Read The Home Run Kid Races On for Free Online Page B

camera hadn’t been used in years anyway. But
     she felt so bad, she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
    It wasn’t until Sylvester was in bed that night that something his mother had said came back to him. “Your phone can take
     pictures.” He sat up.
    My phone
can
take pictures!
he thought excitedly.
Maybe I’ll be able to show Snooky photos of Mr. Baruth and Mr. Teacy after all!
    Then he realized his plan had a flaw. It was only one problem, but it was major: He had no way of knowing if Mr. Teacy or
     Mr. Baruth would show up at the field again the next day. They’d vanished that afternoon before he could ask.
    All I can do is go back to that field tomorrow,
he decided,
and hope!
    Getting to the old ball field alone the following day wasn’t easy, however. First, he had to persuade his mom to let him go
     right after school. “I’ll help with the yard sale tonight, I promise!” Then, Trent cornered him after school to coax him into
     playing the video game with Duane and Jim again.
    “Uh, I have a lot of homework and I might have to help my mom,” Syl said. “So I have to go home.”
    Trent didn’t press him further, but then Duane caught him strapping Mr. Teacy’s bat onto the back of his bike.
    “What’s that for?” Duane asked curiously. “Trent said you were heading home.”
    “I am,” Syl replied. “I have the bat because, uh… because I hoped Coach Corbin would check it out, see if it’s regulation
     so I can use it during practices and games!”
    “Didn’t he do that already, when you first showed it to him?”
    “I, uh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” Syl answered. “So now I’m bringing it back home. See you!”
    Before Duane could ask any more questions, Syl jumped onto his bike and pedaled off. He only went a short distance, however,
     before looking back to see if Duane was still there. He wasn’t, so Syl switched his direction from home to the bike path.
     He stopped only once, to change into his baseball pants.
    Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the old ball field. To his disappointment, neither Mr. Teacy nor Mr. Baruth was there.
     He sat down, opened his bag, and pulled out his cell phone to check the battery. The power bar indicated that the phone was
     fully charged. He took a few test photos of his feet. They came out fine, so he dropped the phone back into his pack.
    “How you?”
    Syl started. There was Mr. Teacy, leaning against the oak tree, a spot Syl knew had been empty just moments before.
    “I’m fine, Mr. Teacy!” he replied. “And ready for some more practice. We were going to work on beating the throw to first
     today, right? Hmm, guess I better switch into my baseball shoes for that, huh? I’ve got them right here in my bag, so I’ll
     just get ’em and put ’em on!”
    Stop babbling,
he berated himself,
and just do it!
    Heart racing, he reached into his bag and flipped the cover of the phone open. The tiny screen glowed.
    “What’s taking you so long?” Mr. Teacy barked.
    Syl grabbed one of his baseball shoes to use as cover. With shaking hands, he raised the phone out of the pack, centered Mr.
     Teacy in the middle of the screen, moved his thumb over the buttons —
    And the screen went black.

11
    Y ou deaf or something?” Mr. Teacy said. “I asked, what’s taking you so long?”
    Sylvester stared at the dark screen in dismay. Then he closed the phone and dropped it back into his bag.
    “Sorry, I had a knot I couldn’t get undone,” he answered. As quickly as he could, he switched his sneakers for his spikes.
     “Say, isn’t Mr. Baruth going to be here today?”
    “No,” Mr. Teacy said shortly. “He had someplace else he had to be.”
    Syl was disappointed but tried not to show it.
    “Let’s hope you’re faster on the base paths than you are at untying knots,” Mr. Teacy grumbled when Syl joined him at home
     plate. “Show me what you’ve got.”
    “What do you mean?” Syl asked.
    “I mean
run!
” Mr. Teacy