Free Tex by S. E. Hinton

really wanted to say.
    â€œYou know what your trouble is, Mac? You have no competitive spirit.”
    The way he said it, not having any competitive spirit was like not having the sense God gave a goat. Well, maybe he was right. I don’t know that much about it.
    â€œIf you didn’t have the potential,” he went on, “I wouldn’t care what kind of lazy turkey you were. But you could be just as good a player as Mason if you’d cut the crap and work at it.”
    I staggered back in mock amazement, almost knocking Johnny over. “Not that good!” I exclaimed.
    Coach clenched his fists, like he was trying to keep from belting me. Everybody held their breath for a second, waiting for him to do it. I thought he’d do that, or tell me to touch my toes for a swat. He didn’t swat you like Mrs. Johnson did. Coach’s swats would lift you off the ground. For an endless minute we stood like that, then he said, “Showers.”
    Everybody took off. I did, too, but not as fast as most people.
    â€œMan, Tex, I thought you’d had it,” Johnny said later. I dried my hair off and flipped him with the towel. “Naw. He sounds worse than he is.”
    â€œMaybe you shouldn’t keep pushing him like that.”
    I looked up from pulling on my boots. Johnny’s freckled face looked serious. “Hey,” I said, “what’s with you?”
    Johnny had been edgy ever since he got grounded, and I had put up enough with edgy people. “You’re startin’ to sound like Cole.”
    â€œYeah, well what’s wrong with that?”
    â€œFor Pete’s sake, you’ve been griping about him for days now. Now it sounds like you’re starting to take what he says about the evil McCormicks serious.”
    â€œJust leave Cole out of this, okay? He’s my father, I can bitch about him if I want. Bitch about your own, if you ever see him again.”
    For a second I really thought I was going to jump up and punch his lights out. It must have showed on my face, because he went charging out of the locker room. I sat there, holding one boot. Having a fight with Johnny was like seeing the sky turn orange. I couldn’t believe it had happened.
    We didn’t speak to each other the rest of the week. When he got his cycle back he didn’t come by to pick me up for school. It was serious. I kept up a good front, at school—if he didn’t care if we were ever friends again, I didn’t—but at home I moped around a lot. I had plenty of people to talk to at school, but just because you know a lot of people doesn’t make them your friends. I felt like I did when I found out Negrito was gone. And I had the weirdest feeling that if Johnny hadn’t been fighting with Cole, he wouldn’t be fighting with me.
    I was having lunch at school with a couple of other guys when Jamie came up to the table. “I want to talk to you.”
    â€œSure,” I said, ignoring the gibes and snickers from the other guys. If some cute girl walked up to them and said “Frog” they’d have jumped straight up and asked “How high?” on the way.
    We moved over to another table that was almost empty.
    â€œI want to know when you and Johnny are going to stop being so stupid.”
    It was a relief to me that Jamie always said what she thought without hedging around or playing games. But sometimes it took you a little by surprise.
    â€œI don’t know,” I shrugged, trying to look like I didn’t care, either.
    â€œWell, I certainly wouldn’t let some dumb little argument come between me and Linda Murphy.”
    â€œI thought Marcie was your best friend,” I said. Jamie’s eyes were so dark that it always came as a surprise to realize they were blue.
    â€œOh, that was last month.”
    â€œSee,” I said. “If I went around switching best friends all the time, maybe it’d be different. This time