Timberwolf Chase

by Sigmund Brouwer

  Stu went on the ice with a hotdog in his hockey glove.

  The referee dropped the puck to start the third period. Tom was a fast skater. He got the puck between the center line and the blue line.

  “Go,” Tom shouted at Stu.

  The defenseman thought Tom was going to pass to Stu. Instead, Tom cut to the outside and skated around the defenseman. Now it was a two on one.

  Tom waited until the last second. He pretended he was going to shoot. But he went around the net and came around the other side. By then Stu was in front of the net all alone.

  Tom gave Stu a perfect pass.

  Stu stopped the puck and tried to take a shot. As he swung his stick, the hotdog fell out of the bun. It fell out of his hockey glove and landed on the ice.

  The goalie caught Stu’s shot.

  Tom was skating in for a rebound. He saw something on the ice. He fired it quickly into the back of the net. He raised his hands like he had scored a goal!

  The referee blew his whistle.

  The goalie looked in his glove. He saw a puck.

  The goalie looked into the back of the net. He saw a hotdog.

  Tom stopped beside Stu. Tom looked in the back of the net.

  “Hey,” Tom shouted at Stu. “Where did that come from?”

  “Where did what come from?” Stu said. He was already trying to skate back to the bench.

  Tom grabbed Stu’s shoulders and spun him around and pointed him at the net.

  “That,” Tom said. “Look on the ice. In the net. It’s a hotdog.”

  “Wow!” Stu said. “Someone must have thrown it on the ice.”

  Stu reached in behind the goalie with his hockey stick. He used his stick to pull the hotdogtoward him. He picked it up and bit into it.

  “Not only that,” Stu said, “but it’s still hot. It could use some mustard, though.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Tom said.

  “Really,” Stu answered. He held out the hotdog. “Try it for yourself.”

  Chapter Six

  The next day, Johnny and Stu and the rest of the boys were running laps for gym class. Actually, for Johnny and Stu it was more like walking laps. Stu was not fast.

  Tom came up alongside them.

  “I thought I felt an earthquake,” Tom said as he ran past them. “But then I saw that it was just Dumbo here.”

  “Hah, hah,” Johnny said.

  But Tom was already gone. Stu was not fast, and Johnny was staying with Stu.

  “Remember, Oprah,” Stu told Johnny.

  “You mean my favorite episode?” Johnny asked. “The blond girl with the paper bag on her head?”

  “No,” Stu said. “The one where she said not to let another person’s insults control you. Besides, it seems when you stick up for me, I’m the one who pays the price. Ignore Tom. Please.”

  It was hard for Johnny to do.

  The next time Tom passed them, he said, “I could crawl faster than you, Stu. But then, so could a baby.”

  “Can I give him a wedgie?” Johnny asked Stu.

  “You’d have to catch me,” Tom said. “And I’m the fastest guy on the track.”

  To prove it, he sped up and was gone. But only for a few minutes. Soon he finished another lap and caught up to them again.

  “Oink, oink,” Tom said. “Oink, Oink.”

  “I thought I smelled a stinky pig,” Johnny said to Stu. “I guess it’s Tom.”

  “Ignore him,” Stu said.

  “Really,” Tom said to Stu. “You should think about quitting hockey. For the good of the team. I’ve done three laps, and you’re not even finished your first.”

  “We won last night,” Johnny said to Tom.

  “Yes, four to three,” Tom said. “And I scored all four goals.”

  “Four great goals,” Johnny said. “It really helped. That’s why the team is just fine with Stu as part of it.”

  “Maybe as a water boy,” Tom said. He ran fast again and left them behind.

  A few minutes later, he caught up to them again.

  “Four laps,” Tom said. “Hurry up and finish one, whale boy. Outrunning you is as easy as beating a blind man.”

  “Johnny,” Stu said as soon as Tom was gone again, “please help me remember my own advice.”

  “What’s that?” Johnny said. “Never mix sardines with peanut butter?”

  Stu had tried that once and didn’t like it at all. He’d given it to his dog, and it made the dog throw up.

