The Roar of the Crowd by Rich Wallace

Author:Rich Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-07-22T04:00:00+00:00

9

Bad News

Sal was waiting, as usual, on the front steps of the house as Manny walked up the block. When he saw his big brother coming, he ran up the sidewalk to meet him.

“Hi, Sal, how’s it going?” Manny said, bending down to give his brother a hug.

“I was worried,” Sal said.

“About what?”

“About football practice,” Sal said. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble.”

Manny put his hand on Sal’s shoulder as they began to walk. “No trouble,” Manny said. “I didn’t get to do much today, but nobody yelled at me.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. Here, you can carry my helmet.”

“Are we still mad, Manny?”

Manny laughed. “I don’t think so, buddy. Determined, but not mad. We’ll get another chance . . . I think.”

“You’ll clobber ’em, Manny.”

“You said it, Sal.”

“Did you make any great plays today?” Sal asked.

“No. I didn’t do much of anything. Coach was working with the starters all day. We’ve got another tough game this week.”

They entered the kitchen and Manny gave his mom a hug.

“Hi, sweetie,” she said. “We’re running late. I had a meeting and your dad’s swamped with work, so dinner won’t be for a while.”

“That’s okay,” Manny said. “Me and Sal will set the table and do whatever else you need. I’ll get cleaned up first.”

“That’s great.”

After he showered, Manny sat on the bedroom floor with Sal and helped him build a tower with Legos.

“How come we’re not big, Manny?” Sal asked.

“I don’t know. We just aren’t. Dad’s small. Mom’s small. So we are, too.”

“I’m gonna be giant,” Sal said. “I’m gonna be a quarterback.”

Manny laughed. “Don’t count on it. Dad weighs less than some of the guys on my team, and they’re only in sixth grade.”

“I’ll lift weights.”

“That’s good. But small guys can do a lot of things, Sal. We’re usually faster, too.”

“Yeah . . . I guess I don’t want to be big, Manny. I wanna be just like you.”

“Thanks, buddy. Now let’s go set the table for dinner.”

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