Dave Casler
PO Box 98
Ridgway, Colorado 81432
Young Adult Novels by Dave Casler...
I've been told by publisher after publisher that there's no market for Young Adult novels. I think they're wrong! So I'm putting my novels on-line for you. Forget the publisher! Read to your heart's content--it's free! And, I'd like to hear from you, too! Contact Page.
You're reading About Dan. Be sure to check out About Phillip here.
Dan is a normal kid who loves his soccer. Except everything goes wrong. Everything.
About Series Home
About the About Series
Index to All Chapters
Here are all the chapters, disguised as asterisks. Hover your mouse over an asterisk to see the title of the chapter. Click on the asterisk to go straight to that chapter.
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(About Dan Home) (Last) (Next)
Peter Dances in the Wind
When the Chinook blows, it's usually warm. On this mid-November Wednesday the Chinook was blowing hard enough to get it all the way up to 50 degrees. Since Park High School is tucked right up against the foothills, the Chinook doesn't merely blow—it blasts.
Dan looked out the cafeteria window at the loading dock. His dad was to pick him up precisely at 4 P.M. It was now 3:55. Why is Peter standing there? I don’t want him to see me.
Peter was watching a tiny student struggling into the stiff wind, maybe 75 feet away from where Dan stood. Her jacket whipped and flared. She tripped. Her notebook was suddenly a snowmaking machine. She leapt to retrieve the papers but they were gone; she sank to the ground crying. They were beyond reach, like lost innocence.
Then Peter ran after her papers, jumping about like the goalie he was. He floated across the grass as fast as he ever did on the field, wadding the errant sheets under his arm. She missed his dance while mourning her semester’s work gone. He sat down, Indian-style, in front of her; together they made sense of the wad. She was backlit, her hair liquid gold. Peter gently pulled her locks back and touched her eyes. Just like Peter to add a flourish! He helped her to her feet, steadied her, and walked with her toward the student parking lot.
Unnoticed during this little drama, a red sports car pulled up to the cafeteria loading dock. Is that Dad? He tried to see through the windshield. Yes. Dan double-checked his backpack to be sure it was zippered. He braced himself and pushed the door open. Even then, he wasn't prepared for nature's ferocity. Seeing it through a window is one thing, but feeling it drag and push is another; he nearly fell within 10 feet of the door. Ed hopped out to help Dan negotiate the concrete steps from the loading dock down to the pavement.
Even pushing the passenger seat all the way back didn’t give Dan quite enough room for his outstretched leg. He finally figured it out by sitting slightly sideways. There were a few anxious moments with the crutches since there wasn’t much of a back seat. Ed finally rested them between the two bucket seats and across Dan's lap. He’d have to lift them to permit his dad to shift gears.
He was anxious for them to go before anyone saw them, particularly Peter, who might come back any time. Ed didn't see the need to hurry, in spite of Dan's remonstrance. Dan held up the crutches so Ed could shift into reverse.
"You picked an interesting day to do this."