The League by Thatcher Heldring

Author:Thatcher Heldring [Heldring, Thatcher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-375-98713-7
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

“We’re so proud of you, Wyatt,” Mom said as she handed me a gift-wrapped box with an envelope taped to the outside. It was dinnertime after graduation, and the whole family was watching me.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s a lot of things,” Dad replied. “It’s your graduation present slash starting-golf-camp present slash, well, just all-around-great-job present.”

“Do I get a present?” Kate asked. “I got good grades too.”

Yeah, thanks to me, I thought.

“So he got good grades?” Aaron said. “Why do we have to make a big deal out of it?”

“It’s called positive reinforcement, pal,” Dad told Aaron. “You want presents at dinner? You bring home straight As and stay out of trouble for a year, I’ll get you whatever you want.”

“I want a truck,” Aaron said.

Dad looked at him. “You get straight As, I’ll buy you a truck. Until then, be happy for your brother. If you’re nice to him, he might tell you some of his secrets.”

“Yeah, Wyatt,” Aaron said. “Tell me some of your secrets. What makes you so smart and special?”

I wanted to crawl under the table until the end of dinner. Why did Mom and Dad have to make such a big deal about my grades in front of Aaron?

Mom pointed at the box. “Open it up,” she said.

I felt the box. It was pretty obvious the present was a pair of shoes, or at least something heavy in a shoe box. Sure enough, when I’d pulled off all the wrapping paper, I was staring at a pair of golf shoes. A pair of old golf shoes. I could tell they’d been white when they were new, but grass and dirt stains had turned them a brownish green on the sides. Metal spikes jutted out from the bottom of each shoe.

“For golf camp!” Mom exclaimed, in case I couldn’t put it together myself. “They were your dad’s.”

“I’ve held on to them so I could pass them on to one of you. They’ve been in this box for thirty years.”

“That’s gross,” said Kate.

“So, they’re yours now,” Dad went on. “Just in time too. Camp starts Monday, right?”

I nodded. “Yup,” I said. For some kids, anyway.

“Do you like them?” Mom asked.

“They’re great,” I said.

“The best thing is they’re all broken in. You could run a marathon in those shoes.”

“They have spikes,” I pointed out.

“Well, a marathon on grass,” Dad admitted.

Mom began clearing the dishes. “You’re going to have so much fun at golf camp, Wyatt.”

That made me wince. Every time Mom or Dad mentioned golf camp, it was like being pricked by a pin. When I thought of my double life as an adventure in which I had to outsmart everyone to stay alive, it was exciting. But when I remembered that I was flat-out lying to my friends and family, it felt a little less fun. I just hoped Mom and Dad wouldn’t find out the truth before summer even started.

I looked across the table at Aaron. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t say anything. After all, I knew a secret about him too.

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