At Home

"How was practice?" Karen asked as she placed a roast chicken on the table along with potatoes and corn.

"Coach benched Chris for the rest of the season." Lucas replied as he took a huge bite. Ever since he came home, his appetite had improved.

"What did he do now?" Andy asked. Andy knew that Chris got benched at least 4 or 5 times a year. Nathan and Lucas both looked at each other. Karen noticed.

"What happened?" Karen asked, although she had a good idea what had happened.

"Chris pushed me down so I went after him. I got one punch in before he punched me in the chest, which knocked me down. Nathan went after him and punched him in the face. Chris punched him in the face. Whitey blew his whistle and stopped it. He yelled at Chris for punching me in the chest. He called me a weakling so me, Nate, Jake, Peyton, Brooke and Haley jumped on him and started beating him. Whitey actually let us kick his butt for a few minutes. Coach told him he was benched and to do 50 laps. Chris walked away to do them but hit me again in the chest, knocking me to the ground once again." Lucas informed them. Both Karen and Andy stared at him.

"Are you ok?" Andy asked.

"Ya. Tomorrow I'm going to tell everyone that Chris got beat up by girls. You should've seen his face. He had a black eye and bruises on his face!" Lucas replied as he and Nathan started laughing.

"I don't think that's very funny. What started all this?" Karen asked, although she too had a smile on her face.

"He asked Lucas who it felt to have your best friend die to save you. I told him to shut up. Whitey told him to stop standing around and looking stupid. After that, we chose teams. Lucas had the ball and that's when Chris pushed him." Nathan replied.

"Whitey said you could call him if you want." Lucas said as he finished eating.

"I will. Lucas, you sure you're alright? Your chest doesn't hurt?" Andy asked.

"I'm fine." Lucas replied as he picked up a basketball that was laying on the floor and headed outside.

"Lucas! Homework first." Andy and Karen both said. Lucas came back in and headed for his room.

"Nathan, was he ok at practice after all this?" Karen asked.

"Ya. I can't believe it. He's made a complete comeback. It's like he's never had the surgery." Nathan replied as he finished eating.

"Ok. Go do your homework. I'm going to call Whitey." Karen said as she picked up the phone.