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)
Tyrannical Tania
Dan whirled about, just in time to see Tania. "Hey, Tania! How are you?" he called.
She stopped, the breeze catching her long black-dyed hair and wrapping it across her eyes. She brushed it back to see who was speaking. Her jeans and blouse were too tight. She wore black shoes with broad, square open toes and very thick soles. She had a pendant of some sort, which she fingered as she pondered Dan.
"Hi, you're Dan Cook, aren't you? Are you a friend of Peter's?"
"Hi, yes. Do you want to sit down and enjoy the meet?"
"Well, I was really hoping to catch Peter."
"Oh, he'll be back," said Dan ever so innocently. Sometime, thought Dan. Maybe never.
Tania looked across the field. Peter had disappeared. She bit her lip and tugged at her pendant again. Then she looked down at Dan, who smiled sweetly up at her. She made up her mind about something, Dan couldn't tell what, and sat down on the grass beside him. Dan thought her jeans would split with the force of an atom bomb.
Dan thought she would start lamenting Peter, but she didn't.
"I've heard about you. You broke your leg, didn't you?"
"Oh, yeah, last September. It's in pretty good shape now. I still have a brace, but it's better." Buy time, he thought.
"Are you going to be able to play soccer again?"
"Yep. I get a sports brace here in another couple weeks so I can start training again." Where did Peter go?
"What position do you play? I love soccer! It's my favorite game."
"I'm a midfielder. I sort of follow the ball, y’know." Just keep her going for a while so Peter can make his escape.
"Oh, how cool! That's wonderful! You look like you're so athletic, even with your injury and all. You must be very strong!"
"Uh, thanks." Wait, this isn't in the script.
"Do you get to score goals and stuff like that?"
"Yeah, all the time. In fact, when I was a sophomore I was the second highest scorer for Park. This season, of course, it wasn't so good. But I scored during the game where I broke my leg!" Let's change the subject and get her out of here.
"Ooh, that's really nice!" she cooed. She reached over and touched Dan's leg. "Can I see?"
"Well, there's not much to see." He pulled up his pant leg as far as he could. "Here's the scar from the latest operation." Maybe this’ll scare her off.
"Ooh, that's neat! You're very brave."
Dan blushed. "No, I just do what I have to do, that's all." Peter, where are you?
"I'm sorry to hear about your mother."
"Thank you." This isn't fair.
"You must be very lonely."
"Well, I have good friends." Like Peter, the lout!
"But still."
"Well, yeah, there are times when I'm lonely." Like for Peter, who needs to come back!
"I'm sorry. Can I help in any way?"
"No, not really." Really. No!
"I have an idea. I've heard you live by yourself right now."
"Yes." I'm getting suspicious.
"I'll tell you what. Why don't you come over to my place on Wednesday. I'll cook dinner for you. I do really good Mexican food. Would you like that?"
Dan thought for a moment. He thought about Peter and about Jerri. He wasn't sure. Something, somewhere was setting off an alarm bell. But, then again, it was much better than the frozen cardboard he would be having otherwise. But, then again...
"Oh, don't worry," she interrupted with a smile. "My parents will be there. So will my brothers. You can bring Peter if you want. We'll just make it a family affair. It's the least I can do to make you more comfortable."
"Uh, ok. I'm not sure, but…" I'm sure. I'm sure I won't.
"Ok, I'll plan on it. I'll see you at six, ok?" She gave him her address, which she made him write down in his school planner. She got up, brushing her hair against his face as she turned to leave. Without another word, she walked back toward the school.
"Well, Dan, you've got an admirer, I do say!"
Startled, Dan turned to face Brother Maceda, who hadn't moved during the entire exchange.
Dan's eyes were wide. "What do I do? What about Jerri? I can't go over there!"