  “No,” Stu said, “my advice about ignoring insults. Tom is finally starting to bother me.”

  “I’m glad you said that,” Johnny said. “I have an idea.”

  “What?”

  “Remember he said outrunning you is as easy as beating a blind man?”

  “You don’t have to rub it in,” Stu said.

  “That gave me an idea.”

  “Your ideas always get me in trouble,” Stu said.

  But it was too late. Johnny yelled loud enough for everyone on the track to hear.

  “Hey, Tom,” Johnny yelled. “If Stu wanted, he could beat you in a race.”

  Stu elbowed Johnny. “Are you crazy?”

  “Trust me,” Johnny said. “Trust me and don’t say a word.”

  Tom laughed and jogged back toward them. “Beat me in a race? Let’s go. Right now.”

  “No,” Johnny said. “He wants two weeks of special training. And I’ll name the time and place.”

  “Whatever,” Tom said. “He could have five years of training. He still wouldn’t have a chance.”

  Other kids came closer to hear what the bet was. Johnny made sure to speak loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “If Stu beats you in the race,” Johnny said to Tom, “you have to wear a dress to the next hockey game.”

  “Sure,” Tom said. “As long as he promises to quit hockey when I beat him.”

  “It’s a deal,” Johnny said.

  Tom laughed and jogged away from them again.

  “Like I told you,” Stu said to Johnny, “your ideas always get me in trouble.”

  “Remember the two magic words,” Johnny said.

  “Johnny’s crazy?”

  “No,” Johnny said. “Trust me.”

  Chapter Seven

  Right after school that day, Johnny and Stu went straight to Veteran’s Park in the middle of town.

  A creek ran through the park. There was a narrow twisting path through the dense woods that grew alongside the creek.

  Johnny took Stu to one end of the path.

  “Remember I told Tom that I would name the time and place you would race him?” Johnny asked Stu.

  “I’m trying to forget,” Stu said.

  Johnny pointed at the narrow twisting dirt path. Roots from trees stuck out of the ground in different places.

  “This is the place,” Johnny said. “What do you think?”

  “Two things,” Stu answered.

  “Yes?”

  “The first thing is that I think I will be lucky to make it to the other end without hurting myself,” Stu said. “I’m chubby and wide. Tom is skinny and fast. I’ll never beat Tom if we race on this path.”

  “We have two weeks to practice,” Johnny said. “What is the second thing?”

  “That I want to squeeze your throat until your eyeballs pop from your head,” Stu said. “Everyone in the school knows about the bet you made. And now you want me to race that fast and skinny new kid on this path?”

  “Trust me,” Johnny said. “You might be chubby, but you are smart.”

  “Don’t forget charming too.”

  “Yes. Smart and charming. But it’s the smart part that will end up making Tom wear a dress to a hockey game.”

  “It would be nice if you started making sense,” Stu said. “I may be smart, but my brain is stuck in a body that is big and slow.”

  “This afternoon we are going to run down the path slowly,” Johnny said. “I want you to count how many steps it takes between each
turn.”

  “Count.”

  “And memorize the count.”

  “Count and memorize? This is a race, remember, not a math class.”

  “Does anybody in the class get better grades than you in math?” Johnny asked.

  “No.” Stu said. “That’s not bragging. It’s just true.”

  “Then if we could turn the race into a math class,” Tom said, “you would win, right?”

  “Remember earlier I said my brain is stuck in a body that is big and slow?” Stu asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And remember earlier I said it would be nice if you started making sense?” Stu asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Now would be a good time to begin.”

  “Sure,” Johnny told Stu. “I’ll be happy to explain.”

  And he did.

  Chapter Eight

  Two weeks later, Johnny saw Tom in the hallway at school.

  “Hey, new kid,” Johnny said.

  “Hey, loser,” Tom answered. “When’s that friend of yours going to lose his race so I can get him off our hockey team?”

  “So you do remember the bet,” Johnny said.

  Kids in the hallway stopped to listen. Everybody knew about the bet.

  “I’ll race him any time, any place,” Tom said. “That’s the bet. When he loses, he promises to stop playing hockey for the Timberwolves. If you can call what he does on the ice playing hockey.”

