Boxcar Children 68 - Basketball Mystery Read Online Free PDF

I think that’s what’s on my schedule, if I can ever find it!”
    Buzz looked upset. He checked the clock, then his schedule again. “I can’t figure out what happened here. I planned all my appointments around this piece of paper.”
    “Try the outdoor court in back,” Tom said. “Some of the boys had a basketball with them. A few of them decided to wait for you out there. That was awhile ago, though. I don’t know if they’re still there.”

    When the Aldens and twins got outside, Henry mentioned something he had been thinking about. “Tom doesn’t ever seem to know what’s going on. Wouldn’t he have a copy of the same schedule as yours?”
    “I noticed the same thing,” Buzz answered. “Courtney and Frank seem to organize everything. Maybe Tom’s too busy getting the sports center ready to keep his mind on the plans.”
    As Henry neared the outdoor court, he recognized a few boys sitting on a bench nearby. One boy sat there bouncing a basketball slowly, over and over. The two other boys looked up when Buzz, Tipper, and the Aldens arrived. The boys just sat there and didn’t say a word.
    “Hi!” Buzz said. “I’m Buzz Nettleton, one of your coaches. I think there was some mix-up about our practice.”
    The boy with the basketball stopped bouncing. “Yeah, there was a mix-up, all right. We have a schedule saying to meet for practice at ten o’clock. My dad dropped me off here early and everything. I even brought my new basketball for you to sign.”
    “Sure thing,” Buzz said. He reached into his pocket for a pen.
    The boy looked at Buzz. He began bouncing the ball again. “Never mind.”
    Buzz didn’t know what to say. “Listen, guys, I have to apologize. I guess the schedules were changed and nobody told you. But that doesn’t mean we can’t practice out here right now. How about it?”
    A car horn blew before the boys could answer.
    “Our ride is here,” one of the boys said. “Besides, we already practiced. We got a whole lot of practice just sitting around waiting for you to show up.”
    “I don’t blame the guys,” Buzz said after the car drove away. “Somebody gave us the wrong schedules. I don’t know if it was theirs or mine, but I plan to find out.”

CHAPTER 5
Jessie’s Good Idea
    T hat night Buzz and Tipper finally sat down to one of Mrs. McGregor’s home-cooked meals. At last, no interviews. No banquets. No meetings or plans. Just a quiet evening with the Aldens.
    A very quiet evening.
    Mr. Alden did his best to cheer up the twins. “Mistakes happen,” he said when he noticed that they hadn’t said much during dinner. “You two have been on the go from the minute you arrived. It’s understandable that schedules and keys and such got mixed up. There’s still plenty of time to coach the Blazers and Fast Breakers before their games.”
    Buzz pushed his cake around his plate without taking a bite. “We don’t have that many practices scheduled, Mr. Alden. And we got off to a poor start. Tipper and I shouldn’t have been running around so much. Then all these mix-ups wouldn’t have happened.”
    “Did you call Frank Fowler?” Mr. Alden asked. “After all, he’s the one who made up the schedules, right?”
    “I called him when I got back this afternoon,” Buzz said. “He said he told me about the schedule change a couple of days ago. There was so much going on that day. Tipper and I had our pictures taken for the newspaper with some of our old high school teammates. There were so many people around, I guess I just didn’t focus on what Frank said.”
    “Same with Courtney and the storage room key,” Tipper added. “That day was a blur for me, too.”
    Buzz put down his napkin. “I’ve got to figure out some way to make things up to the Blazers — extra practices or something.”
    “Same here,” Tipper agreed. “Coaching isn’t just teaching basketball skills. It’s pulling the team together. That’s what I learned from my high school and college