The Great Quarterback Switch Read Online Free PDF Page A

legs quivered as they struggled to react.
    And then something strange happened.
He was running down the field! He was running after Stoney! He was in Tom’s shoes, in Tom’s uniform!
    The Thought-Energy Control had worked! He had exchanged places with Tom!

6
    J ust short of the ten-yard line, Michael lunged at Stoney, caught him by the waist, and brought him down.
    “Nice tackle, Tom,” said Angie, as Michael got to his feet.
    Now came another tough ordeal. How to avoid being recognized? If the guys looked at and listened to him closely enough, could
     they see he wasn’t Tom, even though they were twins?
    Other than the dimple in Michael’s chin, the brothers looked alike. They had the same color eyes and hair. They even partedtheir hair on the same side. Was that enough to protect his identity? Michael wondered. He just had to wait and see— and keep
     his fingers crossed.
    He trotted back into the end zone and waited for the next play.
    The Scorpions tried an end-around run, and lost a yard. Then Terry faked a handoff to Ted Connors, faded back a few feet,
     and shot a pass to Buzz Haner.
    Michael, seeing the play forming, started toward Buzz even before Terry had released the ball. The bullet pass was on the
     money, except that Michael got there first. He caught the ball, pulled it into his arms, and started down the field. His legs
     churning with power, he sprinted across the five-yard line… the ten… the fifteen…the twenty…
    Not a Scorpion got near him. He went all the way.
    As he crossed the goal line and lifted the ball high over his head, he cried out in his mind to Tom:
Let’s change places, Tom! I’m tired!
    It happened quickly. In the next instant he was back in his wheelchair, looking out upon the field, watching the guys showering
     Tom with praises for making that interception and sprinting all the way down the field for a touchdown!
    Michael grinned happily, not minding at all that Tom was receiving the accolades. He turned, caught Ollie’s eye, and gave
     him the “V for victory” sign. Ollie acknowledged it by showing Michael the same sign, plus his big, teeth-revealing smile.
    Michael turned his attention back to the game, the resounding din of the applause slowly diminishing. Scoring, he thought,
     was of secondary importance. What was more important was that their thought-energieshad worked. By concentrating and wishing as hard as they could, they had accomplished the miracle of exchanging places. That,
     at last, he had gotten to play football again!
    He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, not even interested in seeing Vince kick for the extra point. A loud groan told
     him that the kick wasn’t good, anyway. So the score remained: Eagles 13, Scorpions 7.
    The Eagles had a rough second quarter. Twice they were penalized for being offside, and twice they were hit with fifteen-yard
     penalties— for clipping and for holding— a total loss of forty yards, while the Scorpions chalked up another touchdown.
    Each team scored once during the second half, but it was the Scorpions who pulled the squeaker, 21-20.
    “What’s the matter?” Tom asked Michaelwhen they were alone for a brief moment after the game. “Didn’t you want to go back in?”
    “No. I was too tired,” said Michael. “And nervous. I was afraid I might ruin it.”
    “Ruin the game? Heck, we lost it, anyway.”
    “Yeah, I know. But I was bushed. Scared, too.”
    “Scared? Of what?”
    “That somebody might sense that something was different. That would’ve ruined it. Did you see Ollie?” He looked over his shoulder
     as he spoke. He saw Ollie and waved. Ollie grinned and waved back.
    “Yes, I saw him.” Tom smiled. “Maybe his being here helped.”
    “Uh-oh, squash it,” said Michael, lowering his voice. “Here come Vickie and Carol.”
    The girls came toward them, grinning likeCheshire cats. Carol was eating a Popsicle again.
    “Hi,” greeted Vickie. “Sorry you lost.”
    Tom shrugged. “That