Soar by Joan Bauer Page A

wasn’t much.
    I wonder what happened to all the people who loved it? I wonder about the other people—the ones who say:
    What’s the big deal about steroids?
    You think this is only happening in Hillcrest?
    So many people want that edge to WIN.
    WIN.
    WIN.
    But in the middle of all this, another voice rises—it’s a real one, too. She stands on the high school steps with her husband and her son, Mac Rooney, who was a big Hornets star. Mac Rooney’s mother gives motherhood a gold star.
    â€œI don’t know how the other parents are feeling,” she begins. “But I’m feeling that we’re the lucky ones. We still have our sons. Michael and Dellia Cantwell lost their boy, Hargie. I, for one, want to know the truth about what happened. I want to understand what trust was broken, I want to understand what my son was exposed to, what he knew and didn’t know. I want us all to stop running from this ugly thing and look at what’s at stake here! If we ever needed truth in this town, we need it now.”
    Mac Rooney is standing next to his mother when she says it and applauding louder than anyone.
    Then Mr. Aronson gives us the best homework assignment. “What’s an example of a tragic flaw in our world today? Write a paragraph about that.”
    I haven’t finished my paragraph about Coach Perkins, but here’s what I’ve got so far.
    His love for winning was his downfall
.
It became more important than being honest and being responsible to his players and to the sport.
I really like this sentence:
Finally, when it comes down to it, a coach is responsible for the health and safety of his players.
    I actually call Aunt Charity and read it to her.
    â€œWell done,” she says. “You’re getting quite an education in that place.” And she doesn’t ask if I’ve had a bowel movement!
    Of course, I get off the phone before she can.
    I ask Franny who she wrote about. At first she doesn’t want to tell me. Remembering Canada, I let it be. But later in the day, she comes up to me.
    â€œPromise you won’t tell.”
    â€œI promise.”
    She stands there quietly. “I wrote about my dad.”

Chapter
22

    I HAVE A million questions I want to ask Franny about her dad, but everything says
Don’t
.
    I’m trying to show Jerwal how to pick up a garbage bag. I’m live-streaming this to Yaff, but Jerwal’s not getting it.
    â€œWhen you learn this, Jerwal, you can begin to clean my room,” I explain. “Won’t that be great?”
    â€œThen you can clean my room,” Yaff tells him.
    Jerwal shuts down at that, except for the blinking light in his eyes.
    â€œWe’ll talk about this later, Jerwal.”
    Yaff sends me pictures of the science fair. Our tables were supposed to have been next to each other. “They put Lanie Costrider next to me! She won first prize with ‘How We Can Save the Ozone Layer.’ But I got more traffic.”
    Yaff brought his gerbil, Brucie, to the fair. He built a maze for him to follow and tested how fast Brucie went through it. He changed the treats and colors so you could see what got Brucie moving and what made him stop. Yaff got awarded a SCIENCE IS FUN ribbon for his project. He hung the ribbon over the maze to show off, but Brucie got hold of it and started shredding it.
    â€œWhen are you coming back?” Yaff asks.
    I sigh. “I’m not sure.”
    â€œSo, see you pretty soon, Eagle Man.”
    â€œYeah . . . pretty soon . . .”
    I don’t know how long I’ve got to rescue baseball.
    And here’s the worst part: I don’t want to go back. I like my life in St. Louis, and I really miss Yaff—but wait! I can’t think this way!
    Head in the game, Lopper.
    Across the street, Bo is lugging an old suitcase from the garage. Then he carries out a broken rocking horse. Franny runs out of the house.
    â€œNo!