Who Says Girls and Baseball Don't Mix?

Chapter Twelve: Step Up To The Plate... With A Harmful New Teammate

River's POV

"Alright, everyone come over and take a knee!" Coach Redtai yells. I look over at Riley, who is standing on first base directly behind me. He grins at me and pulls off his helmet. I pull the ball out from my glove and toss it to a young freshmen I don't know the name of standing by the bucket. He catches it with his bare hand and tosses it into the bucket. I nod to him and we all walk out to left field by the third baseline. I kneel down next to Riley. He smiles at me and nudges me with his shoulder. I giggle quietly and suddenly I feel a warmth next to me. I glance over and see Gordon kneeling directly next to me.

He looks over at me and nods, moving closer to whisper, "You did a good job today River. I am actually kind of proud of you. You know, even though you're a girl." It started off good, and then that went downhill very quickly. I frown at him and facing back forward toward Retai. 

"We have eighteen spots available on the fall ball team," Retai says, looking down at the clipboard in his hands. He looks around at all of us and taps the clipboard in the palm of his hand. "This means that ten of you will not be on the team." A small murmur comes up in the boys and Redtai holds up his hands. "Quiet down. Alright, if I call your name, come up to stand next to me. Gordon Jones--" Gordon jumps to his feet immediately and moves to stand next to the Coach. "--Jaxon Hill, who has an reserved spot for when he gets better--" Jaxon, who is a little ways off, chuckles and rubs the back of his neck, walking over to stand next to Gordon. Jaxon winks at me and I giggle. "Riley Montgomery, Ryan Barker, Brady Hunter, Richard Grayson, James Carson, Daniel Bright, Bay Bailer--" As he continues to call names, they continue to walk up passed me. Bay squeezes my shoulder as he walks by. "--Mason Jones, Lucas Hughes, Jack Hughes, Kameron Clark, Austin Stevens, Sebastian Young, Brody Bell, Xavier King..." I count up in my head and realize that he only has one spot left. I frown and I see Gordon's eyes flash between me and the coach. He frowns and runs a hand through his hair, moving over to Coach Redtai. Redtai pauses as Gordon whispers something in his ear. Redtai, looking at him in surprise, nods. "--and River Bailer." I smile as he calls my name and I stand up to stand next to Jaxon. Jaxon wraps an arm around me as the rejects stand up and walk off.

"Alright, you all," Redtai says, turning to us. "Our first practice is next Wednesday, four o'clock sharp. I expect you here warming up at four. Got it?" We all nod. "Now, get out of here. I know some of you have football practice." The boys on the football team laugh and they all start walking toward the dugout.

Jaxon turns to face me and says, "I should probably go to. Coach Bailer said I could sit in on practice today." He cringes when he talks about my dad. My dad doesn't know that he and I are dating. All he knows is Tony and I are broken up.

I smile and give him a peck on the lips. "Cheerleaders have practice today as well. I'll walk with you." He smiles and wraps his arm around my waist as we start to walk toward the school. I glance over my shoulder and see that Gordon is arguing with the coach. He makes eye contact with me and something flits across his face before he looks mad again. I narrow my eyes before facing back forward. Something weird is going on with Gordon and the coach. I shake my head and sigh. Jaxon looks down at me. "You okay?"

I smile at him, hiding my feelings back behind my facade. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

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"Alright." I look at all of the girls in front of me. "Five, six, seven, eight! Down, up!" Brittany wobbles slightly on the supports' arms as she raises her arms into the air. She glares down at me and I roll my eyes. Gigi smiles at me and shakes her arms slightly, causing Brittany to feel uncomfortable. I laugh and say, "Alright! Get her down to we can work on tumbling." Gigi counts off and they bring Brittany back down. I look over at the football field and see that some of the guys have stripped off their pads and are starting to do drills in just their padded pants. I look around and see Gordon running plays with the replacement quarterback as Jaxon sits off on the sideline, calling out plays to the rookie. Gordon is completely shirtless and just running in his padded pants.