Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Author:Todd Strasser
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

“Come on, Garrett, pass it! Pass it!” Mr. Sparks shouts. We’re playing soccer, and I’m dribbling the ball down the right side of the field deep in the opposing team’s territory. Mr. Sparks is running parallel to me about fifty feet to my left. The only defender left between us and the goalie is Pauly, who’s spent most of the game standing in the same spot. As Mr. Sparks and I come toward him, he catches my eye, jerks his head toward Mr. Sparks, and mouths the words “Pass it!”

Even though we only play about once a month, soccer is the preferred sport for lower-level residents at Lake Harmony because the field is big and keeps us spread far apart, thus discouraging conversations. Until a moment ago, I was actually having fun. It’s a bluesky, crisp fall day, too chilly to stand around without a jacket, but not bad as long as you keep running. Mr. Sparks loves soccer. He started out as the ref, but when Unibrow Robert grabbed his side and complained of a stitch, he eagerly took Robert’s place and became a player, too.

I pass the ball to him, and he heads toward the goal. Now only Adam, the goalie, stands between him and a score. Meanwhile, beside me Pauly wastes no time.

“There’s a circuit-breaker box in the hall outside our dorm,” he whispers. “I’m pretty sure it’s the master switch for the whole camp. We pass it every day. All we need to do is start a commotion, and I’ll open it and pull the main breaker. Soon as the power goes off, the doors will automatically unlock and the alarms won’t work.”

There’s a desperate determination in his voice. As if he truly believes that it’s a life or death situation and this crazy plan is his only hope. From my look of doubt, he must know what I’m thinking.

“My father is Mr. Handyman,” he explains. “He was always showing me this stuff, because ‘real men’ know how to fix things. Kind of ironic when you think about it.”

“So you pull the breaker and all the lights go off. What stops them from turning the breaker back on?” I ask.

“Sarah’s got a padlock. It came with her suitcase and she hid it when they weren’t looking. It’s probably not that strong, but it’ll still take them a while in the dark to find a wrench or something to jimmy the lock and turn the electricity back on.”

“And in the meantime?” I ask.

“We start the fire.”

“Score!” Mr. Sparks shouts triumphantly after kicking the ball past Adam and into the goal. The chaperone runs back toward midfield with his arms raised.

Pauly doesn’t miss a beat. “As soon as the power’s off, kids will go crazy. With the alarms dead, they’ll take off in every direction. It’ll be total mayhem. Then when they open the gate to let the fire trucks in, we sneak out.”

Knowing the little I know about Pauly, I wouldn’t have thought him capable of coming up with such an audacious plan.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.