Tears of a Tiger Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Sharon M. Draper
high school career! Thereâs six seconds, fiveâhe shootsâit touches the rimâit rolls aroundâtwo secondsâ itâs in! â¦and itâs good!
The crowd is spilling out of the stand and onto the floor. Theyâre screaming and cheering and mobbing the team, who pulled out a fantastic win tonight. Andy Jackson should be very proud of himself. He proved that he could stand up under pressure and in spite of the severe emotional strain he must have been under, he was able to pull it out. Congratulations to Jackson and to the Hazelwood team for a stunning 65-64 victory over Covedale. This is station WTLZ bringing you the high school game of the week.
âGood night, Coach! See ya Monday.
âGood night, Tyrone. Great game, son. Are you the last one out? Iâm ready to lock up and get out of here.
âNo, Andyâs still gettinâ changed. I guess heâs takinâ his time, tryinâ to make this night last a little longer. I offered him a ride, but he said he was waitinâ for his dad.
âOkay, thanks Tyrone. Tell Rhonda I said hello.
âHowâd you know?
âDidnât you know I was a psychic with X-ray vision?
âHey, I thought that was just my mom. Later, Coach.
âLater, man. See you at practice Mondayâ¦. Andyâyou still here?
âOver here, Coach. I just have to get my shoes. I was waitinâ for my dadâhe said heâd be here.
âYou played a terrific game tonight, Andy. Iâm sure your dad was popping with pride.
âHe wasnât poppinâ with nothinâ. He didnât come. He never comes. He always says he will, but thereâs always an excuse.
âWhat about your mom? Was she there?
âNo, she doesnât like basketballâtoo noisyâtoo sweatyâsomethinâ like that. You know what? Robâs parents were at the game. It must have been awfully hard for them. But they always came to our games, even the away games. Itâs like they supported not just Rob, but the whole team. Seeinâ them up there really made us want to win tonightâit made us not want to give up. They sat there, Robâs mom holdinâ back tears, and my folks didnât even bother to show up. I should be the one dead, not Rob.
âThatâs not true, and you know it, Andy. Itâs hard for us to understand why things like this happen, and I think youâre doing a remarkable job of handling a very rough situation. You came back to the team, youâre playing wellâand we all support you. You know that. Actually, you are the glue thatâs holding the team together. Without you, weâd all fall apart.
âI donât see how. Iâm not even holdinâ myself together very well. I just donât understand so much stuff. I just canâtâ
âGo ahead and cry, Andy. Donât be afraid of those tears. Sometimes they help to wash the soul cleanâ¦. Come on, Iâll take you home.
How Do I Feel?
Andyâs First Visit to
the Psychologist
DECEMBER 10
âAndy, my name is Dr. Carrothers. Iâm glad you were able to come today. Are you comfortable?
âYeah, I guess. Hey, man. I ainât never seen no black shrink before.
âWell, here I am. I went to the University of Cincinnati for my undergraduate and masterâs degrees. And I got my Ph.D. from Yale.
âMan, I canât even pass chemistry. You make a buncha cash?
âOver ninety dollars an hour.
âThatâs heavy, man. Iâm impressed. You must be real smart. I canât even spell âpsychiatrist.â
âIâm no smarter than you are, Andy. I struggled through high school. I worried about my math grades, and I always had trouble in English composition classes. But I kept going, and I found out that it wasnât impossible. In college, it got easier, once I figured out that I was as capable as the next dudeâmaybe more so. And Iâm a
The crowd is spilling out of the stand and onto the floor. Theyâre screaming and cheering and mobbing the team, who pulled out a fantastic win tonight. Andy Jackson should be very proud of himself. He proved that he could stand up under pressure and in spite of the severe emotional strain he must have been under, he was able to pull it out. Congratulations to Jackson and to the Hazelwood team for a stunning 65-64 victory over Covedale. This is station WTLZ bringing you the high school game of the week.
âGood night, Coach! See ya Monday.
âGood night, Tyrone. Great game, son. Are you the last one out? Iâm ready to lock up and get out of here.
âNo, Andyâs still gettinâ changed. I guess heâs takinâ his time, tryinâ to make this night last a little longer. I offered him a ride, but he said he was waitinâ for his dad.
âOkay, thanks Tyrone. Tell Rhonda I said hello.
âHowâd you know?
âDidnât you know I was a psychic with X-ray vision?
âHey, I thought that was just my mom. Later, Coach.
âLater, man. See you at practice Mondayâ¦. Andyâyou still here?
âOver here, Coach. I just have to get my shoes. I was waitinâ for my dadâhe said heâd be here.
âYou played a terrific game tonight, Andy. Iâm sure your dad was popping with pride.
âHe wasnât poppinâ with nothinâ. He didnât come. He never comes. He always says he will, but thereâs always an excuse.
âWhat about your mom? Was she there?
âNo, she doesnât like basketballâtoo noisyâtoo sweatyâsomethinâ like that. You know what? Robâs parents were at the game. It must have been awfully hard for them. But they always came to our games, even the away games. Itâs like they supported not just Rob, but the whole team. Seeinâ them up there really made us want to win tonightâit made us not want to give up. They sat there, Robâs mom holdinâ back tears, and my folks didnât even bother to show up. I should be the one dead, not Rob.
âThatâs not true, and you know it, Andy. Itâs hard for us to understand why things like this happen, and I think youâre doing a remarkable job of handling a very rough situation. You came back to the team, youâre playing wellâand we all support you. You know that. Actually, you are the glue thatâs holding the team together. Without you, weâd all fall apart.
âI donât see how. Iâm not even holdinâ myself together very well. I just donât understand so much stuff. I just canâtâ
âGo ahead and cry, Andy. Donât be afraid of those tears. Sometimes they help to wash the soul cleanâ¦. Come on, Iâll take you home.
How Do I Feel?
Andyâs First Visit to
the Psychologist
DECEMBER 10
âAndy, my name is Dr. Carrothers. Iâm glad you were able to come today. Are you comfortable?
âYeah, I guess. Hey, man. I ainât never seen no black shrink before.
âWell, here I am. I went to the University of Cincinnati for my undergraduate and masterâs degrees. And I got my Ph.D. from Yale.
âMan, I canât even pass chemistry. You make a buncha cash?
âOver ninety dollars an hour.
âThatâs heavy, man. Iâm impressed. You must be real smart. I canât even spell âpsychiatrist.â
âIâm no smarter than you are, Andy. I struggled through high school. I worried about my math grades, and I always had trouble in English composition classes. But I kept going, and I found out that it wasnât impossible. In college, it got easier, once I figured out that I was as capable as the next dudeâmaybe more so. And Iâm a
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