Boxcar Children 68 - Basketball Mystery Read Free Page B

her sister. “Patsy does take up a lot of the coach’s time. Look, tonight is our first practice with Tipper coaching. I know she’ll give everyone lots of attention. She wants to make the Fast Breakers into a super team.”
    “How are your Blazers doing, Henry?” Mr. Alden asked.
    Henry seemed a little quiet. “Well, Grandfather, I can hardly wait for Buzz to start coaching my team. Then Mr. Fowler can go back to being the referee. He’s been coaching, and for some reason he doesn’t seem to like me.”
    “Frank is a hard one to figure out, isn’t he?” Mr. Alden said. “When we were organizing the sports center, he was one of our biggest boosters. He had all kinds of plans.”
    “I know,” Henry broke in. “Wasn’t it his idea to have a fund-raising game with all the best players who graduated from all the high schools around Greenfield?”
    “Indeed, it was his excellent idea,” Mr. Alden said. “That’s why I arranged for the twins to come back to Greenfield for a visit. Something changed with Frank after he heard about that.”
    Henry nodded. “Everybody thinks Mr. Fowler is upset that Buzz broke his high school record. Whenever anyone mentions Buzz, Mr. Fowler changes the subject. Anyway, things should get better starting tomorrow.”
    “Why is that, Henry?” Violet asked.
    Henry studied a piece of paper. “Buzz left me a copy of his coaching schedule. He’s due to practice with the Blazers tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Fowler will be away at a conference for most of the day. We won’t have to worry about Buzz getting in his way.”
    The children helped clear the dinner table.
    “Well, I hope Courtney and Tipper get along at our practice tonight,” Jessie said, handing Henry the dishes. “After all, they were on opposite teams when they were in high school.”
    “They’re not too friendly, either,” Henry said as he loaded the dishwasher. “But at least Tipper didn’t break Courtney’s high school record.”
    An hour later, Mr. Alden drove Jessie and Violet to the new sports center. The building wasn’t quite finished yet, but the indoor and outdoor basketball courts were ready for practice. The Fast Breakers girls were the first to use the indoor court.
    “There’s the twins’ car,” Violet said when Mr. Alden pulled up. “That means they’re back from the banquet. We’re a few minutes early. Maybe Tipper can help me before the rest of the team gets here.”
    “See you later, Grandfather,” Jessie said. “The twins are going to drive us home at nine o’clock.”
    The Greenfield Sports Center had a nice new smell of fresh paint and wood. Jessie and Violet stopped to look at the display case in the lobby.
    “ ‘ James Alden, Donor .’That’s Grandfather’s name!” Violet said. “Now everyone who wants to play basketball can come here.”
    Jessie and Violet headed toward the gym. Their feet slapped against the new tile floors. Every sound echoed through the empty halls.
    A minute later the girls heard angry words echoing through the halls as well.
    “Somebody’s having an argument,” Jessie said.
    The girls slowed down. Should they go in the gym? Or make a lot of noise so the people would hear them and stop arguing?
    “It’s easy for you to come in and take over for a couple weeks,” a young woman said. “But I’m the one who’s still going to be here after you leave Greenfield.”
    The halls were quiet. Jessie and Violet wondered what to do next.
    “I’m sorry,” the second person said. “I didn’t want to force my ideas on the girls. I just thought —”
    “Everybody knows what you think from all those interviews you do. But that doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything you say. I still think we should pick out the best players and give them the most training. Then they can lead the team.”
    “That’s Courtney’s voice,” Jessie whispered. “She and Tipper are having a disagreement.”
    Violet nodded. “Let’s make a lot of noise so they’ll