Three Clams and an Oyster
by Randy Powell

Subjects: Sports, Relationships
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Flint, Rick and Dwight are three arms of the four man flag football team.  Cade their fourth man, the oyster, is their problem child.  There used to be five of them, but their founder, Glenn died two years ago when Cade landed on him after they fell off a bridge into a dry creek.  Glenn named them.  They were the clams with the talent.  He was the odd man out, the delivery system, the oyster because he had the pearls.  They pay tribute to him every year by peeing on his grave.  Cade’s their oyster now.  Only he’s flaking out on them:  skipping practices, boozing and partying too much.  He’s their friend and they don’t want to dump him but they have a chance to go all the way this year and they need someone they can rely on.  So they’ve been thinking and looking at prospects.  There’s only three choices, Thor, the nice guy druggie, Tom Goon, clumsy but reliable, or Rachel a top notch athlete but a control freak and a girl.  They must decide what’s important to them: comfort, friendship, dreams or winning.  How long do you hang onto a friend who’s becoming less of a friend on his road to self-destruction?  Read Three Clams and an Oyster by Randy Powell.

Booktalk prepared by Janice Bailey, East Central High Librarian