1
S teve Greeley wiped his face with a towel. His throat was dry, and he wished he had a gallon of cold water or lemonade right
now. He felt exhausted … and all he was doing was sitting in the bleachers, watching his sister Ginny play a tennis match.
It was an awesomely steamy day.
Ginny, who was fourteen, was playing a quarterfinal in the girls’ fourteen-and-under class of the State Junior Tennis Championship.
She didn’t seem to mind the heat at all. Ginny had amazing stamina, and at the moment she was running her opponent, a tall,
slender girl, back and forth across the baseline with perfectly placed forehands. Ginny looked cool and in control. Steve,
twelve, was due to play his own match in a few minutes: a quarterfinal in theboys’ twelve-and-under class. He was hot and uncomfortable enough for both of them.
Next to him, his father nudged him with an elbow. “I used to love playing on days like this,” Mr. Greeley said. “I’d make
my opponents run around until they were ready to drop, just like Ginny’s doing to that poor kid now”
Ted Greeley had been the star of his college tennis team when he was younger. In fact, as both his kids knew, he had been
considered a good prospect for the pro tour. He believed that he might have gone on to have a great career and become a household
name, but a knee injury had put an end to his dreams of stardom. He had made it clear he wanted to see his son accomplish
what he hadn’t been able to do.
Steve shrugged. “I won’t have to work that hard today. I’m playing Charlie Silver, and I beat him twice already this year.”
Mr. Greeley frowned at his son. “Don’t take Charlie for granted. He’ll be psyched up today. He’ll go all out to win, and you’d
better plan on doing the same thing.”
Steve wiped his face again. “I’ll take care of Charlie, don’t worry. I have to pace myself, that’s all. The semis are tomorrow,
and it could be just as hot.”
Ginny smashed a cross-court forehand just out of her opponent’s reach, and the crowd applauded.
“Game to Miss Greeley,” the umpire announced. “She leads the first set, five games to two.”
Mr. Greeley clapped, too, but he was studying his son and looking anxious. “It’s important that you play your best today.
I don’t want you to just get by. You should dominate this match.”
Steve stared at his father. “Huh? How come today is so important? It’s not the finals.”
“Well,” said his father, “there’s a special reason, but it’s a surprise. You’ll find out after your match. For now, you’ll
have to trust me that you’ll really be happy about it. But you should give it all you’ve got, believe me. Okay?”
“Sure.” Steve didn’t feel like arguing. He knew that he could beat Charlie. He wondered why his dad was being so mysterious.
Maybe Dad was going to give him the CD player he’d been wanting, as a reward for doing well. He decided that there wasn’t
any point in thinking about it now and turned his attention to the court below, where Ginny was about to serve for what could
be the game that won the set.
Ginny had been perfecting a topspin serve thatjumped away from an opponent, and she used it now. Sure enough, the ball hit the corner of the service box, then darted away
like a startled rabbit.
The other player seemed to know that she was beaten. Clearly she was feeling the heat, even though Ginny might as well have
been playing on a cool day in Alaska, for all the weather seemed to affect her.
Steve sometimes wished that he had his sister’s steely determination and her ability to focus completely on tennis. On the
other hand, he liked his life the way it was. Tennis was fun, but there was so much else to enjoy: good music, movies, hanging
out with his friends …
His father cut off his train of thought with a tap on his arm. “Let’s go. You have to get ready for your match.”
“
Now
?” Steve pointed to the clock
S teve Greeley wiped his face with a towel. His throat was dry, and he wished he had a gallon of cold water or lemonade right
now. He felt exhausted … and all he was doing was sitting in the bleachers, watching his sister Ginny play a tennis match.
It was an awesomely steamy day.
Ginny, who was fourteen, was playing a quarterfinal in the girls’ fourteen-and-under class of the State Junior Tennis Championship.
She didn’t seem to mind the heat at all. Ginny had amazing stamina, and at the moment she was running her opponent, a tall,
slender girl, back and forth across the baseline with perfectly placed forehands. Ginny looked cool and in control. Steve,
twelve, was due to play his own match in a few minutes: a quarterfinal in theboys’ twelve-and-under class. He was hot and uncomfortable enough for both of them.
Next to him, his father nudged him with an elbow. “I used to love playing on days like this,” Mr. Greeley said. “I’d make
my opponents run around until they were ready to drop, just like Ginny’s doing to that poor kid now”
Ted Greeley had been the star of his college tennis team when he was younger. In fact, as both his kids knew, he had been
considered a good prospect for the pro tour. He believed that he might have gone on to have a great career and become a household
name, but a knee injury had put an end to his dreams of stardom. He had made it clear he wanted to see his son accomplish
what he hadn’t been able to do.
Steve shrugged. “I won’t have to work that hard today. I’m playing Charlie Silver, and I beat him twice already this year.”
Mr. Greeley frowned at his son. “Don’t take Charlie for granted. He’ll be psyched up today. He’ll go all out to win, and you’d
better plan on doing the same thing.”
Steve wiped his face again. “I’ll take care of Charlie, don’t worry. I have to pace myself, that’s all. The semis are tomorrow,
and it could be just as hot.”
Ginny smashed a cross-court forehand just out of her opponent’s reach, and the crowd applauded.
“Game to Miss Greeley,” the umpire announced. “She leads the first set, five games to two.”
Mr. Greeley clapped, too, but he was studying his son and looking anxious. “It’s important that you play your best today.
I don’t want you to just get by. You should dominate this match.”
Steve stared at his father. “Huh? How come today is so important? It’s not the finals.”
“Well,” said his father, “there’s a special reason, but it’s a surprise. You’ll find out after your match. For now, you’ll
have to trust me that you’ll really be happy about it. But you should give it all you’ve got, believe me. Okay?”
“Sure.” Steve didn’t feel like arguing. He knew that he could beat Charlie. He wondered why his dad was being so mysterious.
Maybe Dad was going to give him the CD player he’d been wanting, as a reward for doing well. He decided that there wasn’t
any point in thinking about it now and turned his attention to the court below, where Ginny was about to serve for what could
be the game that won the set.
Ginny had been perfecting a topspin serve thatjumped away from an opponent, and she used it now. Sure enough, the ball hit the corner of the service box, then darted away
like a startled rabbit.
The other player seemed to know that she was beaten. Clearly she was feeling the heat, even though Ginny might as well have
been playing on a cool day in Alaska, for all the weather seemed to affect her.
Steve sometimes wished that he had his sister’s steely determination and her ability to focus completely on tennis. On the
other hand, he liked his life the way it was. Tennis was fun, but there was so much else to enjoy: good music, movies, hanging
out with his friends …
His father cut off his train of thought with a tap on his arm. “Let’s go. You have to get ready for your match.”
“
Now
?” Steve pointed to the clock
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