The Contract Read Online Free PDF Page A

if he could find any other kids he knew and spotted Elliott Koppel. Elliott was just dropping an easy throw from a kid who looked like he couldn’t be more than six years old.
    Derek did see at least one kid who looked like a real gamer. He had a buzz cut and wore a Tigers jersey—from the real major-league Tigers. He was rearing back and firing fastballs into the catcher’s mitt of Isaiah Martin. The mitt popped loudly with every catch.
    Isaiah lived in Mount Royal Townhouses, too. He was shorter than Derek but about thirty pounds heavier. He had asthma and sometimes had trouble running the bases out on the Hill because he’d run out of breath. But he loved playing catcher, and he was a good one.
    â€œWho’s the kid with the arm?” Derek asked Vijay and Norman.
    â€œThat’s the coach’s son,” Norman said. “Pete Kozlowski.”
    â€œHe looks good,” Derek said as Pete reared back and threw one so high that Isaiah couldn’t pull it down.
    â€œMaybe a little wild,” Vijay said.
    â€œHe can hit, too!” Norman told them. “He was on my team last year, and we won the championship.”
    â€œHe was on the Mets?”
    â€œYeah. He was our cleanup hitter. He had, like, a million home runs,” Norman said excitedly. “We are so set!”
    The Mets had crushed the Indians, Derek’s team, 13–4. He didn’t exactly remember Pete, though—probably because all the Mets had been hitting home runs that day.
    A husky man in a baseball cap came over to Pete and put an arm around his shoulder. “That’s Coach Kozlowski,” Norman told them. “He coaches Pete every year.”
    Looking around, Derek saw his own dad settling down on the bleachers. He wished his dad could have been his coach. The problem was, while Mr. Jeter tried to attend as many practices and games as he could, he had a lot of other responsibilities as well. Not only was he taking courses for his master’s, but he also was a student teacher at the university.
    At home, Mr. Jeter always worked with Derek on his baseball skills, and he had promised Derek that as soon as he got his degree, he would start coaching Derek’s Little League teams. But that wasn’t going to help any this year.
    Derek knew his mom would have been there too, but she was with Sharlee at her friend’s fourth birthday party. When Derek and Sharlee both had someplace important to be, their parents always played tag team. One time, their mom would go with Derek. The next time, it’d be his dad.
    But his dad was his role model—the one who’d taught him to play baseball when Derek was just three years old. They had a secret arrangement: Derek would sometimes go outside and throw the ball against the wall of the house, getting ever closer to the aluminum siding. When— bang! —he hit the siding, that was his father’s signal to come out and play with Derek.
    Derek turned back to see Coach Kozlowski helping Pete with his pitching motion. He felt a wave of jealousy go through him.
    â€¢ • •
    As soon as enough kids had arrived, the coach called the roll to see who was there. He reeled off twelve names, but only ten of the kids were present. “Okay, team!” he said, tucking his clipboard under his arm and clapping his hands. “My name’s Coach Kozlowski. A few of you know me from last season—Pete, of course . . . Ryan McDonough. . . . Um, I’m sorry. I’m forgetting your—”
    â€œNorman,” said Norman, looking disappointed. “Norman Nelson.”
    â€œOf course! Norman. Sorry. It’s just . . .” He cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Anyway, right now all positions on this team are open. I’m gonna check out what you’ve got, and then we’ll decide who plays and bats where. Okay? Let’s start with each of you telling me where you’d like to play if you had your