Takedown Read Free Page A

went out and did fifty miles just for fun.”
    “Only three. I’m resting this week.”
    “Doesn’t sound like resting to me.”
    Donald took his seat in his homeroom just seconds before the late bell. He turned to Mario, seated behind him, and noticed a raw spot on his cheek.
    “Your face looks like my elbow.”
    “That’s called a mat burn,” Mario said. “My brother says to expect a lot of them if we keep wrestling.”
    “What do you mean if? ”
    “I mean . . . You know what I mean. Expect a lot of sore skin.”
    “Doesn’t scare me.”
    “Me either,” Mario said. “A couple of guys already said they’re quitting, though.”
    “Like who?”
    “Ricky said he is. And he said Jordan is out, too. They hated it.”
    Donald could understand the temptation to quit. You either loved the physical challenge or you didn’t. He was pretty sure he loved it. “Hope we get more one-on-one time today,” he said. “You know, actually get to wrestle somebody again. Anybody but Tavo, I mean.”
    “That’s how I got this,” Mario said, pointing to the mat burn on his face. “But I know what you mean. That’s why we went out for this sport in the first place.”
    “Right. I mean, I love doing push-ups until my fingers snap off, but the actual wrestling is even better.”
    “Yeah,” Mario said. “My favorite was running in place for four hours. I think we were supposed to dig a hole in the mat with our feet.”
    “That’s the idea. Do drills until the gym caves in, then wrestle on the debris.”
    “That’s what makes us tough.”
    Donald turned to face the front of the room. School days were long, but at least now he had something to look forward to at the end of it.

4
    Flat on His Back
    D onald squirmed and twisted, but Tavo was just too strong. Why did Coach keep putting Donald against him?
    Just like yesterday, Tavo was using Donald as a takedown dummy. He’d pinned him four times already.
    I could beat half the guys in this gym, Donald thought. Is Coach trying to make me look bad or what?
    Donald felt his shoulders pressing firmly into the mat for pin number five.
    “Got ya,” Tavo said, grabbing Donald’s arm and hauling him up.
    Donald swatted at Tavo and said, “Knock it off. I told you I don’t need any help.”
    “Just giving you a hand, bro.”
    Donald made a fist and lifted it up. “You’ll get a hand. A clenched one.”
    Tavo laughed. They were the same size, but obviously he’d have no more trouble handling Donald in a fight than in a wrestling match.
    Donald didn’t care. He took a step closer and leaned forward with his face just inches from Tavo’s. “You’ll be dead meat after I learn a few moves,” he said.
    Tavo leaned forward, too, so his forehead was almost touching Donald’s. Donald put a hand on Tavo’s chest and shoved hard.
    Tavo took a step back, nearly falling to the mat. He reached up and gripped Donald’s shirt with one hand, staring at him hard. “Don’t get me mad.”
    “Let go,” Donald said. “I’m already mad.”
    Tavo let go of the shirt and laughed again. That didn’t help Donald’s anger any.
    Donald felt a finger jabbing into his shoulder. He looked up and saw Coach standing there. “Problem here?”
    “No.”
    “No?”
    Donald shook his head.
    Coach made the same circling motion with his hand that he’d made the day before. “Start running,” he said.
    “Just me?”
    “Just you. I saw what happened. I don’t care how bad you get beat, but if you act like a poor sport you get punished.”
    Donald let out his breath in a huff and walked to the edge of the mat. Then he started running laps around the gym, much faster than yesterday. He couldn’t help but run faster because he was angry. Tavo had made him look like a jerk.
     
     
    Coach sent word for Tavo and Donald to come to the office after practice. All of the school’s sports coaches shared the same office: a tiny, cramped space next to the locker room with a desk, two chairs, and