  “Have you noticed he’s a little faster on the ice these days?” Johnny asked.

  Tom thought about it. “I hate to admit it, but yes, you’re right.”

  “He’s been working hard at his training,” Johnny said. “It’s not too late to call off the bet.”

  Tom shook his head. “He’s still not fast enough to play the kind of hockey that I am used to. I don’t want to be on the same team as a loser. Let’s get the race over with so he’ll quit.”

  “Hang on,” Johnny said. “There is the other half of the bet.”

  “That if he wins the race, I have to wear a dress to the next hockey game.”

  “Yes,” Johnny said. “That half.”

  “I’m not worried. What’s the time and place?”

  “The place,” Johnny said, “is Veteran’s Park. You know where that is, right?”

  “In a town this small,” Tom said, “it took only a day to know where everything is. I don’t know how you can live here without going crazy.”

  “Easy. We find new kids from Toronto who promise to wear dresses to hockey games.”

  “Hah, hah,” Tom said. “What time am I going to make your friend Stu look like a turtle?”

  “Funny you should say that,” Johnny said. “There is that story about the tortoise and the hare.”

  “It’s a fairy tale,” Tom said. “This is real life. What time?”

  “Seven o’clock,” Johnny answered. “Tonight.”

  Johnny knew the forecast was for a cloudy night. That would help Stu.

  “Tonight?” Tom frowned.

  Johnny shrugged. “Unless you’re afraid of losing.”

  “Tonight,” Tom said. “Seven o’clock. You better bring a big towel.”

  “Why?” Johnny said.

  “For you and the whale boy to cry in,” Tom said.

  “This is going to be like beating a blind man.”

  Johnny smiled. “I suppose you could say that.”

  Chapter Nine

  Tom and Stu stood side by side where the path went into the woods. Johnny and the rest of the team were nearby to witness the race. But it was quite dark and they knew they would not actually be able to see what happened.

  “Ready, set, go!” Johnny yelled.

  “Out of my way, whale boy!” Tom said. He pushed Stu to the side and ran down the path.

  Stu followed him into the trees.

  Immediately, Johnny heard a loud thunk. Next came a loud thump.

  “The first sound would be Tom hitting his head on a tree,” Johnny said to the kids beside him in the park. “Then I think he fell.”

  “Maybe it was Stu hitting a tree,” someone said. “Not Tom.”

  They heard a big “Oooooffff.”

  “Sorry, Tom!” they heard Stu say. “Didn’t see you on the ground.”

  “Does that give you the answer?” Johnny said. “Stu stepped on Tom.”

  Next came a loud howling.

  “That would be the thorn bushes,” Johnny said to his friends. “The bushes are about ten more steps down the path. If Tom doesn’t watch out, he’s going to fall into the—”

  A splash and more yelling reached them.

  “Yup,” Johnny said. “Right about there is where the path turns and if you miss the turn, you fall down the bank into the creek.”

  “How do you know this?” someone asked.

  “Oh,” Johnny said, “did Stu and I forget to mention that Stu has spent the last two weeks learning how to run down the path blindfolded? Running here at night is easy for Stu.”

  They all heard more howling. Johnny had to wait until it was quieter to continue talking.

  “That was probably the next set of thorn bushes,” Johnny told them. “I hope Tom figures out that the faster he tries to go, the more trouble he will get into. There’s another turn, and if you miss it you will—”

  There was another big splash and yelling.

  “Poor guy,” Johnny said to the team. “Ahead of him is another big branch, four sets of thorn bushes and three more places to fall into the creek.”

  Chapter Ten

  Johnny Maverick got to the dressing room early for the next hockey game. So did his friend Stu.

  They were both wearing dresses. Johnny wore a blue dress. Stu wore a red dress. But they wore blue jeans underneath the dresses.

  “Look,” Stu said. He lifted his dress. He pulled out the front of his pants. “These are getting looser. I think I’m going to keep training every night after school. It seems to be helping.”

