SLEEPOVER BOOT CAMP

That Friday night, I showed up at Flip’s house with a sleeping bag, a pillow, a toothbrush, and Junior. Mom made me bring the toothbrush.

“My dad’s making bacon burgers,” Flip said. “You picked the right night to come over.”

I didn’t pick the night at all, but who cared? If dinner was going to taste as good as it smelled, I was already glad to be there.

But first, Flip was going to make me work for it.

We started off just playing catch in the backyard. Flip showed me how to use my fingertips and how to keep my eye on the ball. I’ve heard people say that a million times before: Keep your eye on the ball. But guess what? If you actually do it when you’re trying to catch, it helps.

“Now let’s make this a little more interesting,” Flip said. He went into the kitchen, where his dad was cooking. A minute later, he came out with something in a paper towel. He was also carrying a big roll of silver duct tape.

“Something smells like bacon,” I said.

“That’s ’cause it is bacon,” he said. Junior was jumping up and down trying to get at it, but Flip held it over his head.

“You’ve heard of flag football, right?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“And then there’s Drive the Dog into a Psycho Frenzy with the Laser Pointer, right?” he asked me. “Well, this is like both of those combined, but instead of flags, we’re using bacon. And instead of a laser, we’re using you.”

“Huh?”

“Turn around and raise your arms.”

A minute later I had four pieces of bacon duct-taped around my middle, hanging down like football flags. Junior was drooling all over the grass while Flip held him back.

“You need to run across the yard, touch that tree over there, then come around that pine, over that rock, and back here without letting Junior get a taste of that bacon,” Flip said. “Got it?”

It was pure Flip. One part hilarious and one part totally smart. I mean, we could have done it without the bacon—or without Junior—but what fun was that?

Flip gave me a ready-set-go, and I took off across the yard with Junior behind me, jumping up and snapping at my “belt.” By the time all that bacon was gone, I’d made five full laps around the yard. Not bad. I’m not sure if it made me any better at football, but it sure made me laugh a whole lot. Junior liked it too.

And the night was just getting started.