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)
Cheryl Lets Her Hair Down
It was remarkably nice for a mid-December day: sunny, no wind, warm (ok, 50 degrees). But the whitish haze known locally as the brown cloud hugged the hills and watered the eyes, clinging like old cat fur.
Dan was rid of the cast. This brought on a new set of problems: a bulky brace and painful physical therapy. Fifth period—Dan’s lunch—found him working his way down the sidewalk from the student parking lot with the aid of his rented cane.
"Dan! What brings you out here on such a lovely day?" It was Cheryl, sitting on a picnic bench next to the sidewalk.
"Left my lunch in the car."
"Come sit and chat. Do you mind?" she asked. She moved her crutches to make room for him. He sat heavily, clanging his cane on the bench. They were alone.
"Uh, sure. I usually eat with Peter but don’t know where he is," he said. Jeesh, that was a dumb thing to say. Try again. "Haven't seen you since the Fall Festival. How are you?"
For a couple seconds it looked like she was going to answer his question. But she changed gears. "So, you got rid of the cast! Tell me what's happening with you."
"Doc took it off right after Thanksgiving. Big ugly brace now. No sideways pressure on the knee. Do you like my cane?" He raised it in the air.
"Cool, very sleek."
"I'm still having trouble remembering how to walk with it. It takes more coordination than I've got, I think."
Cheryl laughed. "So can you bend your knee now?"
Dan made a face. "A bit. First day, none. Shoulda seen physical therapy. Thought he was gonna tear it off. I can bend it about halfway now. See?" He made her look while he bent his knee. She watched carefully.
"So tell me about your brace," she said.
"It has hinges here and here." He pointed to spots on each side of his knee. "They're the same place where my knee is supposed to bed. At least that's the theory. Stupid thing keeps slipping. And, to make it worse, it's giving me blisters on the back of my leg." He pointed some more. Again, she made a show of looking carefully.
"So you're driving again?"
"Yeah. That was quite the comedy. Car's been sitting all this time. Peter and I spent most of Saturday getting it started. But we prevailed!" He shot a triumphant look at Cheryl. "I'm mobile again!"
"Can you go back to work now?"
Dan looked less triumphant. "Yeah. They kept my job for me. But now I have an hour of therapy every day right after school. That’ll go on forever. And I'm so far behind in school. It's really bad in math and chemistry, 'cause the new stuff is based on stuff I missed. Don't know if I have time for work. But I need the money for gas and insurance and stuff."
"Bummer."
Dan changed the subject. "Hey, I really enjoyed dancing with you."
She didn’t smile. "It was fun. That's why I always join the committee. At least I get to go."