Read Online Unstoppable by Tim Green - Free Book Online Page B

Harrison’s nose. He ground his teeth so hard his jaw ached, but he sniffed and blinked his eyes dry.
    He ran fast, like Coach said. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs went numb, and as he ran, he scolded himself. He scolded himself for ever believing people could be nice to him, or things could ever make sense, or that he could ever fit in. He was alone in the world, and that’s all he’d ever be. He wasn’t going to be fooled by Mrs. Godfrey’s soft voice, or Jennifer’s kind words, or Becky’s friendly smile, or Coach taking him fishing and promising a haircut. He was going to be smarter than that. Those things were all window dressing. They weren’t real, and at the end of the day, all he could really expect from people was meanness and anger and insults.
    What he wanted to do was run right off the field, off school grounds, through the village, out of town, out of the state, out of the entire country. He wanted to run to Canada and start a new life, maybe living on the street. That’s how crazy his mind was, but in the end, he finished his five laps and stood gasping for breath, ready for more cruelty and punishment. The team kept doing inside run, but no one said anything to Harrison, and he ignored them right back. He just stood there, off to the side, watching but not participating.
    Coach acted like he wasn’t there until he blew his whistle and shouted, “Good work. Get a drink.”
    The team rushed for a water spigot that stood off on the edge of their field, closer to the JV field. A pipe stuck out of the ground with a faucet someone turned on so that streams of water burst from a long plastic pipe suspended chest-high by legs on either end. Harrison watched the team lining up behind one another like cows at the trough. He didn’t notice that Coach was beside him until he spoke in his gruff voice.
    â€œHarrison, why in the world did you do that?”
    Harrison’s face twisted with rage and confusion. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Chapter Twenty-Five
    COACH STARED HARD AT him for a moment. “Really?”
    Harrison shook his head. “I thought I was supposed to run them over. I know I messed up on the handoff, but I did the best I could to get the ball back and try to gain some yards.”
    â€œI know that,” Coach said, “that was incredible. That wasn’t the problem.”
    Harrison looked at Coach in total confusion.
    â€œYou can’t spike the ball, don’t you know that?” Coach asked.
    â€œNo,” Harrison said.
    â€œAre you for real?”
    Harrison shrugged and sputtered. “I guess so. That’s what they do on TV.”
    Coach shook his head. “This is junior high school football. Spiking the ball is a fifteen-yard penalty. It’s unsportsmanlike. It makes your whole team look bad, your school, and especially your coach. I don’t let anybody do that. Sportsmanship is first with me. I cut a kid last year for spitting on someone after he made a tackle. I just won’t have it. It’s more important than winning and losing. It’s a life lesson that goes way beyond football. Do you understand?”
    Harrison tried to understand. Finally he said, “I don’t, Coach. I’m sorry. I’m just being honest. I don’t see how it’s okay they do that in the NFL but it’s wrong here.”
    Coach glanced impatiently at the team. Some of the boys were finished drinking and headed back toward Coach, strapping up their helmets as they jogged.
    â€œCan we talk about it later?” Coach asked.
    â€œSure.”
    â€œAnd in the meantime, can you promise me you won’t do that again?” Coach asked.
    â€œI won’t do it.”
    â€œGood. Can you run like that again?”
    Harrison smiled big. “That’s all I want to do.”
    â€œGood. We’re going to do some team work now. I’m going to have