Boxcar Children 68 - Basketball Mystery (2 page)

T
ha-thump! Tha-thump! Tha-thump!

“What’s going on?” Jessie asked when she heard Watch at her bedroom window early the next morning.

Watch had stuck his head under the window shade to see what was making the noise outside. All Jessie could see were his hind legs and his tail wagging back and forth.

When the thumping stopped, Jessie heard voices.

“Okay, Henry, just use your fingertips to control the ball while you run.”

“Basketball?” Jessie said, stretching out. “So early in the morning?”

She looked across the room. Tipper had already made up the guest bed and gone downstairs, Jessie guessed.

Watch pulled at Jessie’s covers.

“I know. I know,” Jessie said. “You want to be out playing basketball, too.”

In no time, Jessie was dressed in shorts and sneakers. Watch raced ahead to the kitchen. Mrs. McGregor was sliding a muffin tin from the oven. The kitchen table was set for company.

“Oh, I forgot,” Jessie said. “Those basketball people are coming over to meet with Tipper and Buzz.”

Jessie looked out the kitchen window. Tipper was giving Benny, Soo Lee, and Violet some basketball lessons. Buzz was still helping Henry.

Mr. Alden came into the kitchen for his morning cup of coffee. “No sleeping in today, right, Jessie? Looks as if the Nettletons have started an Alden Basketball Clinic in our own backyard.”

Mrs. McGregor set the warm muffins on a plate. “Benny and Soo Lee asked Buzz for lessons first thing this morning. Benny thought that would cheer up Buzz. And you know what? Benny was right. All that young man needed was a good night’s sleep and some Aldens begging for his attention.”

“He won’t have to worry about getting our attention!” Jessie said on her way out back. “I’m going out for some basketball lessons, too.”

Jessie wasn’t the only Greenfield player who hoped to get some coaching from the talented twins. Word of their arrival had spread fast. Within half an hour, several neighborhood children appeared in the Aldens’ backyard.

“You’re so lucky,” Patsy Cutter said when Jessie came out. “Imagine, Tipper Nettleton staying right in your own house!”

Patsy Cutter was a new friend Jessie and Violet had made. She was the best player on their team, the Fast Breakers, but she didn’t have many friends.

“How come you didn’t tell me about Tipper after practice the other day?” Patsy asked. “Are you and Violet keeping her to yourselves?”

“Grandfather didn’t even tell us the twins were staying with us,” Violet explained.

“Come on!” Patsy answered. “You just didn’t want anybody to know.”

When Tipper overheard this, she came over to the girls. She gave Patsy a big smile. “It’s true. Mr. Alden wanted to surprise his grandchildren. Buzz and I were the surprise! I hope we live up to it.”

Patsy just stared up at Tipper in amazement.

Finally Jessie spoke up. “Tipper, this is our friend — and teammate — Patsy Cutter. She’s the best player on the Fast Breakers. Patsy, meet Tipper Nettleton.”

Patsy’s face grew red. “I . . . I can’t . . . I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you. I watch all your college games on television so I can play like you.”

“Well, if you want, I can show you a few things now,” Tipper said cheerfully. “You, too, Violet and Jessie.”

“Go ahead, Tipper. It’s okay to give Patsy a private lesson,” Jessie joked. “We don’t want to keep you all to ourselves.”

“I hope Tipper teaches her about sharing the ball,” Violet whispered. “Patsy never passes the ball to me. “It must be because I’m the youngest one on our team.”

Jessie curled the end of her ponytail around her finger. She looked on as Tipper coached Patsy. “It’s not just you, Violet. Patsy sometimes forgets she’s on a team. Maybe Tipper will teach her more about passing the ball to other players instead of just making baskets herself.”

A few minutes later, everyone looked up when three tall people walked down the driveway.

“It’s Mr. Fowler, one of the referees who helps out with the teams,” Jessie said. “Oh, and our coach is with him. I didn’t know they were the basketball people coming over. I wonder who the other person is.”

When Tipper saw the three visitors, she stared at the tall young woman in the group. Finally she stepped a little closer. “Hi, I’m . . . Oh, my goodness. I don’t believe it! You’re Courtney Post, right? Amazing! Are you one of the coaches for the neighborhood teams, too?”

