Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue
The crisp, resonating crack of the bat against the ball returned my attention to the game. Sitting on the bench beside Tommy, waiting his turn behind Jimmy, was terribly frustrating. Jimmy was a good guy, and all, but he was a slow runner. His legs were just short. I guess you could say he was built kind of funny, all body, with short arms and legs. He leaned forward when he ran, more than anyone else I'd seen, as if he could go faster just by wanting to.
On the other hand, that boy could hit. He could send that ball wherever he wanted to send it. This time, it went for a hole in the middle of the outfield, bouncing between the left fielder and the center fielder, neither of whom I knew, before being scooped up in a glove and thrown to Marty, the shortstop. Marty looked for a play, but there was none. Christopher had rounded second and was almost on top of third. Jimmy barely made it to first. Marty threw the ball back to Bradley, and Tommy was up. The guys on the other team began to taunt him.
"Rooooooomeo... oh, Rooooooooomeoooo"
and
"He ain't gonna hit it. He's too nervous."
and
"Better hit a good one, loverboy. Your girlfriend is watching."
and finally,
"Tommy and Sarah, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
Tommy appeared not to notice.
There was the windup, and then the pitch. It looked like Bradley was trying a fast ball, but it didn't hold a candle to Tommy's. It was moving pretty good, but Tommy got a solid hit, a line drive that sped right by George, the third baseman, and then past Marty's heroic dive, before finally hitting the ground a foot in front of the left fielder's glove. The ball rolled under the glove, between the fielder's feet, and back into the field. Christopher ran for home. Jimmy rounded second and struggled for third as the left fielder grabbed the ball and threw it at Marty. Marty, still scrambling up from his dive, missed. Bradley ran for the ball, scooped it up, and tried to tag Jimmy, but he missed as Jimmy dropped in to a slide right into the old tire serving as third base. Christopher crossed home unchallenged. We had a run. We were still two behind, but we were catching up. With two guys on base, we could turn this game around.
It was my turn at bat. As he spun around to return to the mound, I could see that Bradley was angry. He'd missed Jimmy by inches, just enough for everyone to see, so that no argument could be made for an out. He looked at me.
"You ain't getting a hit off of me."
I ignored the statement, spread my feet to shoulder width, dug my toes in, and smacked the piece of carpeting that was home plate. I jerked my chin up at him. Go ahead and try me, buddy.
Bradley called a time out, motioning Joe, the catcher, to come to the mound. The two huddled for a moment over the ball, and I immediately knew what would follow. A glimpse I got when the two moved apart for a second confirmed my suspicion. A spitball was about to be headed my way.
Probably a fast pitch, too.
All right. I could do that.
Joe smirked at me on his way back to the plate. I gave him a beaming grin, and was rewarded with a look of total confusion.
Bradley fixed me with a glare. He turned his eyes to Joe, nodded and wound up, then launched the ball directly at me. Not over the plate. Not fast. Right at my shoulder.
I stepped back and took my hardest swing.
CRACK!
Not looking to see where the ball went, I tossed the bat to the side and ran for first. Hit me with the ball, willya? Walk, me, willya? I was so mad I could spit.
Then, I heard the guys cheering.
"Run, Sarah! Go!"
I looked up to see Tommy rounding second and heading for third. Jimmy was halfway to home. Where was the ball?
Running for the washtub bottom that was second base, I scanned the field. The guys were watching the outfield. The outfielders were watching the fence, where the center fielder was climbing to the other side.
I didn't just hit the ball. I hit it over the fence.
Hey, I hit it over the fence!
Some else's yell, "Will ya run all ready?" finally spurred me into action. I sprinted around the bases behind Tommy, sliding into home just as the ball reached Bradley at the mound. I got up, dusted off, and was ushered over to the bench and cheered by the guys. We were ahead by one run now. I turned to see Bradley glaring at me from the mound, as I was patted on the back and congratulated by my teammates. Something about that glare made me really uncomfortable, but I shrugged it off. I was the hero right now, and I was gonna enjoy it.
Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue
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