Julie’s Book Excerpt
From Meet Julie
As soon as school was out, Julie rushed down the hall toward the coach’s office. Coach Manley was a gym teacher. He had buzz-cut hair like a G.I. Joe, a growly face, and a thick neck. Every time Julie passed the gym, he was always shouting.
Julie looked for a basketball sign-up sheet on the wall but didn’t see one. She summoned her courage and knocked on the coach’s door. She knew just how Dorothy felt knocking at the door of the Wizard of Oz.
“Enter,” barked the coach.
Julie fixed on the bump in his nose to steady herself. He reminded her of a dragon, about to breathe fire.
“Hi, Mr. Manley,” she said. “My name’s Julie. Julie Albright. I’m a fourth grader, and—“
“Yeah, yeah. You looking for the sign-up sheets? Got ‘em right here.”
“Really? That’s great! So I’m the first one?”
“Yep. How many dozen should I put you down for?” asked Coach Manley.
“Dozen? Dozen what?”
“Cookies. For the basketball bake sale,” said the coach, leaning back in his chair. “We’re trying to raise money for new uniforms. How about I put you down for some chocolate chip cookies. My favorite.”
“Cookies? I’m not here about cookies,” said Julie. “I’m here about the team. I want to be on the team. The basketball team.”
“We don’t have a girls’ team at Jack London. We can barely afford the boys’ team. Why do you think we’re having a bake sale?”
Julie took a deep breath. “Not the girls’ team. The boys’ team.”
Coach Manley sat up. She had his full attention now. “Let me get this straight,” he said slowly. “You want me to put you on the boys’ basketball team.”
Julie nodded, her heart pounding.
Coach Manley smiled and shook his head.
“Young lady, the basketball team is for boys, and boys only. Got that?”
“I’m as good as the boys,” Julie said softly. “Just give me a change to try out. Please.”
“Sorry. Answer’s N-O, no. This is my team and I make the rules. When spring rolls around, we’ll have some intramural games—softball, tetherball, badminton. Maybe you can play one of those.”
Julie shook her head. “That’s not the same.” She flushed and looked down at the floor, embarrassed to meet his eyes. A strange new feeling washed over her. It felt like a mixture of shame, frustration, and an emotion she couldn’t quite identify.
She glanced up at the coach. He had turned back to his desk, signaling that it was time for her to leave. Her instinct was to run out of his office and never see him again. But something kept her feet firmly planted to the floor.
