Read Online Second-String Center by Rich Wallace - Free Book Online

a great time. And leave a tip.”
    Dunk tucked the money into his pocket and walked downtown.
    Villa Roma was a popular hangout for Hudson City athletes. The middle-schoolers knew they needed to get there in the afternoon because the high-school kids would take the place over in the evening. The main room had two big-screen TVs that were usually tuned to sports, plus there were video games and the pizza was inexpensive.
    Dunk took a seat at a round table with Spencer, Ryan, David, Miguel, and Louie. There were two pitchers of soda on the table.
    “Willie’s showing up later,” Spencer said. “Maybe Roberto, too.”
    “You order?” Dunk asked.
    “Two pies. One with peppers. We’ll get more if we need to.”
    The talk was mostly about the basketball season. Miguel had heard that South Bergen had a new guard who was at least as good as Palisades’s Neon Johnson.
    “He doesn’t scare me; I’m up to it,” Spencer said. “And if Jared’s got his head back together, we’ll have no trouble. Suddenly we’re looking big . The way my man Dunk’s been playing gives us some real force inside.”
    “What’s he doing in Hoboken anyway?” Miguel asked. “Jared, I mean.”
    “Maybe he’s got a girlfriend,” David said. “He hasn’t been hanging out with us at all this season.”
    “Doubt it,” Spencer said. “In Hoboken? How would he meet somebody like that?”
    David shrugged. “Who knows?”
    “He’s visiting a relative,” Dunk said. As soon as he’d said it, he wished he hadn’t.
    “How do you know?” Spencer asked.
    “He mentioned something. I don’t know. . . . He said something after practice.”
    “He’s the mystery man,” Miguel said. “Disappearing Jared.”
    “As long as he doesn’t disappear from any more games,” Spencer said. “We can’t have that boy fouling out. That could kill us.”
    “Didn’t kill us the other day,” Miguel said.
    “Yeah, but it would.”
    Willie came into the restaurant then, and the talk quickly changed. He’d just had his hair cut extremely short, making his ears appear to be jutting out even farther than usual.
    Miguel whistled. “Whoa, what did you do, run into a buzz saw or something?”
    Willie gave an embarrassed smile. “The guy went a little nuts, huh? I told him short , but I didn’t mean bald.”
    “It’ll grow back,” Dunk said, rubbing his own short hair. “It’s a cool look, anyway.”
    “It’s severe ,” Spencer said. “Here comes the food.”
    A waitress set a pizza on the table, and all seven boys grabbed for a slice. When she returned with the second pie, Spencer said, “Better make us another one, please. These’ll go fast .”
    The talk turned to school and girls and more about basketball. Dunk didn’t say much, but he sure felt good to be there. A full-fledged member of the team.

11
    Opportunities Taken
    M onday’s bus ride to South Bergen took the team along the Hudson River and up past the Lincoln Tunnel. The ride was stop-and-go, with lots of traffic lights. Dunk sat near the back and looked out the window.
    Jared came back after a while and took the seat next to him. “I told those guys what’s been going on,” he said. “I’m not using it as an excuse, but . . . it’s been a distraction, to say the least.”
    “Today’s a new day.”
    “Can’t wait. Big game, too.”
    “Huge.”
    Dunk took a deep breath as the bus pulled into the South Bergen parking lot. Coach had told him he’d be first man off the bench today. “Expect a lot of playing time,” he’d said before they boarded the bus.
    Jared fell into step with Dunk as they walked toward the gym. “My dad says he’s going to look for an apartment in Hudson City after the first of the year,” he said. “So my whole ‘commuting’ back and forth might be over soon.”
    “That’d be a relief, huh?”
    “Definitely.”
     
     
    Dunk felt great warming up: loose and quick. Fast almost. It was as if his whole body had changed in the past few