Free Hook Shot Hero by Matt Christopher Page A

going to be in the starting lineup together for the next inter-camp game. So, for the good of the team, let’s keep our differences off the court. Deal?”
    He stuck out his hand, half expecting Mike to snort and push it aside.
    After a moment’s hesitation, though, the other boy shook it. “Deal,” Mike said.
    Their truce was an uneasy one, but in time, they began to play together better. Their improved communication made the team better as a whole, allowing them to win their third and final inter-camp game by more than ten points.
    And as the days passed, a funny thing happened. Their camaraderie on the court spilled into their lives off the court. While Tim knew he and Mike would never have the kind of friendship he and Billy had, they were no longer enemies—at least for this summer.
    Whether they would pick up where they left off next summer remained to be seen!
     
    Tim and Billy returned home two weeks later. Billy had earned his junior lifeguarding certificate. On the car ride home, he talked about returning to Camp Wickasaukee the next summer so he could go for his senior certification.
    Tim had burst out laughing. “Next summer? We haven’t finished this one yet! There’s a whole month left to go, and I’ve got big plans.”
    Those plans included plenty of basketball, plus pool time, video games, and going to the movies with Wanda—with other friends along, too, of course. After all, he insisted when Billy teased him, it wasn’t like they were boyfriend and girlfriend!
    But before anything of those things, Tim had something important to do when he got home. First, he mounted a wooden shelf he had made at the arts and crafts center on the wall in his room. (Now that Gruber the clown puppet was no longer there, he found he didn’t mind spending time at the center. That Wanda liked to go there had nothing to do with it.)
    Then he bought a big picture frame with lots of openings for photos. He filled the smaller openings with the photos his mentees’ parents had sent him. He added a few of his own photos, too, including one of Billy jumping off the end of the dock.
    In one of two bigger openings, he put the letter Keanu, Red, and Peter had read at the demonstration. The second big space was for his favorite photo. It showed him kneeling and hugging his mentees. The boys had their capes to the camera, so the message tim we’ll miss you! was clearly visible.
    Dick Dunbar was in the shot, too, standing to one side with a huge smile on his face. He had written a note across the bottom of the picture.
    To my buddy Tim, his message read, Never forget: Take that pizza one slice at a time! He’d signed it in a big loopy scrawl.
    Tim set the frame onto the shelf and stood back to admire it. Then, with a smile playing about his lips, he pretended to shoot a hook shot.
    “Swish,” he whispered. Then he posed for a free throw and shot that, too. “And one! Tim Daniels is a hook shot hero!”

Read them all!
    Baseball Flyhawk
    Baseball Turnaround
    The Basket Counts
    Body Check
    Catch That Pass!
    Catcher with a Glass Arm
    Center Court Sting
    Centerfield Ballhawk
    Challenge at Second Base
    The Comeback Challenge
    Comeback of the Home Run Kid
    Cool as Ice
    The Diamond Champs
    Dirt Bike Racer
    Dirt Bike Runaway
    Dive Right In
    Double Play at Short
    Face-Off
    Fairway Phenom
    Football Double Threat
    Football Fugitive
    Football Nightmare
    The Fox Steals Home
    Goalkeeper in Charge
    The Great Quarterback Switch
    Halfback Attack *
    The Hockey Machine
    The Home Run Kid Races On
    Hook Shot Hero
    Hot Shot
    Ice Magic
    Johnny Long Legs
    Karate Kick
    The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
    Lacrosse Face-Off
    Lacrosse Firestorm
    Long-Arm Quarterback
    Long Shot for Paul
    Look Who’s Playing First Base
    Miracle at the Plate
    Mountain Bike Mania
    Nothin’ But Net
    Out at Second
    Penalty Shot
    Power Pitcher **
    Return of the Home Run Kid
    Run for It
    Shoot for the Hoop
    Skateboard Renegade
    Skateboard Tough
    Slam Dunk
    Snowboard Champ
    Snowboard