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Authors: Matt Christopher
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you.”
Carl looked on, confused but very interested.
“Oh, Mom.” Would I ever be able to makeher understand about Clint? He liked me, which was more than I could say about anyone in this house. “I’ve told you about
him. He just wants to teach me some new holds, that’s all. What’s so terrible about that?”
“Well, all I know is since you’ve become friends with him you’ve gotten into more trouble.”
I stamped my foot in frustration. “That’s crazy, Mom! He’s trying to keep me
out
of trouble! When he found out I lied to you this morning, he told me to tell you the truth, and I did.”
Carl’s eyes grew wider with every word he heard. Finally Mom asked him to leave us alone, and he made his way upstairs… very
slowly.
Mom sighed. “I just don’t know what to do about this.”
Why was she making such a big deal out of my seeing Clint?
Maybe it was because she knew more about him than I did. Maybe she knew who he really was, but she didn’t want me to find
out that he was the man she divorced.
Well, I wasn’t going to let her keep us apart now that I’d found him. “I tell you what, Mom.As punishment for going against your orders, why don’t we say no TV for a week?” I was hoping to impress her with my maturity.
And, actually, the fishing trip with Clint had been well worth even worse punishment. But I didn’t tell her that.
She rolled her tongue against her cheek as she thought it over. Then she said, “I suppose that’s fair. But I don’t want you
pestering this Clint Wagner person. He’s probably a very busy man.”
And you wouldn’t want the truth to come out, right, Mom?
I thought. But I said, “Okay, I won’t.”
That night I asked Carl if he’d like to wrestle.
“I don’t know if I should associate with you,” he replied. “You’re a troublemaker.”
At first I was stunned by his words. Then he flashed that elfish grin of his and said, “Sure, if you’re in the mood to lose.”
I just smiled.
We put our mats together on the living room floor, stripped to the waist, and went at it. As always, we started from a standing
position, just as any dual wrestling match starts.
Carl made the first move, grasping my hands, pulling me against him, then swinging his right arm around my neck in a headlock.
But this time I twisted out of his hold, ducked my head, and grabbed his legs. I soon had a double leg hold on him and went
all the way with it, catching him by surprise.
In seconds I had his shoulders against the mat.
“I think this is called a pin. Don’t you?” I said. I couldn’t help gloating and silently thanking Clint Wagner for teaching
me the moves and the hold.
Carl was speechless, for once. You won’t have to fight my battles for me any more, brother, I wanted to tell him. I can fight
them myself from now on.
At practice on Monday I learned from Coach Collins that some of the schedules for the upcoming wrestling matches with Gardner
Junior High had been changed. The kid I was supposed to wrestle couldn’t make it, so my new opponent was a kid named Eddie
Lucas.
“He’s lighter than you are,” Coach Collinssaid, “but he hasn’t lost a match yet this year. They say he moves like a hummingbird. His nickname is Swifty.” He grinned.
“I’ll handle him,” I said. I was sure I could. Clint had taught me enough good holds to give me a strong advantage, and I
had practiced them enough to feel confident about pulling them off.
We did the usual warm-up exercises — motion drills with a partner, push-ups, weight lifting, and so on. Afterwards I asked
Coach Collins if I could work out with Bull.
“Mmmmm… okay,” he finally agreed. “But first, I want to work with you on those two holds we went through last week, the half
nelson and the shoulder roll. The half nelson first.”
We got into the down position on the mat, and he started the move. In a wink of an eye he had the half nelson on me, and I
couldn’t
Carl looked on, confused but very interested.
“Oh, Mom.” Would I ever be able to makeher understand about Clint? He liked me, which was more than I could say about anyone in this house. “I’ve told you about
him. He just wants to teach me some new holds, that’s all. What’s so terrible about that?”
“Well, all I know is since you’ve become friends with him you’ve gotten into more trouble.”
I stamped my foot in frustration. “That’s crazy, Mom! He’s trying to keep me
out
of trouble! When he found out I lied to you this morning, he told me to tell you the truth, and I did.”
Carl’s eyes grew wider with every word he heard. Finally Mom asked him to leave us alone, and he made his way upstairs… very
slowly.
Mom sighed. “I just don’t know what to do about this.”
Why was she making such a big deal out of my seeing Clint?
Maybe it was because she knew more about him than I did. Maybe she knew who he really was, but she didn’t want me to find
out that he was the man she divorced.
Well, I wasn’t going to let her keep us apart now that I’d found him. “I tell you what, Mom.As punishment for going against your orders, why don’t we say no TV for a week?” I was hoping to impress her with my maturity.
And, actually, the fishing trip with Clint had been well worth even worse punishment. But I didn’t tell her that.
She rolled her tongue against her cheek as she thought it over. Then she said, “I suppose that’s fair. But I don’t want you
pestering this Clint Wagner person. He’s probably a very busy man.”
And you wouldn’t want the truth to come out, right, Mom?
I thought. But I said, “Okay, I won’t.”
That night I asked Carl if he’d like to wrestle.
“I don’t know if I should associate with you,” he replied. “You’re a troublemaker.”
At first I was stunned by his words. Then he flashed that elfish grin of his and said, “Sure, if you’re in the mood to lose.”
I just smiled.
We put our mats together on the living room floor, stripped to the waist, and went at it. As always, we started from a standing
position, just as any dual wrestling match starts.
Carl made the first move, grasping my hands, pulling me against him, then swinging his right arm around my neck in a headlock.
But this time I twisted out of his hold, ducked my head, and grabbed his legs. I soon had a double leg hold on him and went
all the way with it, catching him by surprise.
In seconds I had his shoulders against the mat.
“I think this is called a pin. Don’t you?” I said. I couldn’t help gloating and silently thanking Clint Wagner for teaching
me the moves and the hold.
Carl was speechless, for once. You won’t have to fight my battles for me any more, brother, I wanted to tell him. I can fight
them myself from now on.
At practice on Monday I learned from Coach Collins that some of the schedules for the upcoming wrestling matches with Gardner
Junior High had been changed. The kid I was supposed to wrestle couldn’t make it, so my new opponent was a kid named Eddie
Lucas.
“He’s lighter than you are,” Coach Collinssaid, “but he hasn’t lost a match yet this year. They say he moves like a hummingbird. His nickname is Swifty.” He grinned.
“I’ll handle him,” I said. I was sure I could. Clint had taught me enough good holds to give me a strong advantage, and I
had practiced them enough to feel confident about pulling them off.
We did the usual warm-up exercises — motion drills with a partner, push-ups, weight lifting, and so on. Afterwards I asked
Coach Collins if I could work out with Bull.
“Mmmmm… okay,” he finally agreed. “But first, I want to work with you on those two holds we went through last week, the half
nelson and the shoulder roll. The half nelson first.”
We got into the down position on the mat, and he started the move. In a wink of an eye he had the half nelson on me, and I
couldn’t
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