  “Good,” Johnny said. He put his hockey bag on the floor. He sat on the bench. “I’ll train with you. It really is making you a better player.”

  Stu put his hockey bag down and sat on the bench beside Johnny.

  “Do you think Tom will wear a dress?” Stu asked Johnny.

  “Yes,” Johnny said. “I think he’s the kind of guy who keeps his word. He’s just a little too concerned about winning. And not concerned enough about being on a team.”

  “Thanks for helping me,” Stu said.

  “No problem,” Johnny said. “I owe you one for dropping that bowling ball on your foot in the summer.”

  “I thought you said it was an accident.”

  “It could have been,” Johnny answered. “But if you remember, you were winning before I dropped the ball on your foot. And after, you lost.”

  “Are you saying it wasn’t an accident?”

  Johnny grinned at his friend. “I’m saying that I like to win too. And I’m saying I’m glad I helped you with Tom to make up for hurting your toe.”

  Before Stu could answer, the door to the dressing room opened. It was Coach Smith.

  Coach Smith stared at Johnny and Stu in their dresses.

  “Is it Halloween and I forgot?” Coach Smith said.

  “No,” Johnny answered.

  Coach Smith sighed. “Then whatever it is, I don’t want to know.”

  Coach Smith pointed at Johnny’s hockey bag on the floor. “Johnny, did you check your hockey bag for mice today?”

  “Yes, I did,” Johnny said. “How many more times are you going to ask me that?”

  “Every practice and every game,” Coach Smith said. “Who would think a mouse could poop so many times in a person’s shirt?”

  The door opened again.

  “Hello, Coach,” Tom said as he carried his hockey bag in to the dressing room.

  Coach Smith stepped backward in surprise. “You’re in a dress too?”

  It was a dumb question, of course. Because the answe
r was yes. Tom was in a dress. This one was green. But he wasn’t wearing blue jeans. It was quite a short dress with short sleeves. It showed the skin of his legs and arms. His legs were scratched. His arms were scratched. His face was scratched. And he had a big bump on his forehead.

  “What happened to you?” Coach asked.

  “The tortoise beat the hare,” Tom said.

  “Huh?” Coach said.

  “You see, Johnny made a bet with me and—”

  Tom stopped. He noticed that Stu and Johnny were wearing dresses too.

  “Huh?” Tom said. “You guys didn’t lose the bet. I did.”

  “Yes,” Johnny said.

  The door opened again before Johnny could finish answering. Two more guys on the hockey team entered. They were wearing dresses too.

  “What is going on around here?” Coach Smith said. He looked at Johnny. “Whatever it is, it’s your idea, isn’t it?”

  “Coach,” Johnny said. “Tom lost a bet and had to wear a dress to tonight’s hockey game. But we don’t want anyone to laugh at him. So everyone else agreed to wear a dress to the game. So if they laugh at him, they laugh at the whole team.”

  “Everyone on the team?” Tom said.

  Two more guys stepped into the dressing room. They wore dresses too.

  “Everyone,” Johnny said. “After all, we are a team. And that includes you, doesn’t it?”

  Tom thought about it for a second. He stepped forward and shook Stu’s hand.

  “Yes,” Tom said. “And you guys were right. It is great to be on this team.”

  Sigmund Brouwer is the best-selling author of many books for children and young adults. He has contributed to the Orca Currents series (Wired, Sewer Rats) and the Orca Sports series which also debuts this fall.

  Sigmund enjoys visiting schools to talk about his books. Interested teachers can find out more by e-mailing authorbookings@coolreading.com.

  Also Available:

  Timberwolf Revenge

  The Howling Timberwolves are at it again. And there’s plenty of action both on and off the ice. At a big tournament in Calgary, teammate Tom Morgan plays a practical joke on Johnny Maverick, so naturally Johnny feels he has to pay him back. The rivalry escalates. After he scores a hat trick, Johnny is given a hockey stick signed by all the members of the Calgary Flames. He worries that Tom will do something to this prized trophy and decides he will not let it out of his sight. But in the end Tom outsmarts him one more time, and Johnny learns that revenge is never a good idea.