Free Whispering Hope by Marsha Hubler Page B

tops planted firmly into her spread. There wasn’t a schoolbook in sight.
    “Well?” Wanda blurted out with a sour face.
    “Wanda, you’re such a good pool player, and I wanted to learn more about the game. So I went online and found the neatest site. It’s all about pro women pool players. Did you ever check out anything like that online?”
    “We don’t even have a computer at home,” Wanda said.
    “I overheard you talking to Mrs. Chambers the other day about a report you had to do, so I was wondering if I could help you write it about female pool players.”
    Wanda scowled at Skye and then stared at the ceiling.
    Skye folded her arms and waited.
    “I ain’t never asked you to do me no favors,” Wanda snapped.
    “But you’ll be doing me a favor,” Skye said. “I want to learn more about pool, so while we’re writing the paper, you can help me understand the game better.”
    Wanda stared at the ceiling some more, and Skye just waited.
    “When?” Wanda asked.
    “I’ll ask Mom if we can go online right now.”
    “Why not?” Wanda said matter-of-factly without moving a muscle.
    Skye hurried out of the room and ran to the barn. With permission from Mrs. Chambers, she and Wanda went to one of the computers in the game room and went online to the WPBA website.
    While Skye worked the mouse, Wanda slumped in her chair with her arms folded, but her eyes betrayed her passion for the subject on the screen.
    “See.” Skye pointed at the monitor. “Here’s a list of the top ten money-makers from last year. Each one has her own website. This number one rated player, Leona Bushkill, is from England. She made over $100,000 last year. They travel all over the U.S.—well—the world! I had no idea there was that kind of money in playing pool. Did you?”
    Wanda peaked her eyebrows, and slowly she sat up in her chair and pulled it closer to the screen.
    Skye clicked on Leona Bushkill’s name, which opened up the pool player’s website. “Last week,” Skye said, “I watched this woman play in the U.S. national championship from two years ago. It was on one of the ESPN channels. Did you ever watch any of this stuff at home?”
    “We don’t have cable either.” Wanda huffed.
    Skye and Wanda studied everything on the website—poses of Leona at a pool table, her schedule for theremainder of the year, her list of victories since she went pro, and different links with “pool tips.”
    “I guess since you don’t have a computer at home, you don’t type.” Skye gave Wanda her warmest smile.
    “Nope,” Wanda said. “I’ve used computers a few times at school, so I know how to work the mouse and hunt and peck the keyboard, but I can’t type my report that way.”
    “Well, here.” Skye pushed the mouse in front of Wanda. “Check out some of these other pool websites while I go get some paper and pencils. We’ll take notes, and then you can decide what you want to write your report about.”
    Wanda took the mouse and dove in. Skye ran upstairs for her supplies and hurried back down. Wanda was completely captivated by the screen and never heard Skye coming.
    Skye stood behind Wanda and glanced at a photo on the website of a very attractive thirty-something woman with shoulder-length curly blonde hair and blue eyes.
    “Wow! Who’s that?” Skye said. “She’s gorgeous.”
    “That babe is Gretchen Cummings, and she’s from Sweden.” Wanda’s voice, now an octave higher than normal, almost screeched with excitement. “She’s won four world championships, two in Snooker, and two in Nine Ball. I ain’t never played Snooker.”
    Skye sat down next to Wanda and for the next hour they surfed the web, visiting the websites of a handful of female pool players. Skye noticed, along with some very interesting facts about each of the players, that almost every one of them made a distinguishable feminine appearance. It was time for Skye to make a point.
    “Wanda,” Skye said as she made notes, “what do you