The Pigeon With the Tennis Elbow Read Online Free Page A

15–15.
    Kevin also scored the next two points. Then Tommy scored by luck, the ball striking the top of the net and dropping over on
     Kevin's side. 40–30.
    A minute later Kevin blasted the ball to Tommy's left side so that Tommy had to return with a backhand shot. The ball sliced
     out of bounds and Kevin won. The set was 2-all now.
    Tommy started off cautiously in the fifth game, taking the first three points. Kevin wiped the sweat from his forehead as
     he shot a glance up at Charlie resting on top of the post. He saw Charlie jerk his head from side to side, then thought he
     heard Charlie say, “Be the aggressor, boy. Wear him down.”
    Sounds O.K., Charlie. But what if I wear down first?
    He returned Tommy's serve beautifully. Tommy returned his just as beautifully. Then Kevin belted the ball a solid blow, bringing
     up his racket as he struck to give the sphere a topspin.
    The stroke worked. The ball shot over the net and bounced so sharply past Tommy that he wasn't able to touch it. Four more
     points on hard drives gave Kevin the game and put him in the lead, 3 games to 2.
    It was his turn to serve now, and he got a fault on his first try. The next was almost outside, hitting the sideline for a
     score that was pure luck. Tommy swung too late at it, apparentlythinking that it might hit outside the line. 15-love.
    “Pretty lucky, O'Toole,” Roger Murphy said, just loud enough for Kevin to hear.
    Kevin failed again to get his first serve right. His second was better. Tommy returned it, and for half a dozen strokes the
     boys played errorless ball.
    Then Kevin saw his chance to be
aggressive
again, and blasted the ball to the corner behind Tommy. 30-love.
    Whether it was the shot or the score, Tommy's balloon was pricked. Kevin took the next two points, winning his first love
     game of the match. Tommy couldn't seem to get out of his slump and lost the set, 6–2.
    As the boys walked to the bench to rest, Kevin looked up at Charlie and saw the pigeon's right eye close and open in a pleased
     wink.
    “Good match, Kevie,” said Charlie. “You follow instructions like a real pro.”
    Kevin smiled. “I guess I owe you…” hestarted to say, then paused. If the fans heard him talking to a pigeon they'd think that he was ready for the funny farm!
    Even though the rest was only for a minute, Kevin was grateful for it. He really needed it. The heat was torture.
    “Kevin!”
    He turned and saw Ginnie leaning forward in her seat, her hands cupped around her mouth. “Finish him off in the next set!”
    “Ginnie!” said her mother, grabbing Ginnie's arm and pulling her back. “Don't be so cruel!”
    “What's cruel about that?” said Ginnie.
    Kevin looked away, grinning. He knew that Mom had to undergo a lot of embarrassment quite often because of her daughter's
     courage to say whatever was on her mind.
    As the boys changed sides for the start of the second set, Kevin saw that Charlie wasn't on the post. He glanced around to
     see if Charlie had discovered another perch. He had not.
    Then Kevin glimpsed a pigeon flying high in the distance, and figured that Charlie was justexercising his wings. After all, sitting on a small flat spot for a couple of hours would tire any old body. Nonetheless Kevin
     hoped the remarkable bird would return soon.
    Tommy, serving first, failed to get the initial shot over the net. His second was good. He seemed to have regained a lot of
     his composure, and started to score points on hard-hit shots that Kevin got a racket on but hit out of bounds. Tommy took
     the first three games, outplaying, out-hitting, out-shining Kevin as if he had been saving up all his tricks and skill for
     this second set.
    But something happened to his playing in the fourth game. Kevin guessed it was fatigue. Tommy had been doing a lot of running
     in the first three games and in the heat might have run himself ragged. Anyway, Kevin once again became the aggressor and
     the tide turned. He took the next four