The Second Horror Read Online Free PDF

a basketball tucked under one arm. He sat next to Jinny and draped his other arm casually around the shoulders of her white sweater. “Hey, Jin,” he said. “Hey, Meg.” He narrowed his eyes at Brandt and nodded to him. “Jon Burks, this is Brandt McCloy,” Jinny announced. “He’s new. Be nice to him.” “Why wouldn’t I be nice to him?” Jon replied, pretending to be insulted. “I’m a nice guy. Ask anybody.” He spun the basketball on his finger. “You play ball?” he asked Brandt. “Not really,” Brandt replied. “You ought to try out for the team,” Jen suggested. “We need tall guys.” Mom would go totally ballistic if I told her I wanted to play basketball, Brandt thought. She’s always nagging me to be careful. But he found himself thinking: I wonder if I could make the team? I’m good at sports. I never played in a league or anything. Just fooled around on the playground with my friends. It might be fun to play on a team. And I’d get to meet a lot of guys. I’ll go to a few practices, he decided. It can’t hurt. Then maybe I’ll try out. Mom and Dad never have to know. “Hey, Brandt.” Jon snapped his fingers, interrupting Brandt’s thoughts. “You still with us?” “What time is practice?” Brandt asked. “You’re going to try out? That’s excellent!” Meg exclaimed. Jinny rolled her eyes. “Don’t let Jon push you around, Brandt.” “We have practice every afternoon at three-thirty,” Jon told Brandt, ignoring Jinny. “And tryouts are next week.” He turned to Jinny and asked, “You’re meeting me after practice—right?” Jinny shook her head. “No way. With all that French homework and the term paper to get started?” “You’re worried about homework?” Jon shook his head in disbelief. “That’s a new one.” He glanced suspiciously at Brandt. Then he stood up abruptly. “I hope you get all your homework done before Friday,” he said. “Don’t forget—we’re going out Friday night. I had to really fight to get the car.” “I won’t forget,” Jinny promised. “No problem.” Jon left without saying good bye, dribbling his basketball across the cafeteria floor. “What’s with him?” Meg asked.
    Jinny shrugged. “Who knows? That’s how Jon is. He gets jealous if I sit alone and read a book.” She flashed Brandt a teasing smile and added, “But I never let that stop me from doing what I want.”
    “Hey—you made it, McCloy.” Jon shoved a Basketball into Brandt’s arms as Brandt entered the gym that afternoon, “Hey, guys!” He called to five or six other boys, who were warming up across the floor. “This is him! The new guy! He says he’s the next superstar! He says his nickname is In Your Face!” “No way! No, I didn’t!” Brandt cried, feeling his face go red. “You told me you were all-state last year!” Jon claimed loudly enough so that everyone in the gym could hear it. “Give me a break!” Brandt protested. Why was Jon doing this to him? Was he just goofing? Or did he really want to embarrass Brandt? Jon took a ball, dribbled to the far end of the gym, and started practicing foul shots. Brandt slowly and easily dribbled the ball down the court. He spun around and dribbled back the other way, warming up. This is going to be a breeze, he thought. Nothing to worry about. A tall, fortyish-looking bald man wearing gray sweats stopped Brandt on the sideline. “I’m Coach Hurley,” he announced, fiddling with the whistle that hung from his neck. “You’re the new kid, right? What year are you?” “Eleventh grade,” Brandt replied. “Good. Did you play at your old school?” Brandt nearly smiled at the thought of playing basketball on the island of Mapolo. “No,” he replied. “But I think I can be good at it.” Mr. Hurley checked him out. “Well, you’re certainly tall enough. If you’re tall and you’re breathing, you’ve got a pretty good chance of making this team,” he said dryly. “We’ll start