The Aldens looked on, puzzled. How did Tipper Nettleton know their coach?

“Yes, I am,” the young woman answered without a smile. “I guess we’ll meet on the same side of the court for a change.”

Buzz gave Tipper a gentle arm punch. “What do you know? You two old rivals meet again. But this time it’s friendly, not like when Greenfield High played Warwick. Hi, Courtney, I’m Buzz — the other Nettleton twin.”

Courtney ignored Tipper and turned to Buzz. “Hi, Buzz. I guess they didn’t tell Tipper that she’ll be helping me coach the Fast Breakers.”

“Listen, I couldn’t be happier, Courtney. Honest,” Tipper said. “I always admired your playing so much, even though I feared it! Nobody made me lose more sleep over games than you. I hope we’ll be friends.”

Again Courtney ignored Tipper. What was going on? the Aldens wondered.

Courtney introduced the other people with her. “Frank, Tom, come meet the great basketball legend Buzz Nettleton. Buzz, this is Frank Fowler. He referees some of the games. As for Tom, he coaches the Rockets, one of the neighborhood teams. When he’s not doing that, he works as a painter at the sports center. He’s finishing up the paint job before it officially opens.”

Buzz shook both men’s hands. “Hey, I know you — Tom Hooper! Didn’t you play for Warwick a couple of years before my class at Greenfield High? And Frank, I know I’ve heard your name.”

Before Buzz could continue, Frank Fowler said quickly, “No need to go into details. Now that we’ve all met, let’s sit down and get our plans organized. The kids in Greenfield are the big basketball stars now, not us.”

“Yoo-hoo,” Mrs. McGregor called out from the kitchen window. “There’s coffee and muffins in here. You can bring in your paperwork and work around the kitchen table. Everything’s all set.”

After the grown-ups went inside, Patsy Cutter began shooting baskets again. “Tipper just showed me a couple of new moves. Look how great I’m getting already!” she yelled as she made basket after basket.

Everyone else waited for Patsy to share the ball. But she never did. Finally the other players gave up.

“I’ll get us some juice,” Henry told everyone. “After that, let’s have a half-court game.”

Henry went inside to fetch juice and cups from the kitchen. He noticed everyone seemed awfully quiet around the table.

“Gee, you’d think they were talking about insurance or something boring — not basketball,” Henry told the other children when he returned. “If I were famous players like them, I’d be going over all the great old games. They don’t seem to care for one another much.”

“Not like us, right, Henry?” Soo Lee grinned at her cousin.

“No, not like us,” Henry agreed. “I hope Grandfather doesn’t notice that they’re not too friendly. He donated a lot of money to the sports center so people would have fun together.”

Henry poured out juice for everyone. “My coach at school told me that when Buzz was a senior at Greenfield High, he broke Frank Fowler’s record for the most points ever made. Maybe Mr. Fowler is still upset about that.”

“That was such a long time ago,” Jessie said. “He’s a lot older than Buzz. Why would he still care?”

Patsy put her juice cup down on the grass. “Players always care about being the best. If I had the record, I would never, ever want anybody to break it. Oops, look what I just did.” Patsy’s paper cup had tipped over, spilling juice on her shorts.

“You can go to the upstairs bathroom and wash them off in cold water,” Jessie said. “I have lots of shorts in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Go ahead and borrow a pair. My room is next to the bathroom.”

“Hurry back,” Henry called out to Patsy. “We have enough kids here for a quick game.”

After Patsy left, Henry organized the older children into two teams. “Benny and Soo Lee, you can keep score and be the referees. Whoever gets to ten points first wins.”

Benny and Soo Lee took their jobs very seriously.

“Foul!” Benny shouted when a boy named James brushed by Jessie.

Soo Lee counted the score with some pebbles. The game was short and ended ten minutes later.

That’s when Jessie noticed Patsy hadn’t returned. “I wonder what happened to her. I’ll go check.”

Jessie scooted through the kitchen. She overheard Frank Fowler talking in a cross voice. “No, I disagree, Buzz. You haven’t lived in Greenfield for a long time. It’s not a good idea to team up kids from the south end with north end players. No way.”

