Overtime Read Free Page A

his buds towards the stairs as they made their way back to the cafeteria at lunch. He passed the second floor window and looked down wistfully at the concrete pad that was surrounded by small rocks on three sides and a hill on the other. It was their ball hockey rink — not theirs exactly, but the school’s. They had started playing there at the end of grade nine, at lunch and after school, and what had started as a few mellow games had morphed into some serious five-on-five battles.
    It had started to get aggressive, and Principal Holmes had threatened to ban all ball hockey, until a kid named Dalton began to ref. He drew up some rules and posted a schedule, and the problems had disappeared for the most part. Charlie looked out again. Darkening clouds were threatening rain, which was probably why no one was there. But Tuesday lunch was the grade tens’ turn to play. He stopped by the window.
    “Boys, just to let you know — I see an empty hockey pad at the back of the school. I know we were gonna play after school, but … it makes me sad to see it all alone like that,” Charlie said.
    “That’s just plain wrong,” Nick said.
    “It’s more than wrong,” Zachary said. “It’s evil.”
    “We need to do something about it,” Pudge said.
    “But there’s the small matter of lunch,” Scott said.
    Scott’s appetite would be a difficult hurdle to overcome. The kid liked to eat. “You can eat after science,” Charlie said. “There’s five minutes between classes.”
    “Besides, you need to practise because you really suck at ball hockey,” Nick said. “And I mean really.”
    Scott looked at his lunch bag. “I’m sorry, old friend. Duty calls. To the pad!” he cried.
    He turned and leaped down to the landing. They raced after him, taking the stairs three at a time. Charlie was at the back, laughing, and looking for a way to sneak inside and get down first, but he was too far back and Pudge was cutting him off.
    “Curse you, Moretti,” he said. “I shall have my revenge.”
    Charlie turned the corner and jumped, figuring he could take the entire flight in one leap and get past Pudge. What he did not figure on was Principal Holmes walking up the stairs, and Scott, Zachary and Nick screeching to a halt. Pudge had managed to grab onto the banister to slow himself down. Charlie was in midair and could do nothing but crash straight into Nick and Zachary, sending all three to the ground.
    “Gentlemen! What is the meaning of this?” Principal Holmes said. “Are you fighting in the halls?”
    “Not at all,” Scott said. “We were just in a hurry to get to the library.”
    “Sorry guys,” Charlie whispered as he helped Zacharyand Nick up.
    “The library is the other way,” Principal Holmes said.
    “We were running to the cafeteria to eat lunch, so we could get back to the library,” Nick said.
    Principal Holmes rubbed his chin with his left hand. “I admire your enthusiasm for your schoolwork, but we cannot have students jumping down stairs on top of each other.”
    “I agree,” Scott said. “And we’re very disappointed in ourselves. Aren’t we?”
    “We are,” they chorused.
    “Don’t let me see this again,” Principal Holmes said.
    “You won’t,” Nick said. “It’s my fault, though. When I get a math problem in my head, I get carried away.”
    “I admire your sense of responsibility,” Scott said, “but as your math tutor I really should have kept you calm and focused on the numbers.”
    “Now that you mention it,” Nick said, “you are really to blame.”
    “On the other hand, you did make a good point,” Scott said. “You were behaving badly, and I am rather shocked.”
    Principal Holmes looked tired. “I think I’ll continue to my staff meeting,” he said flatly, and walked past them and up the stairs. When he was out of earshot, Nick put a hand on Scott’s shoulder and said, “I knew there was a reason my math mark was so low.”
    “We better boogie, boys,”