Boot Camp Read Online Free Page B
handing out shirts.
âHere you go, my man, special order, just for you,â Johnnie said to the kid.
He took it from Johnnie, practically ripping it out of his hands.
âNick and Kia, great to see you two again,â Johnnie said. He shook hands with both of us.
JY started jumping all around, being funny, and then he gave both of us a big hug.
I looked past Kia to the kid. He looked surprised, no, shocked, at how they had greeted us. He didnât think we actually knew them.
Johnnie handed us both a T-shirt.
âYou can use the change room if you like,â Johnnie said to Kia.
âThatâs okay.â She pulled the camp shirt on over top of her other shirt and then, from underneath the shirt there was movement. I knew what she was doing because Iâd seen her do itbefore. Suddenly she pulled her old shirt out of one of the armholes of the camp shirt.
âThatâs like a magic trick,â Sergeant Kevin joked.
âEverybody, put your old shirts and jerseys away!â JYD called out. âAnd then get back to the line.â
âAnd do that in double time!â Sergeant Push-up yelled.
âExcuse us,â I said.
Kia and I hurried off to deposit our old T-shirts in our bags. We were the farthest from the bleachers, and we knew not to walk and not to be last back in line. We sprinted across the floor. I looked back. Our good
friend
, the kid with the smart mouth, was sauntering across the gym.
I stuffed the shirt in my gym bag and we raced back. Despite how fast we moved, there were already a whole lot of kids back on the line. Obviously we werenât the only people who understood how things were going to be done around here.
âFive!â Jerome yelled out.
âFour!â Sergeant Kevin yelled.
They were counting down. A bunch of kids who werenât on the line picked up their pace.
âThree!â Sergeant Josh called out.
I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen if anybody wasnât on the line.
âCome on, hurry up!â Kia screamed.
âTwo!â Johnnie called.
âOne!â Sergeant Push-up yelled.
âAnd zero!â JYD said.
There were still five or six kids who werenât in lineâincluding our mouthy
buddy
.
âEverybody, drop to the ground!â Sergeant Push-up bellowed.
I dropped to the ground, along with everybody else in the gym, including the coaches.
The stragglers ran back to the line. The mouthy kid ran right across the whole gym, past all the coaches and took up a spot right beside me. Why hadnât he just gotten into the line at the other side? It wasnât as if he liked us or we liked him.
Sergeant Push-up counted out the push-ups. People groaned and muttered but did what they were told.
I finished quickly. âThat wasnât so bad,â I said.
âSome people are such suck-ups,â the mouthy kid said.
âWho you calling names?â Kia demanded.
âI wasnât talking to you,â he said.
âWere you talking to your imaginary friend?â Kia asked. âCause I figure thatâs probably the only type of friends you have.â
âI got more friends than I can even count!â he snapped.
âBig deal,â Kia said. âYou probably have to take off your shoes and socks if you have to count past ten!â
A couple of kids heard Kiaâs comment and started laughing. The kid looked so angry that I thought his face was going to bust open.
âEverybody stop!â It was JYD. âI hear talking at the end of the line,â he said, gesturing in our direction but not looking our way. âEverybody down for another five push-ups!â
There was groaning and complaining.
âMake that
ten
push-ups!â Sergeant Push-up called out. âAnd if thereâs any more complaining itâs going to be
fifteen
more!â
Kia and the kid exchanged dirty looks, both feeling like the other was to blame, but neither said another
âHere you go, my man, special order, just for you,â Johnnie said to the kid.
He took it from Johnnie, practically ripping it out of his hands.
âNick and Kia, great to see you two again,â Johnnie said. He shook hands with both of us.
JY started jumping all around, being funny, and then he gave both of us a big hug.
I looked past Kia to the kid. He looked surprised, no, shocked, at how they had greeted us. He didnât think we actually knew them.
Johnnie handed us both a T-shirt.
âYou can use the change room if you like,â Johnnie said to Kia.
âThatâs okay.â She pulled the camp shirt on over top of her other shirt and then, from underneath the shirt there was movement. I knew what she was doing because Iâd seen her do itbefore. Suddenly she pulled her old shirt out of one of the armholes of the camp shirt.
âThatâs like a magic trick,â Sergeant Kevin joked.
âEverybody, put your old shirts and jerseys away!â JYD called out. âAnd then get back to the line.â
âAnd do that in double time!â Sergeant Push-up yelled.
âExcuse us,â I said.
Kia and I hurried off to deposit our old T-shirts in our bags. We were the farthest from the bleachers, and we knew not to walk and not to be last back in line. We sprinted across the floor. I looked back. Our good
friend
, the kid with the smart mouth, was sauntering across the gym.
I stuffed the shirt in my gym bag and we raced back. Despite how fast we moved, there were already a whole lot of kids back on the line. Obviously we werenât the only people who understood how things were going to be done around here.
âFive!â Jerome yelled out.
âFour!â Sergeant Kevin yelled.
They were counting down. A bunch of kids who werenât on the line picked up their pace.
âThree!â Sergeant Josh called out.
I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen if anybody wasnât on the line.
âCome on, hurry up!â Kia screamed.
âTwo!â Johnnie called.
âOne!â Sergeant Push-up yelled.
âAnd zero!â JYD said.
There were still five or six kids who werenât in lineâincluding our mouthy
buddy
.
âEverybody, drop to the ground!â Sergeant Push-up bellowed.
I dropped to the ground, along with everybody else in the gym, including the coaches.
The stragglers ran back to the line. The mouthy kid ran right across the whole gym, past all the coaches and took up a spot right beside me. Why hadnât he just gotten into the line at the other side? It wasnât as if he liked us or we liked him.
Sergeant Push-up counted out the push-ups. People groaned and muttered but did what they were told.
I finished quickly. âThat wasnât so bad,â I said.
âSome people are such suck-ups,â the mouthy kid said.
âWho you calling names?â Kia demanded.
âI wasnât talking to you,â he said.
âWere you talking to your imaginary friend?â Kia asked. âCause I figure thatâs probably the only type of friends you have.â
âI got more friends than I can even count!â he snapped.
âBig deal,â Kia said. âYou probably have to take off your shoes and socks if you have to count past ten!â
A couple of kids heard Kiaâs comment and started laughing. The kid looked so angry that I thought his face was going to bust open.
âEverybody stop!â It was JYD. âI hear talking at the end of the line,â he said, gesturing in our direction but not looking our way. âEverybody down for another five push-ups!â
There was groaning and complaining.
âMake that
ten
push-ups!â Sergeant Push-up called out. âAnd if thereâs any more complaining itâs going to be
fifteen
more!â
Kia and the kid exchanged dirty looks, both feeling like the other was to blame, but neither said another
Readers choose
D L Davito
Kate Johnson
Betsy Byars
Alexei Sayle
Bill Clem
Alla Kar
Ngaio Marsh
Robert Skinner
Thomas Bernhard
Stephanie M. Turner