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 Phillip. Be sure to check out About Dan here.
Phillip is a computer nerd who suddenly discovers a liking for track. Everything would be fine except for his father.
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 Phillip Home) (Last) (Next)
Cornered and No Way Out
Phillip couldn’t avoid it no matter how many excuses. Lance made sure of that. Phillip had made a rash promise the morning before. Sunday after church had arrived.
Phillip was a cornered rat. Lance was the cat, biding his time, knowing he could counter any move Phillip made. Phillip couldn’t run, so to speak, and he couldn’t hide. It was going to happen. And it was going to happen right now.
And so it was that Phillip slipped behind the wheel of the Taurus. His dad got into the passenger seat.
"Fasten your seat belt first."
"That’s the trunk key. The other key is for the ignition."
"Let the parking brake off before putting it in reverse."
"Phillip! You need to have your foot on the brake first!"
"Look behind you!"
"Don’t turn the wheel to the right when you look over your right shoulder. Keep it straight."
"PHILLIP! Watch for oncoming traffic! He could’ve hit us!"
"Ok, now that you’re in the street, put your foot firmly on the brake and then shift into drive."
"Let the brake off gradually."
"Steer, man, you have to steer! The car doesn’t steer itself."
"Don’t hit the brakes so hard."
"Go down to the stop sign."
"You’re going to have to use more brake."
"Don’t forget to signal."
"No, I’m not going to let you go home. You’ve got to get the hang of this."
"Because you’ve got to learn to drive, that’s why."
"Get over it! Turn left here. PHILLIP! WATCH OUT!"
"I’ll grab the wheel if I need to! We could’ve hit that car. Now drive more carefully."
"I don’t care. Turn any way you want to."
"Stop whining."
"I am not being your scoutmaster right now. I’m your father and I’m trying to teach you to drive."
"Learning to drive has nothing to do with environmental protection. You’ll change your tune once you get used to driving."
"You’ve got to accelerate more. Get up to speed."
"Not that much. Slow down. SLOW DOWN!"
"Faster! You’re doing this on purpose. You’re blocking traffic."
"Ok, that’s better."
"The light is going to turn yellow. Yellow means caution."
"Yellow does not mean speed up!"
"Next time, be more careful going through an intersection. Good thing a cop wasn’t watching."
"No, I did not wet my pants. Phillip, that’s disrespectful!"
"Ok, then. Try this signal."
"No, you don’t have to slow down if it’s green. Well, now that you’ve slowed down, it’s yellow. Stop behind the line. Not that far behind the line. Ease up to the line."
"This isn’t a race car! Gentle does it on the accelerator."
"Because you have to. Everyone has to learn how to drive, including you! When I was a kid, we could hardly wait to drive. Our parents didn’t have to…PHILLIP WATCH OUT!"
"I AM NOT SHOUTING! You don’t need to shout, either! I’m trying to help you! Can’t you show some gratitude?"
"You make enough money from your job at the pet store."
"Look, it’s only fair you help with the insurance."
"Because you’re driving. It’s a privilege. You should earn it."
"It’s also a responsibility. You need to learn to drive."
"Yes, you’re good at it. You’re doing fine. LOOK OUT!"
"Turn left here. We’re going up the canyon."
"Because that’s where I want to go. You need to learn mountain driving. And you need to get your 50 hours logged on your permit before you can get your license. There’s a café in Nederland. You only have eighteen hours now. How are we going to…slow down—this is a sharp curve. PHILLIP! THIS IS NOT A MOTORCYCLE!"
"That’s what the signs on the side of the road are for. Don’t you read them? They tell you how fast to go around the curve."
"How I drive doesn’t matter. I know the road. I can tell how fast to go around the corners."
"You don’t need to experiment to learn."
"Well, I found out by…experience. I didn’t have to experiment. I just knew."
"BECAUSE!"
"Don’t worry about the cars behind us. If they want to pass, they can pass!"
"Stay on your side of the road."
"Don’t freeze up like that. Relax a little bit."
"Phillip, pay attention."
"Ok, pull into this little café. Let’s have a cinnamon roll to celebrate your success so far."
"All the way up to the end of the parking space. NO! Don’t drive over the curb!"
"Keep your foot on the brake. Put it into park. Set the hand brake. Turn the ignition off. Take the key out—make sure you never leave the key in the ignition when the engine isn’t running—that way you won’t forget your key."
"Ok, you can get out now. It’s ok. Phillip, are you ok?"
"Phillip, that’s rude!"