Dave at night: Part 5

By GAIL CARSON LEVINE, Illustrator MARK ELLIOT

Mrs Stern turned me away from Papa and held me. I stood stiffly against her.

Ida went on talking. "In six months we would have moved out of here. We almost had enough saved up."

I pulled away from Mrs Stern and ran out of the house.

Gideon caught up with me after I'd gone a block. "Where are you going, Dave?"

I didn't answer him. I was heading for Search Park to see if anyone was still playing stickball. When I got there, my friends were gone, but our stick was still lying on the ground. I found a ball under the Nash that was parked on Essex Street.

"I'll show you how I got the homer." I threw the ball in the air and swung at it. I missed. I swung again and missed. And again. And again. Once Gideon told me to stop, but I wouldn't. I kept swinging and missing. I started to cry.

"Why can't I hit it?" I said. "What's wrong with me?"

"You'll get it if you keep trying." Gideon was crying too.

"Why are you crying? You're not even trying to hit it." I laughed in the middle of crying. Then I connected. Crack.

Papa was dead.

Publisher: HarperCollins, $14.95
Age group: 8-12 years