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Taking a Shot
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Taking a Shot
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Taking a Shot
"Hey Dex, are you heading to grandpa's place again?" Evan Merrick asked his son.
Dexter pushed his heavy black-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose and nodded. "Yeah, I want to get a little more practice in before the billiard tournament." "Grandpa says I have a real shot at winning."
"I'm glad to see you take an interest in something more fun and less academic for a change,” Dexter's dad replied. "Just be home in time for dinner, son."
"Sure, Dad," Dexter said as he looked at his dad in bewilderment. How could anyone say that billiards were not academic? He shrugged to dismiss the thought and headed for his grandfather's house.
The next day, at school, he signed the registration paperwork for the tournament pinned to the bulletin board near the gym. Before he could leave, two bullies approached Dexter.
"Check it out, Ronnie, the nerd, thinks he can play pool!" Austin said. "You should stick to math competitions and chess, dork!"
Dexter winced. He knew the guys from junior varsity would give him grief. Dexter drew a deep breath as the two pushed past him, close enough to throw his shoulder back. His heart was heavy as he headed to his advanced Geometry class. Perhaps he was out of his league. Billiards was a sport, and Dexter had never participated in it before.
Ronnie and Austin took advantage of every possible opportunity to tease him for the rest of the week. Still, Dexter showed up at the Community Center the day of the tournament, feeling like a swarm of honey bees had moved into his lower belly. His hands shook as he screwed the two pieces of his custom pool cue together.
"What's a loser like you doing with a stick like that?" Ronnie asked. read next