Sasquatch in the Paint by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Middle Grade
Publisher: Disney Book Group

“WHAT was the best thing that happened to you today?” Theo’s dad asked.

They were eating his dad’s default dinner: Knockwurst. Baked beans. Corn bread. Garbage Salad (a salad made from whatever they could scrounge up in the refrigerator). This was the menu whenever his dad was too tired to break out the cookbook. Which was every Monday. On Mondays he had to catch up on his cop-house paperwork.

Theo couldn’t focus on his dad’s question. During the whole walk home from the park, he’d been debating with himself about telling his dad about Motorpsycho. If this were a movie, the audience would be shouting, “Tell him, stupid!” But the stupid kid wouldn’t, and then all these terrible things would happen that could have been avoided simply by telling his parents in the first place.

Moral of the story: Tell your parents everything.

That’s the moral of every movie for kids.

But every kid in the world knows that’s not the real world. Hollywood serves up neat and tidy lessons because that’s what parents want. In the real world, parents can’t solve every problem. They can’t cure acne. Or stop you from acting like a spaz when a girl talks to you. Or help when kids make fun of your height. Or make sure you don’t get kicked off the basketball team.

Or prevent your mom from getting killed.

Theo looked into his dad’s kind eyes, and again a wave of shame drenched him. He had lied to his dad, snuck onto his computer, kept information from him. How could his dad ever trust him again? Worse, how could Theo ever trust himself? He was becoming the kind of kid he’d always tried to avoid at school.

Still, there were some things that Theo had to take care of himself. Like finding out what Rain had to do with Motorpsycho, and convincing both of them to leave him alone.

“How come every time I ask you that question lately, there’s a long pause? Did something bad happen that you’re not telling me?”

Theo shook his head and pretended to focus on buttering his corn bread. “Nothing good happened, that’s all. Just the same boring crap every day. School, practice, homework. It’s like being in the army.” He looked up at his dad. “Anything happen to you that you’re not telling me?”

His dad’s expression remained blank. He was better than Theo at hiding his emotions. “Nope. Same ol’ same ol’.” He cut a piece of his knockwurst. “What’s up with Brian?”

“Nothing.”

“How’s his dad doing? He had knee surgery recently, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. He’s fine, I guess. Limps a lot.”

“How’d practice go?”

“Which one?”

His dad hesitated. Before basketball, he used to ask about Brain Train practice. Since basketball, he mostly asked about that. Another sign of how much he wanted Theo to be an athlete. Just like him.

“Both,” his dad said.

“Well, Mr. J is considering kicking me off the Brain Train because I’ve fallen behind, and I think Coach might cut me from the basketball team because I stink up the court. So they both went about the same.

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