Athlete vs. Mathlete Read Online Free Page B

doesn’t add up,” Russ said, reaching for the bowl. “The popcorn’s good, though.”
    By halftime we were still up by seven, the Blazers were shooting 63 percent, and the popcorn was going fast.
    In fact, it was gone when the third quarter started. And so was Russ.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Dad said with a chuckle. “We’ll make a basketball fan of him yet.”
    That’s what I was afraid of.

Weights and Measures
    I woke up on Saturday morning and stared at my map of the solar system, which was always comforting. Earth was only
one
of all those planets and stars. And I was only
one
of billions of people on Earth. And of those billions,
millions
of people had bigger problems than basketball tryouts.
    I couldn’t help smiling.
    I had a great book to read (a Blazer game had prevented me from enjoying it the night before), my Masters meeting was in a couple of hours, and tryouts would be nothing but a memory in less than a week.
    I rolled out of bed and carried
Aidmere Lost
downstairs.
    Of course, I wanted to pull things together for Masters of the Mind before I got lost in my book. As hard as it was to do it, I left the novel on the kitchen counter and found someof the items we needed for the challenge. Once I had the margarine container, aluminum foil, newspaper, and chopsticks from Jade Palace in a bag, I checked the fridge for eggs and heard Owen behind me.
    â€œMilk, please,” he said.
    I handed him the jug and opened the egg carton to see what we had left. “Cool beans. Half a dozen.”
    â€œJust cool, Russ,” he corrected. “Half a dozen what?”
    â€œEggs,” I said, then told him about the challenge.
    He rolled his eyes when I finished. “Why don’t you guys ever build something people can use?”
    â€œLike what?” I asked, wiping a smudge from my glasses.
    â€œI don’t know. Something that flies or whatever.”
    â€œAircraft?” I asked, surprised. When he nodded, I went over our list of materials again. We couldn’t exactly build a jet fighter out of chopsticks and newspapers. “This isn’t Boeing,” I told him. “It’s Masters of the Mind.”
    He shrugged. “So, how about wrapping the eggs in rubber bands?”
    â€œWe’ll only have six of them.”
    â€œBut they’re
rubber
. They’ll help it bounce.”
    I shook my head. “It won’t work.”
    He thought about it while a milk mustache dried on his upper lip. I was glad that he was interested enough to want to help, considering he’d never asked me a single question about Masters of the Mind before. Ever.
    His interest got me thinking.
    What if
Owen
joined the team as our fifth member? That would give the two of us something in common and add a very different point of view to the team.
    I was just about to suggest it when he said, “Why don’t you boil the egg? Water’s on the list.”
    â€œYes, but not boiling water,” I reminded him.
    â€œSo heat it up.” He shrugged.
    â€œWe don’t have a heat source, Owen. Should we rub the chopsticks together to make fire?” I couldn’t help laughing.
    Owen glared at me like I’d hurt his feelings and left the room before I had a chance to say I was sorry.
    Within seconds, I could hear a familiar noise: a basketball slamming against the pavement. Over and over.
    Dad and Owen, at it again.
    I didn’t follow him outside because I was afraid they’d invite me to play. One wasted night in front of the TV was more than enough basketball for me, especially when I knew we’d be out practicing for tryouts in less than twenty-four hours.
    I was already dreading it.
    Once I’d read a few chapters and eaten a couple of blueberry muffins, Mom drove me and my shopping bag of challenge ingredients over to Nitu’s house.
    I hoped there would be some good news on the Chao replacement. I honestly couldn’t