Chapter Three
Coach’s Pep Talk

“Hey, everybody,” Tom yelled as he entered the dressing room before their game. “Guess what? Johnny got pranked by a six-year-old girl!”

All the noise and talking stopped. The guys on the hockey team had been tying their skates. Everyone was almost ready to go on the ice.

“I don’t believe it,” Eldridge said. He was another friend of Johnny’s. He was sitting beside Stu. “Johnny is too smart for that.”

“It’s true,” Stu said. “His cousin Sarah put a mousetrap on his alarm clock. When Johnny went to hit the snooze button, he put his fingers in the trap.”

“Yeah,” Tom said, “he screamed like a little girl.”

All the guys on the team laughed. But they stopped when Coach Smith opened the door and stepped inside the dressing room. Coach Smith had a serious look on his face. They knew what that look meant. Coach Smith was going to give them a pep talk before the game.

“Listen up,” Coach Smith said. He always started his pep talks like that. “This is a big game.”

Johnny was sitting on the other side of Stu. He whispered to Stu, “Not as big as the plate of pancakes you put away this morning.”

Stu elbowed Johnny.

“If we win this series,” Coach Smith said, “we go to the championship finals.”

Coach Smith was always telling the boys things they already knew. That’s why they often didn’t listen to him.

Like now. Johnny elbowed Stu back. Stu’s gum dropped out of his mouth and onto the floor.

“Yes,” Coach Smith said, “it’s the best two out of three games. One here today in Baden against the Sabres and one tomorrow morning back in Howling. If each team wins a game, the tie-breaker is tomorrow afternoon in Howling. Got it?”

Stu leaned forward and reached around on the floor with one hand.

“What are you doing, Stu?” Coach Smith asked.

“Nothing,” Stu said.

Johnny knew Stu was trying to pick his gum up off the floor. But it wasn’t the time to tell Coach Smith. Coach Smith didn’t like interruptions during his pep talk.

“All right, guys,” Coach Smith said. “Play your best. And play so your parents can be proud of you. That’s all I can ask.”

Everyone knew the pep talk was over. Coach Smith always ended his pep talks like that.

Coach Smith left the room and everybody started talking. Johnny noticed Stu was chewing his gum again. Stu had a funny look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Johnny asked. “Did I elbow you too hard?”

“No,” Stu said, “I dropped my gum on the floor.”

“I saw you pick it up,” Johnny said. “But that doesn’t explain the look on your face.”

“Coach Smith was giving us his pep talk, so I couldn’t look down to find it.”

“So?” Johnny asked.

“Well,” Stu said, spitting the gum out onto his hand, “my gum was spearmint. This is cherry.”

“Gross!” Johnny said. “You are chewing somebody else’s old gum!”

Stu tossed the cherry gum into the garbage. He looked at the floor and found the gum he had been chewing. He popped it back in his mouth.

“Gross!” Johnny said again.

“Not as gross as yesterday after school,” Stu said. “I was watching television and eating Oreo cookies. The crumbs that fell onto the couch were crunchier than I expected.”

“How can that be bad?” Johnny asked.

“Those crunchy crumbs had legs,” Stu said. “And I didn’t realize it until after I had chewed on a couple.”