Nothin But Net Read Online Free Page B

Midway through his third lap of three, he began to panic, thinking he might
     go under. He’d never been a great swimmer — sank like a stone if he didn’t work reallyhard to stay afloat — and he thought his arms and legs would give out before he reached the dock. Only through sheer determination
     did he fight through it and make it to the end of the swimming lane to earn his Shark certification. This meant he was permitted
     to take out canoes and rowboats and to swim in the deep-water area.
    As for Billy, he was deemed a good enough swimmer to earn Whale certification. That meant he could swim anywhere in the lake,
     as long as he was with a fellow Whale. Tim was glad for his friend. At least Billy was good at something athletic. Maybe he
     could spend the whole four weeks in the water and avoid the other sports altogether.
    After swimming, they had a pickup softball game, just for fun, and then they were given an hour of free time before dinner.
     “I’m totally exhausted,” Tim said, sitting on his bed. “How ’bout you?”
    “They’d better give us double portions at dinner,” Billy replied, hauling his Camp Wickasaukee T-shirt over his head and throwing
     it into a corner that would become his laundry pile. “I feel like I’ve lost ten pounds already.”
    “Well, there’s worse things than getting into shape,”Tim pointed out as gently as he could. He thought Billy could stand to lose at least twenty, maybe thirty pounds.
    “Are you saying I’m fat?”
    “No, I just said there are worse things than getting in shape.”
    “Like what?” Billy asked, collapsing onto his bed. He lay back on his pillow — and let out a howl. “Aaaahhh!” He sprang upright.
     “What the —?”
    He swiped at his head and came up with a handful of shaving cream. “Okay, whose idea of a joke was this?”
    Tim had never seen his friend so angry. For a minute, he thought he could see smoke coming out of Billy’s ears.
    When Billy wasn’t looking, Tim felt his own pillow. It was dry — shaving cream–free. Apparently, whoever had it in for Billy
     was not focusing on Tim. He felt relieved, and ashamed, all at the same time.
    “You gonna report it to Jody?” he asked Billy.
    “What for?” he asked, wiping his head with a towel. “A lot of good that’d do. He’s probably laughing about it with the rest
     of them right now.”
    Tim wanted to tell Billy it wasn’t true — but what if he was wrong and Billy was right?
    Four more days went by — days of nonstop sports and activities. Tim could feel the difference in his stamina, the hardness
     of the muscles in his legs and stomach, and he knew he was getting into the best shape of his life.
    Even Billy was looking less out of shape. His latest problem was sunburned skin — mostly from being on the Skins three times
     in a row at scrimmages. On the fourth day, Tim noticed that Billy had ducked out of morning drills and snuck down to the lake
     for extra swimming — with a T-shirt on for sun protection.
    The other kids had noticed this, too. They must have thought Billy was too scared to play b-ball anymore, because later that
     day, when they passed by him, they all started clucking like chickens. Billy didn’t do much of anything about it — what could
     he do except complain? And what good would that have done? It would only have brought more humiliation down on him.
    Still, Tim felt he had to do something to help hisfriend get over the hump. So when he spotted Jody shaving in the bathroom, he approached him.
    “Hey,” Jody greeted him, his face half covered in shaving cream. “How’s it going?”
    Tim wondered if it was the same shaving cream that had wound up on Billy’s pillow. Not many of the kids were old enough to
     be shaving yet. “Okay, I guess,” Tim said. “The thing is … I’m kind of worried about Billy.”
    “Yeah? Why’s that? Something wrong with him?”
    “I … well, yeah, he’s having a pretty hard time.”
    “This