Bus Mercer plays for a baseball team called the Peach Street Mudders where he plays the shortstop. For a while he has been hoping, dreaming and wanting to be on the county All-Star team but he knows only the best baseball players are picked. During his first baseball game of the season a representative from the All-Star team comes to watch Bus play. Sadly the representative was not impressed with the double-play Bus caused for the other team. Bus was sad but he knew the only thing he could do was work harder if he wanted to become a better baseball player. Little did Bus know that night when he got home his parents had a belated birthday gift waiting for him in the garage; a brand new bike.
The next day when Bus rode his bike to practice he felt like the king of the world. After practice Bus and his friend T.V. rode their bikes together to the batting cage to improve their batting skills. As the boys are practicing at the batting cage a storm approaches them without their knowledge. In hopes of making it home before the storm the boys take a short cut that involves them riding on a main road; something Bus’s parents told him that was not allowed. When Bus got home he is greeted by his parents at the front door who were worried sick about him. His parents decided to overlook his disobedience this one time but it makes Bus feel even guiltier. For Bus’s next two baseball games the All-Star scouts were there watching him play. Bus knows he must play his best games but his guilt from a few days ago begins to make him play bad. During the first baseball game Bus makes many mistakes causing the team the game. Bus knows he only has one more chance to make the All-Star team. In hopes of becoming guilt free he tells his mom what he did, but is that enough to make him play his best game yet so he can make the All-Star team?
After reading this book to my class, I would have them change one of the choices Bus made at the beginning of the story and write about how it might change the ending of the story. I would leave the ideas endless for the students because I would want them to learn how one small action can change the outcome completely. After the students were done writing their story, I would have them come together as a class and explain how and why their action would change the story.
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