“Fine. Whatever you say, Frank,” Buzz answered quietly. “Now, how about having Tom make up the practice schedules?”

Frank Fowler disagreed with this suggestion, too. “No, I have a computer at home, and Tom doesn’t.”

Jessie overheard Tom’s nervous laugh. “Give me a paintbrush or a basketball any day. I’m not too good with computers and writing things down. It’s okay by me if Frank handles the paperwork.”

“Good. That’s settled,” Jessie heard Frank Fowler say.

Jessie headed upstairs. She checked the bathroom. Patsy’s shorts were hanging on a towel bar in the shower. But Patsy didn’t seem to be around. Maybe she had gone home without telling anyone. Jessie stopped by her room to get a stopwatch for Benny and Soo Lee.

When Jessie stepped inside, she jumped back. “Patsy! You scared me,” Jessie said when she saw her friend standing next to Tipper’s bed. “Oh, good, you found some shorts. I thought you went home.”

Something heavy dropped to the floor.

“What was that?” asked Jessie.

Patsy looked worried. “I was, uh . . . looking at these pictures on this bookcase, that’s all. A big book fell down. I’ll pick it up.

“Fine,” Jessie said. She went over to her desk for the stopwatch. She caught Patsy’s reflection in the mirror. Whatever Patsy picked up didn’t seem to be a book.

“Come on, let’s go out,” Jessie told Patsy. “Everybody’s waiting for us.”

P
oor Mrs. McGregor. For the next few days she cooked up a storm for Buzz and Tipper. But the busy twins were hardly ever home!

“Goodness, those two are going to turn into skeletons,” Mrs. McGregor told the children. “What they need is good home cooking, not all these banquets and such that they have to attend.”

“Now, now, Mrs. McGregor,” Mr. Alden said. “None of your delicious leftovers will go to waste in this house.”

Benny patted his stomach. “See, I’m not turning into a skeleton.”

Mr. Alden laughed. “Everybody in Greenfield wants to meet the twins before they start coaching the neighborhood teams. The newspaper is full of pictures of them visiting schools and youth groups. And they’re going to be on television. I hope they don’t wear themselves out.”

Violet had been quiet all through dinner. Now she spoke up. “I hope Tipper has enough time for the Fast Breakers tonight. I need help on my passing. Courtney spends nearly all her time with Patsy. She’s already a good player.”

Jessie turned to her sister. “Patsy does take up a lot of the coach’s time. Look, tonight is our first practice with Tipper coaching. I know she’ll give everyone lots of attention. She wants to make the Fast Breakers into a super team.”

“How are your Blazers doing, Henry?” Mr. Alden asked.

Henry seemed a little quiet. “Well, Grandfather, I can hardly wait for Buzz to start coaching my team. Then Mr. Fowler can go back to being the referee. He’s been coaching, and for some reason he doesn’t seem to like me.”

“Frank is a hard one to figure out, isn’t he?” Mr. Alden said. “When we were organizing the sports center, he was one of our biggest boosters. He had all kinds of plans.”

“I know,” Henry broke in. “Wasn’t it his idea to have a fund-raising game with all the best players who graduated from all the high schools around Greenfield?”

“Indeed, it was his excellent idea,” Mr. Alden said. “That’s why I arranged for the twins to come back to Greenfield for a visit. Something changed with Frank after he heard about that.”

Henry nodded. “Everybody thinks Mr. Fowler is upset that Buzz broke his high school record. Whenever anyone mentions Buzz, Mr. Fowler changes the subject. Anyway, things should get better starting tomorrow.”

“Why is that, Henry?” Violet asked.

Henry studied a piece of paper. “Buzz left me a copy of his coaching schedule. He’s due to practice with the Blazers tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Fowler will be away at a conference for most of the day. We won’t have to worry about Buzz getting in his way.”

The children helped clear the dinner table.

“Well, I hope Courtney and Tipper get along at our practice tonight,” Jessie said, handing Henry the dishes. “After all, they were on opposite teams when they were in high school.”

“They’re not too friendly, either,” Henry said as he loaded the dishwasher. “But at least Tipper didn’t break Courtney’s high school record.”