1
T heo Gordimer slowly clomped up the steps to the front door of his house. His heavy backpack made his shoulders ache. His face
was hot and sweaty. He shoved his blond hair out of his eyes and went inside. All he wanted to do was go to his room, dump
the pack, and settle down with a video game.
Not that that would cheer him up much, but it might make him feel a little less depressed.
He heard his mother calling from the kitchen. “Theo? Is that you?”
“Yeah, Mom,” he muttered as he started up the stairs to his room. By the time he reached the top step, he was puffing a little.
Great,
he thought.
One flight of stairs and I’m wiped out. What a total wimp I am.
Theo shrugged himself out of the backpack. Itthumped onto the floor by his bed. He left it lying there and looked through his rack of video games. But nothing he saw drew
his interest. Would anything brighten his mood?
Video games didn’t seem to do the job. The school year was almost over and summer vacation was only three days away. Not even
that fact raised his spirits. Theo sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. The springs gave out a loud squeak, as if they were
complaining about his weight. Staring out the window, Theo thought about his day and when it had turned bad.
It had happened in gym class, when Mr. Breen told the boys that they were going to run a lap around the school’s quarter-mile
track. Now, even if Theo wasn’t on the heavy side — which, to face facts, he was — he would never have picked running as a
fun thing to do. It made you out of breath and tired. TV, movies, and video games — they were what he thought of as fun. But
today, like it or not, Theo had to run.
He was sure he’d run more than a quarter mile in his thirteen years — just not all at once. He didn’t know if he could.
“What if I can’t do it?” he whispered to his best friend, Paul Baskin, as they waited for their turn.
Paul stared at Theo. “Come on! A quarter mile? You can run that far, can’t you?”
Theo shook his head. “I don’t know. I never have.”
“Well… just take it easy. I bet you make it. It’s no big deal.”
Maybe it wasn’t a big deal for Paul, who was into sports. But for Theo, a quarter of a mile seemed like a
huge
deal. Still, maybe Paul was right. He might do it.
He didn’t. Halfway around the big oval track, he was gasping and feeling awful. He slowed down from what hadn’t been a fast
pace to begin with and started walking. Other kids passed him and a couple of them made nasty remarks as they went by.
“Yo, blubber-boy! Want a lift?”
“Move it, lardo!”
Theo wished he could disappear. After walking for a little, he managed to speed up to a sort of trot and finally staggered
to the end of the lap. Mr. Breen shook his head.
“Gordimer, better lay off the doughnuts and ice cream. You need to shape up.”
Theo sighed and closed his eyes. Mr. Breen was right, he guessed. He
did
need to shape up. But it seemed like such a huge job, and he didn’t know how. His mom and dad wished that he’d spend less
time in front of a TV and more time throwing a ball or swimming or something. They didn’t get on his case about it much, but
he knew how they felt. When he let himself think about it, he felt sad, even ashamed.
But, bad as this was, it wasn’t the worst thing in Theo’s life. The worst thing was what was happening to his aunt Marj.
Theo loved Aunt Marj, his mom’s younger sister. She was great to spend time with and could always make him laugh. Aunt Marj
was a cheerful, funny, lively woman who never ran out of energy. Or she
had
been, until she’d gotten sick.
Some months earlier, Marj had been told she had cancer. Since then, she’d been in and out of the hospital, getting radiation
therapy and chemotherapy, which were supposed to make her better. They didn’t seem to be working, not as far as Theo could
see. She’d become thin and pale and spent almost all of her time
T heo Gordimer slowly clomped up the steps to the front door of his house. His heavy backpack made his shoulders ache. His face
was hot and sweaty. He shoved his blond hair out of his eyes and went inside. All he wanted to do was go to his room, dump
the pack, and settle down with a video game.
Not that that would cheer him up much, but it might make him feel a little less depressed.
He heard his mother calling from the kitchen. “Theo? Is that you?”
“Yeah, Mom,” he muttered as he started up the stairs to his room. By the time he reached the top step, he was puffing a little.
Great,
he thought.
One flight of stairs and I’m wiped out. What a total wimp I am.
Theo shrugged himself out of the backpack. Itthumped onto the floor by his bed. He left it lying there and looked through his rack of video games. But nothing he saw drew
his interest. Would anything brighten his mood?
Video games didn’t seem to do the job. The school year was almost over and summer vacation was only three days away. Not even
that fact raised his spirits. Theo sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. The springs gave out a loud squeak, as if they were
complaining about his weight. Staring out the window, Theo thought about his day and when it had turned bad.
It had happened in gym class, when Mr. Breen told the boys that they were going to run a lap around the school’s quarter-mile
track. Now, even if Theo wasn’t on the heavy side — which, to face facts, he was — he would never have picked running as a
fun thing to do. It made you out of breath and tired. TV, movies, and video games — they were what he thought of as fun. But
today, like it or not, Theo had to run.
He was sure he’d run more than a quarter mile in his thirteen years — just not all at once. He didn’t know if he could.
“What if I can’t do it?” he whispered to his best friend, Paul Baskin, as they waited for their turn.
Paul stared at Theo. “Come on! A quarter mile? You can run that far, can’t you?”
Theo shook his head. “I don’t know. I never have.”
“Well… just take it easy. I bet you make it. It’s no big deal.”
Maybe it wasn’t a big deal for Paul, who was into sports. But for Theo, a quarter of a mile seemed like a
huge
deal. Still, maybe Paul was right. He might do it.
He didn’t. Halfway around the big oval track, he was gasping and feeling awful. He slowed down from what hadn’t been a fast
pace to begin with and started walking. Other kids passed him and a couple of them made nasty remarks as they went by.
“Yo, blubber-boy! Want a lift?”
“Move it, lardo!”
Theo wished he could disappear. After walking for a little, he managed to speed up to a sort of trot and finally staggered
to the end of the lap. Mr. Breen shook his head.
“Gordimer, better lay off the doughnuts and ice cream. You need to shape up.”
Theo sighed and closed his eyes. Mr. Breen was right, he guessed. He
did
need to shape up. But it seemed like such a huge job, and he didn’t know how. His mom and dad wished that he’d spend less
time in front of a TV and more time throwing a ball or swimming or something. They didn’t get on his case about it much, but
he knew how they felt. When he let himself think about it, he felt sad, even ashamed.
But, bad as this was, it wasn’t the worst thing in Theo’s life. The worst thing was what was happening to his aunt Marj.
Theo loved Aunt Marj, his mom’s younger sister. She was great to spend time with and could always make him laugh. Aunt Marj
was a cheerful, funny, lively woman who never ran out of energy. Or she
had
been, until she’d gotten sick.
Some months earlier, Marj had been told she had cancer. Since then, she’d been in and out of the hospital, getting radiation
therapy and chemotherapy, which were supposed to make her better. They didn’t seem to be working, not as far as Theo could
see. She’d become thin and pale and spent almost all of her time
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