Fiddlesticks (5 page)

Abby said, “God makes our bodies grow. But we can't be in a hurry.”

“Shawn in very big hurry,” he said.

“Be happy with who you are,” Abby said and looked at Shawn. “But I'll pray about tryouts.”

Shawn's eyes shone. “I like that. Very much!”

Abby prayed. At the end she said, “Amen.”

“Amen, too,” Shawn said. “I go now. Thank you for prayer.”

He went to his room. There, he took out a picture. He sat on the floor beside his dog. Snow White nuzzled into his lap.

Shawn's Korean parents were in the picture. He studied it.

“Father not have power body,” he said.

Just then, Jimmy, his little brother, came in.

Shawn hid the picture behind his back.

Jimmy found his skates and left.

Shawn sighed. He looked at the picture again. He missed his parents. His father had died years ago. Then his mother became sick. She couldn't take care of Shawn and Jimmy anymore.

Shawn put his arms around Snow White and she licked away his tears.

Shawn hugged the dog. “You very good pet,” he said. “You Golden Rule dog!”

ELEVEN

It was Friday. Soccer tryouts day!

Shawn got up early. He took a warm shower.

Before he dressed, Shawn measured his arms. He hadn't grown overnight. No power body.

Abby was right.

But Shawn knew he could be fast. Faster than the other boys. Even faster than Ronny Kitch!

Freeet!
Coach blew his whistle.

The boys lined up.

“Show me some teamwork,” Coach said.

Jason, Eric, and two other boys burst onto the field.

Shawn watched eagerly. They did lots of passing and shooting. Back and forth.

He waited his turn, holding his violin. He didn't dare put it down. Not with Ronny around.

Just then, Ronny came over. “Taking care of that stupid thing?”

Shawn didn't answer.

“Are you deaf, fiddlesticks boy?” Ronnie demanded.

Shawn paid no attention. He thought of the Golden Rule and fished out a candy bar from his pocket.

“You like?” Shawn held up the candy.

Ronny frowned at first. Then his eyes blinked. He snatched up the candy. “Give me that!”

And off he ran.

Shawn felt inside his pants pocket. He smiled. There was plenty more candy. He was ready for Ronny.

His plan was good. A golden plan.

“Shawn Hunter!” The coach called.

He was next.

The coach glanced at Shawn's violin. A thin smile crossed his face. Then he looked away.

One kid shouted, “Hey, look! Shawn's trying out with a violin!”

Coach waved his hand. “It's music month, right?”

Kids on the sidelines snickered.

“Teamwork!” yelled the coach. He blew his whistle again. “Heads up. Spread out.”

Four players rushed onto the field. All of them wanted to be on the team. But none of them more than Shawn.

Things got off to a swift start. Shawn dribbled and passed rapidly. The others scrambled to keep up. Down the field they
flew. Clutching his violin, Shawn eased in and out of the players.

“Go, Shawn, go!” Jason shouted.

Fast as he could, Shawn worked his way down the field.

His teammates shot the ball to him and he stopped it with his foot. He dribbled a few yards. He remembered Jason's fancy footwork. And tried it out.

He was approaching the goal area.

The goalie was guarding like a hawk.

Shawn had to trick him. How?

Teamwork,
he thought.

Shawn passed to another player. That player dribbled to the left, then booted it back.

Shawn stopped the ball with his hip and took control.

Pow!
He snapped a clean shot into the net.

“Goal!” someone shouted.

Kids chanted on the sidelines. “Go, fiddlesticks, go!”

The coach blew his whistle. Long and loud.

The crowd got quiet.

“Next group!” Coach said.

Tryouts were over for Shawn. He felt good about his passing and shooting. But mostly he felt glad about his speed.

Jason and Eric circled Shawn.

“You were great!” Jason said.

“He sure was!” Abby said, running up to them.

“You great, too,” Shawn said to his cul-de-sac friends.

Eric scratched his head. “How can you play soccer and a violin?”

Shawn replied, “Not easy.” He smiled so big his eyes winked shut.

Jason asked, “Hey, what were those kids chanting?”

Shawn tossed his head. He knew. It was the nickname.

“Something about fiddles, I think,”
Eric said. “Maybe that's because Shawn's so good at violin.”

Abby wrinkled up her nose. “Just forget it, OK?”

“Fiddlesticks,” Shawn offered. “Kids call me ‘fiddlesticks.'”

Abby's eyes nearly popped.

Shawn shook his head. “Nickname not bother me now. Fiddlesticks good name.”

Ronny looked their way. He didn't come barging over. But Shawn knew he'd heard what Shawn said.

“Ronny learn golden things,” Shawn said softly.

Abby frowned. “What do you mean?”

Shawn thought about the Golden Rule. But he kept quiet.

The kids walked toward Blossom Hill Lane. They talked about soccer and the team list.

“When will we know who made it?” Jason asked.

“Monday, after school,” Eric said.

“A whole weekend to wait,” Abby chanted.

Jason jigged down the cul-de-sac. “Wouldn't it be cool if we all made the team?”

“Very cool,” said Shawn.

But he was thinking about Ronny. Would
he
make the team, too?

TWELVE

Monday finally came.

The team list was posted high on the P.E. door.

Shawn stood on tiptoes, reading the bottom names first. He saw Jason's name. And Eric's.

Shawn kept going, reading
up
the list.

“Hey,” called Jason. “Did you make the team?”

Shawn was still reading. “
You
make team,” he said.

Jason started to dance in the hall.

Shawn made his eyes squint. But the names on the list were too far away. He couldn't see them.

The school bell rang. Kids hurried to class.

“Come on,” called Jason. “We'll be late.”

Shawn turned to go. He wished he could see the top names. Maybe his was up there.

Maybe not.

Miss Hershey called the roll.

After that, she passed around some papers.

Shawn read his right away.
Very good,
he thought.
Music homework.

“We're going to do something special for Bach's birthday,” Miss Hershey said. “We're going to have a Bach Bash.”

Some of the kids had forgotten who Bach was. Miss Hershey reminded them
of the famous music composer. Then she handed out ideas for creative reports.

Shawn raised his hand. “I play Bach piece on violin, yes?”

Miss Hershey smiled. “I hoped you would want to play,” she said. “Thank you, Shawn.”

All morning, Ronny was kind. He didn't poke Shawn. He kept his feet to himself. He didn't say the nickname.

The class got busy. They divided into groups. Ronny was in Shawn's group.

Miss Hershey came around and listened to each group. But Ronny was silent. He let Shawn do all the talking.

Shawn was surprised. What a big change.

It was a Ronny Kitch switch!

During recess, Shawn and Jason went to P.E. They looked at the soccer list.

Jason spotted Shawn's name. “You made it!” he cried.

Shawn jumped up to see his name. It was at the top of the list. But he kept looking. “I not see Ronny on list,” he said.

Jason shook his head. “Ronny didn't make the team this year.”

“He not?” Shawn asked.

“Coach heard about the nickname,” Jason said. “He didn't like the way Ronny was acting.”

Jason ran out for recess.

Shawn hurried to catch up, but inside he felt sad. Sad for Ronny.

Shawn played on the soccer field with the other boys. Ronny watched from the sidelines.