Read Lay-ups and Long Shots for Free Online Page A

new bully. Jeff’s father was a salesman, and he moved the family around a lot.
    Then in the last place where they lived . . . Jeff’s father died. That’s why he and his mother moved back to Boulder Creek.
    “You’ll like it here,” she told him. “I grew up in this town, and now you will too.”
    Unfortunately, Jeff had a big problem. And it wasn’t the sort of thing a guy could easily hide. One look as he came ambling down the sidewalk, and a neighborhood bully was sure to pop out of the bushes any second.
    Then it happened.
    “Hey,” a menacing voice called out.
    Trying to act as tough as possible, Jeff answered, “Hey yourself.”
    “What’s your name?” this frightening character demanded.
    “Jeff. Jeff Spencer. What’s yours?”
    The boy first looked him straight in the eye. Then his eyes drifted down until he was staring at Jeff’s feet. “People around here call me Denny. You a new kid or something?”
    Jeff grinned. “No, I’m not new. I’ll be thirteen on my next birthday.” Jeff took a half step back. He thought about making a run for his house, but he knew he’d never make it. Then he looked back to Denny. “Me and my mom just moved in. Why?”
    “I’ll ask the questions around here,” Denny threatened. Then he looked down again. “What’s wrong with your foot?”
    Jeff looked down and raised it slightly off the sidewalk. “This thing? I get around on it okay. Do you go to school near here?”
    Why do you care?”
    “Because I thought we might be in the same one. I’m goin’ out for football this year.”
    Denny nearly doubled up with laughter. After he caught his breath he said, “Be serious. With a foot like that you can’t run fast, or you’d have done that already.” He slowly shook his head. “And you can’t jump high, that’s for sure.” Jeff managed to leave without a fight.
    In his new school Jeff heard some of the same comments as in all the other places he’d lived before. The worst part of his day happened as he walked from one class to the next. Guys lined both sides of the hallway just to watch him stumble along. Denny was their leader.
    But this year, Jeff had a little surprise. He called it his secret weapon. Even his mother didn’t know about it.
    Then one afternoon, he spotted something on the bulletin board outside the football coach’s office. Jeff read the words silently.
Attention! Football tryouts today! Meet on the practice field at four o’clock.
    He was just about to leave when a familiar voice taunted, “You gotta be kidding me,” Denny scoffed.
    Jeff turned around, expecting only to see Denny. He saw him all right, but it looked like the entire football team stood next to him. They began moving toward Jeff when Coach Davis came out of his office. “Hey. What’s going on here?”
    Denny raised his hands and cocked his head to one side. “Nothing.”
    Mr. Davis studied Denny and his friends for a moment and then turned to Jeff. “Is there a problem here?”
    Jeff looked to the mob, and shook his head.
    The coach folded his arms and looked back at the boys. “If you have anything to settle, take it out to the practice field.” He pushed his way through the guys on either side of Denny.
    Denny slowly nodded as he jammed his finger into Jeff’s chest. “Yeah. Like Coach said. I’ll see you on the practice field.”
    When the team manager handed out equipment, he had no trouble until he looked at Jeff’s feet.
    “I take a size nine for my left foot, and the biggest thing you got for my right.”
    The coach met him around the fifty-yard line. “You sure about this?” he asked. Jeff nodded, but no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to keep up. Because he was so slow, the coach started him out at center. Denny took that opportunity to make sure he and his friends squashed Jeff like a bug.
    All during the day, the team gave him a rough time in school, and at practices they made his life even more miserable.
    Then at the end of