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)
Telling the Story
Phillip knew better than to stop working while talking, lest Mrs. Hardesty wag a finger in his face, so he put gloves on and pulled spent wood chips out of the bottom of a rabbit cage.
"It went pretty well. I shoulda paced myself better though. Anyway, it’s pretty exciting with all the people around and everything. Kinda confusing. I almost didn’t go to the right place, but someone grabbed me and got me there on time."
"I’ve never been to a track meet," she Mrs. Hardesty, obviously more excited than Phillip. "Did they make you guys kneel down to start and all that? Do you run around that new track there at Park?"
"Yeah, it’s the new track. Nice track. Eight laps. Two miles. We started when they fired the gun, that's all."
"Oh, I bet everyone in the stands was so excited! I wish I could’a been there."
Phillip thought to himself that Mrs. Hardesty didn’t have a clue what it was like to be at a track meet. "Well, they don’t really have stands, but there were a lot of people at the finish line."
"So how did you do?" she asked, looking like she wanted to hug him.
She didn’t get this excited when he cleaned cages or fixed her computer.
"I came in second for Park and fourth overall."
"You didn’t tell me you did so well," said Melanie. "You were telling me all about the meet, but didn’t tell me, you know, that you beat the other Park runners."
"Oh, I’m proud of you, Phillip!" exclaimed Mrs. Hardesty.
This time she hugged him. He dropped wood shavings on the floor and turned as red as the eyes of the albino rabbit behind him.
"Listen, hon, I’m absolutely delighted for you! I’m sure your parents are proud, too! Oh, look! Here’s the guy who was looking at the parrot. I think he’d be a perfect match." She bustled past the table stacked with bird seed, her broad hips dragging one of the bags out of line.
Phillip stooped to clean up the mess he’d made. Melanie sniggered.
"You sure know the way to her heart, don’t you?" she said.
He looked up as she grabbed fresh wood shavings and shoved them into the cage. "What d’ya mean? I wasn’t …"
"Oh, just joking. She’s a nice lady. So why’d you go out for track, anyway? It’s not exactly a cooperative venture, you know."
"Well, in a way it is. There’s strategy and pacing. The idea is not just to win the race individually but to get points for the overall meet. And even though we only placed third and fourth in the 3200-meter, we got enough points that Park topped the overall meet."
"So, from talking about cooperation, you’re back to talking about winning," she said as she sprayed water on the front of a cage and started wiping. "I think you sometimes confuse the two."
"Uh, no, not really. Anyway, to answer your question, I ran because Dan and Peter put me up to it. It’s kind of fun, really. And I will admit there was an adrenaline rush at the end."
"And your dad was there, you said."
Phillip stiffened but didn’t respond. He busied himself with cage cleaning, his back to Melanie. She hesitated, then changed the subject. "Is Matthew still giving you a hard time?"
"Yeah, and I found out why. Dan told me. You know Matthew’s a member of some fundamentalist church? They think Mormons aren’t Christians and we’re all going to hell. Anyway, their youth group is targeting me as the one they think they can break away and bring into the light." He grimaced.
"So how’s taunting you gonna help convert you?"
"Got me. Just makes me mad. Matthew’s hated me ever since I beat him in the eighth grade spelling bee. Whomped him, really. And I think Matthew and his friends are a bunch of flaming…" He caught himself.
"What about your friend Grant? Are they after him, too?"
"Grant says they’re always making snide comments; he thinks it’s funny. But they’re not after him like they’re after me. Oh, did I tell you? Grant’s gonna help me put up my own website."
"Uh, we’d better clean those budgie cages if we’re going to get it all done before the store closes."
He attempted a smile. "Yeah, budgies, here we come."
"Or maybe not. Look at Mrs. Hardesty," she said.