CHAPTER 8

TOUGH SCRUBS

By Christmas vacation, Willy was still not kicking anybody’s butt. In fact, Willy was still getting pinned every day. Every day he wondered why he hadn’t quit. But every day he went back to the hot and smelly wrestling room with its padded walls.

He went back because he kept thinking he might be learning something. He kept thinking he might be getting better. He kept thinking he might be able to beat Biff—someday.

At the end of the last practice before winter vacation, Clint got the whole team together. “Who’s going to join me for workouts over Christmas break?” Clint asked. “You don’t have to come. We can’t have regular practices. And Coach is going to Florida. But if you want to get better, you’ve got to put in some extra work. Remember, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

“Yeah, the tough get going straight to the Bahamas,” said Biff with a sneer. “Count me out. You wouldn’t catch me dead around this place over vacation.”

When they heard that, Willy and Dan and Rufus looked at each other. Then they all nodded. “Can the scrubs come?” asked Willy.

“Scrubs?” said Clint.

“That’s what Biff calls us—the scrubs,” said Rufus.

Clint laughed. “We’ll all be scrubs then,” said Clint. “It’ll be the Scrubs’ Special Holiday Workout.”

The holiday workouts were hard. The guys wrestled. Then they climbed the rope. Then they ran stairs. Then they did push-ups and sit-ups. Then they wrestled some more.

It was even harder than regular practices. And while they were sweating it out in the wrestling room, other kids were hanging out, taking it easy. But there was something cool about doing something that nobody else would do. It made them feel special.

“This is so much fun,” said Willy at the end of one workout. “Aren’t you glad you’re not having a smoothie in the mall right now?”

At first the rest of them looked confused. Then Rufus said, “Yeah, or things could be even more horrible! We could be on the couch watching TV!”

“Or lying on the beach like Biff!” said Clint.

“Yeah, what a relief!” said Dan. “This is the life, man. Hey, let’s do another set!”

They all laughed. Then they did two more sets.