فصل هفدهم

Chapter 17

Jeff and Bradley ate lunch together around the side of the building, where nobody would bother them.

Jeff stood up. “I’ll be right back,” he said. “I have to go to the bathroom.” “Which one?” Bradley asked.

“Boys’,” said Jeff.

“Oh,” said Bradley. “I’ll wait for you here.” It was a very long wait.

“Hey, Jeff!” Robbie called as Jeff stepped out of the bathroom.

“Me?” asked Jeff. It surprised him because Robbie had always called him Fishnose or Fishbrain.

“Come over here,” said Robbie. A group of boys was with him. Jeff recognized some from his class, but didn’t know them all. One of the boys had a basketball.

“Hi, Jeff,” said Brian, a boy from his class.

“Hi, Brian,” he replied.

“How’s it goin’, Jeff?” asked Russell.

“Okay.”

“This is Jeff Fishkin,” Robbie told the boys who weren’t in his class. “He’s the guy who gave Chalkers the black eye.” “Way to go, Jeff!” said one of the boys he didn’t know.

“All right, Jeff!” said another.

“Oh, man, would I have liked to have seen that.” “Man, when I saw Chalkers’ eye today,” said Robbie, “I just smiled. And then when I found out you got called to the principal’s office, I thought, ‘Way to go, Jeff.’ ” “You didn’t get in trouble, did you, Jeff?” asked Dan.

Jeff shook his head.

“They probably gave him a medal,” said Russell, laughing.

The others laughed too.

“You like to play basketball, Jeff?” asked Andy, the boy with the basketball.

“Sure!” said Jeff.

They chose teams. Robbie and Andy were captains. Robbie had first pick. “I got Jeff,” he said.

Jeff beamed.

They played basketball for the remainder of the lunch period. Jeff’s team won, but it was also the team with five players. The other team had only four.

Everyone told him he played a great game.

“I always wondered why a guy like you was hanging around with Chalkers,” said Robbie. “I guess it just took you a while to find out who your real friends were.” Jeff smiled. These were the kind of friends he had had back in his old school in Washington, D.C.

Of course, it meant he couldn’t be friends with Bradley anymore, but … He shrugged.