Snowboard Showdown by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316094290
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2009-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

Late that night, after he'd turned out the light and was lying in bed, Freddie heard the door to his room open. His father stood in the doorway, hidden by the darkness. But even in the dark, Freddie could still feel his dad's eyes seeing right through him.

“Freddie,” Esteban whispered. “Are you awake?”

“Mmm?” Freddie replied, feigning sleepiness.

Esteban came and stood over the bed. “I want to know something, son,” he said. “I heard what you said before, and I always want to believe you. But I saw Dondi's knee, and his anger. And so I want to know this: In your heart, did you know Dondi wouldn't be able to control his board with that slick wax you let him have?”

Freddie was silent. He held his breath, listening to his heart pound. He wondered if his dad could hear it, it was so loud.

Esteban sighed deeply, sadly. “You know,” he said, “all I really want in life is for my two sons to get along; to love each other like brothers should. When I was young, my brothers and I, we would have done anything for each other, we loved each other so much. I don't know what I've done wrong with you and Dondi, but it must have been very bad.”

Freddie felt lower than a worm. Then his father sat down on the bed beside him and put a tender hand on Freddie's shoulder.

“Promise me something, Freddie,” Esteban said. “Promise me that, no matter what's happened up to now, you'll always be a good, true brother to Dondi from now on. He may have his problems, but he's still your brother, and you've got to stick by him.”

“But he hates me,” Freddie managed to squeak past the lump in his throat.

“No,” Esteban replied. “He may get angry with you, but underneath, he loves you, Freddie. He's the only brother you've got. So promise me—promise me you'll be a friend to him from now on, and a true brother. Promise?”

Freddie nodded. “I promise,” he whispered. His father patted his head and then left the room. Freddie lay there, alone in the darkness, wishing he'd never let Dondi have that wax. More than that—he wished they'd never had a fight in their whole lives. He wished he could take back every mean thing he'd ever said to Dondi.

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.