Boxcar Children 68 - Basketball Mystery Read Free Page A

Maybe Mr. Fowler is still upset about that.”
    “That was such a long time ago,” Jessie said. “He’s a lot older than Buzz. Why would he still care?”
    Patsy put her juice cup down on the grass. “Players always care about being the best. If I had the record, I would never, ever want anybody to break it. Oops, look what I just did.” Patsy’s paper cup had tipped over, spilling juice on her shorts.
    “You can go to the upstairs bathroom and wash them off in cold water,” Jessie said. “I have lots of shorts in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Go ahead and borrow a pair. My room is next to the bathroom.”

    “Hurry back,” Henry called out to Patsy. “We have enough kids here for a quick game.”
    After Patsy left, Henry organized the older children into two teams. “Benny and Soo Lee, you can keep score and be the referees. Whoever gets to ten points first wins.”
    Benny and Soo Lee took their jobs very seriously.
    “Foul!” Benny shouted when a boy named James brushed by Jessie.
    Soo Lee counted the score with some pebbles. The game was short and ended ten minutes later.
    That’s when Jessie noticed Patsy hadn’t returned. “I wonder what happened to her. I’ll go check.”
    Jessie scooted through the kitchen. She overheard Frank Fowler talking in a cross voice. “No, I disagree, Buzz. You haven’t lived in Greenfield for a long time. It’s not a good idea to team up kids from the south end with north end players. No way.”
    “Fine. Whatever you say, Frank,” Buzz answered quietly. “Now, how about having Tom make up the practice schedules?”
    Frank Fowler disagreed with this suggestion, too. “No, I have a computer at home, and Tom doesn’t.”
    Jessie overheard Tom’s nervous laugh. “Give me a paintbrush or a basketball any day. I’m not too good with computers and writing things down. It’s okay by me if Frank handles the paperwork.”
    “Good. That’s settled,” Jessie heard Frank Fowler say.
    Jessie headed upstairs. She checked the bathroom. Patsy’s shorts were hanging on a towel bar in the shower. But Patsy didn’t seem to be around. Maybe she had gone home without telling anyone. Jessie stopped by her room to get a stopwatch for Benny and Soo Lee.
    When Jessie stepped inside, she jumped back. “Patsy! You scared me,” Jessie said when she saw her friend standing next to Tipper’s bed. “Oh, good, you found some shorts. I thought you went home.”
    Something heavy dropped to the floor.
    “What was that?” asked Jessie.
    Patsy looked worried. “I was, uh . . . looking at these pictures on this bookcase, that’s all. A big book fell down. I’ll pick it up.
    “Fine,” Jessie said. She went over to her desk for the stopwatch. She caught Patsy’s reflection in the mirror. Whatever Patsy picked up didn’t seem to be a book.
    “Come on, let’s go out,” Jessie told Patsy. “Everybody’s waiting for us.”

CHAPTER 3
A Big Mix-up
    P oor Mrs. McGregor. For the next few days she cooked up a storm for Buzz and Tipper. But the busy twins were hardly ever home!
    “Goodness, those two are going to turn into skeletons,” Mrs. McGregor told the children. “What they need is good home cooking, not all these banquets and such that they have to attend.”
    “Now, now, Mrs. McGregor,” Mr. Alden said. “None of your delicious leftovers will go to waste in this house.”
    Benny patted his stomach. “See, I’m not turning into a skeleton.”
    Mr. Alden laughed. “Everybody in Greenfield wants to meet the twins before they start coaching the neighborhood teams. The newspaper is full of pictures of them visiting schools and youth groups. And they’re going to be on television. I hope they don’t wear themselves out.”
    Violet had been quiet all through dinner. Now she spoke up. “I hope Tipper has enough time for the Fast Breakers tonight. I need help on my passing. Courtney spends nearly all her time with Patsy. She’s already a good player.”
    Jessie turned to