always did that when he was going to yell at Johnny.
âAre you crazy?â Coach Smith said. âWhy did you hit me on theââ
Then Coach Smith noticed the wig on the floor. He reached up and touched his head. His fingers touched the skin of a bald head. His face began to turn purple. The coachâs face only turned purple once or twice a season. It took something really, really bad to make Coach Smithâs face turn purple.
Coach Smith opened his mouth to really, really yell at Johnny.
Then he shut his mouth. A funny look crossed on his face. He looked down at his shirt. Johnny looked too. He noticed something move inside Coach Smithâs shirt. A little bump that was moving.
So thatâs where the mouse went
, Johnny told himself. It was in Coach Smithâs shirt.
âItâs a mouse,â he told Coach Smith.
âA mouse? In my shirt?â
The bump moved again.
âA mouse,â Johnny repeated. âFrom my hockey bag. You see, my mom put my equipment in the shed for the summer because it smells bad.â
âA mouse!â Coach Smith started to hit himself to try to get the mouse.
The bump moved farther down Coach Smithâs shirt. Right down to his belt buckle.
Coach Smith hopped and hopped. He hit himself harder. But he kept missing the mouse.
Coach Smith finally screamed and ran out of the room. Everyone heard his screaming as he ran down the hallway.
It was very quiet in the dressing room after that. Too quiet.
Johnny picked up Coach Smithâs wig and dusted the dirt off.
âHi,â Johnny said to the new player as he dusted the wig clean. âWelcome to the Howling Timberwolves. As you can see, this team is like a big happy family.â
Chapter Three
âRun everyone!â Tom Morgan yelled. âDanger!â
It was the day after the practice. Johnny Maverick was on the playground during recess. He was talking to his friend Stu Duncan about the hockey practice and the mouse. And how Coach Smith didnât think any of it was funny.
âItâs a whale!â Tom yelled again. Tom was near Johnny and Stu. Tom was pointing at Stu as he yelled. âEveryone! Run away!â
âWhat is the new kid yelling about?â Johnny asked.
âI think heâs calling me a whale,â Stu said. âIn front of everyone in the school.â
âNo, everyone, wait!â Tom yelled. âWhale season just opened. Get me a harpoon. Iâll save us.â
âHey,â Johnny said to Tom, âdo you think youâre funny?â
âNo,â Tom said. âI think Stu is fat. And he looks like a whale.â
âFat?â Stu said. He turned to Johnny. âDo I look fat? Donât lie to me. Weâre friends. I can take the truth.â
âNo,â Johnny told his friend. âYou donât look fat. Chubby. But not fat.â
âDo I have a blowhole on my back?â Stu asked. He took off his jacket and handed it to Johnny. âGive me a second to get my shirt off. You can have a good look at my back and tell me.â
âPlease stop,â Johnny said. âIf you have as much hair on your back as your dad, I will throw up. Besides I would have remembered a blowhole from all the times we went swimming in the summer. I do remember bubbles in the water, but I donât think they came from your back.â
âSee,â Stu told the new kid. âIâm not fat. Iâm chubby. And I donât have a blowhole, even though sometimes I can make bubbles in the water. So I canât be a whale. Maybe you need glasses.â
âMaybe I need a better left winger than you,â Tom said. âYesterday in practice you should have scored five times with the great passes I gave you. But you missed all of them because you are too big and too slow.â
âThey were great passes,â Stu said. âYou are a very good hockey player, and we are happy to have you on the team.
Lena Skye
J. Hali Steele
M.A. Stacie
Velvet DeHaven
Duane Swierczynski
Sam Hayes
Amanda M. Lee
Rachel Elliot
Morticia Knight
Barbara Cameron