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)
The Youth Meeting
Three dozen youth swirled in a disjointed hurricane in the church’s multi-purpose room. The clock was approaching seven p.m. on Wednesday evening. Folding chairs clanged like cymbals, backpacks were stacked by the door and windows were opened to let some air in. Brother Sam and the other youth leaders were there; this included Lance, since he was the scoutmaster. The youth leaders unpacked their materials, jabbered among themselves and interacted with the teens all at once. It was a scene of total confusion—hard on both the ears and eyes. Phillip sat next to Grant; he was studying the doorway while Grant made small talk with Justin.
Lance was cornering the deacons—boys aged twelve and thirteen—herding them into a corner to sit together. So far he had corralled ten. The Mormon Church considers deacons to be of prime scouting age; the Scouting program has been adopted by the church as a major part of their activity program for young men. There’s less emphasis on Scouting for the teachers, age 14 and 15, and the priests, age 16 to 18, who usually have other activities separate from the younger scouts. Phillip, of course, was still a teacher, though he would become a priest in a week and a half. The young women have their set of activities, too.
Phillip didn’t have good memories of his years as a deacon under his dad’s scouting leadership, but that wasn’t what he was thinking about tonight. He was looking for Dan. Seeing him coming down the hall, Phillip moved swiftly to intercept, blocking Dan’s way into the room.
"Dan! I have the stuff you were asking about!" Phillip enthused.
"Huh?"
"You remember, the specs on the computer you were looking at? See, I’ve got it here…"
Dan laughed. "Let’s get inside, ok? We’re gonna be late."
Phillip was disappointed. He meekly followed Dan inside. Dan headed straight for Jerri and sat beside her. Phillip wandered to the piano and sat on the bench. He flipped open a ragged hymnbook and found a hymn he could play.
Brother Sam called the swirling, restless group to order, now numbering close to forty teens and eight adults. He knew he would never get complete silence, so he started when the raucous crowd settled down to his satisfaction. He worked his way through the interminable announcements, fielded several questions about the upcoming rafting trip and endured jokes about whether or not he could swim. Some of the younger scouts said they’d be sure to find out. Once he’d finished with the preliminaries, the group sang a ragged version of the hymn "Let Us All Press On," with Phillip accompanying.
After the opening prayer, Brother Sam stood up. "Ok," he announced. "The young women will go to the Relief Society room. The young men will stay here. We’ll meet back at…" he consulted his watch "…eight fifteen."
Pandemonium again broke loose. Brother Sam was already gathering the young men up to the front even as the last of the girls went out the doors.
"Now, there’s a Board of Review tonight for the Scouts, so all of you will go one at a time. Scouts, you go off to the scout room. Teachers and priests, you stay here."
The departure of the scouts was more orderly under Lance’s stern gaze. All of them wore at least the scout shirt and bandana; Lance insisted on it. Some had their merit badge sash. Two even wore official scout pants. Lance watched carefully as each one left and followed them out. Phillip watched out of the corner of his eye, glad he was no longer in the group.
As soon as the Scouts left, there was further confusion as the teachers and priests rearranged themselves, claiming space vacated by the younger boys. They were now down to nine boys. Phillip found a seat at the back, his preferred location. Much to his pleasure, Dan sat next to him. He reached for the magazine Phillip had in his hand.
"No, not that page, turn back a page. There it is. Amazing, isn’t it!" whispered Phillip.