot Camp Read Online Free PDF Page A

word. We all dropped to the ground, and the push-ups were counted off.
    Sergeant Kevin blew his whistle, and everybody froze in place. We’d been running dribbling drills for the past forty minutes with no stops.
    â€œLet’s take five minutes for a water break!”
    â€œGood,” I gasped. “I need some water. I think I’ve lost a couple of bottles worth of sweat.”
    â€œNow that sounds attractive,” Kia said.
    â€œYou’re sweating just as much as I am,” I said, pointing at her sweat-soaked T-shirt.
    â€œThat’s where you’re wrong. I don’t sweat, I
glow
.”
    â€œIn that case you’re glowing so bright we could turn off the overhead lights.”
    We joined in a lineup to get bottles of water. We shuffled forward. JY and Johnnie were passing them out.
    â€œWorking hard?” Johnnie asked Kia.
    â€œHard enough to work up a good sweat,” I said, “or a good glow.”
    â€œKia, Nick, come on over here!” JYD called. He was standing beside the Sergeant. We trotted over, water bottles in hand.
    â€œI want you to meet somebody,” JYD said, gesturing to Sergeant Push-up.
    â€œWe sort of already know who he is,” Kia said.
    â€œBut do you two know
who
this gentleman is?” Jerome asked.
    â€œSergeant Push-up,” Kia said.
    JYD chuckled. “That’s one of his names. This is the man that taught me everything I know about basketball.”
    â€œBut I thought your father taught you everything…” Now it all made sense.
    â€œThis
is
my father…Mr. Johnnie Williams Junior.”
    He shook both our hands. “Jerome told me all about you two,” Mr. Williams said.
    â€œHe has?” I asked.
    â€œSure, I always tell my father about my Dog Pound members,” JYD said.
    â€œAnd we know a lot about you too,” Kia said.
    â€œHow’s that?” Mr. Williams asked.
    â€œJerome and Johnnie talk about you…and how you taught them basketball.”
    â€œAnd about life,” I added.
    Mr. Williams smiled. “The life part is what makes me the happiest. I’m proud of what my boys have done on the court, but a lot more proud of what they do off the court.”
    â€œCan I ask a question?” Kia asked.
    â€œSure,” he said.
    â€œWe’re always willing to answer questions,” JYD said.
    â€œI was just wondering…please don’t take offence or anything,” she said.
    â€œNow you got me interested. What are you going to ask that could get me offended?” JYD asked.
    â€œWell…I was just wondering…are you going to be here much this week?”
    â€œOf course, I am,” he said. “It’s my camp.”
    â€œYeah, I know, but we heard that some celebrities only show up for a few hours,” Kia explained.
    â€œThat’s not the way we run things around here,” Jerome said. “I’ll be here all day, every day, from the start to the finish.”
    â€œCould I ask a question too?” I asked.
    â€œOf course,” JYD said.
    â€œSince you’re going to be here every day, from the start to the finish…I was just wondering, this morning, were you and Johnnie really late?”
    â€œYou saw us come into the gym,” JYD said.
    â€œI saw you come in, but were you really late?” I asked.
    â€œWhy would you think differently?” Sergeant— Mr. Williams—said.
    â€œIt’s just that we saw an Escalade in the parking lot that looked like yours,” I said.
    â€œThere are lots of Escalades in the world,” JYD replied.
    â€œI said that,” Kia agreed.
    â€œAnyway, why would you think that they’d come in late if they were already here?” Mr. Williams asked.
    â€œTo set an example,” I said. “You wanted everybody to see that the rules are the rules,” I answered. “For everybody.”
    â€œExactly! That makes perfect sense!” Kia said as