Ethan Wong, an ex-prodigy violinist, thinks it's not meant to be.
After his latest mental breakdown at his last violin competition, where he placed tenth out of ten contestants, he's not sure why his music professor appointed him the soloist for th...
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Ethan's kiss hadn't left my mind the entire walk to the dugout, even as Coach returned from his phone call to review our game plan to take down the reigning champs.
The Columbia Lions had a remarkable winning streak that we Bulldogs could only dream of. Letting them win this year would put them above Harvard in winning titles; we desperately wanted to win our fourth title.
Our Coach, Scott Barnes, played for the Bulldogs in college alongside Lion's head coach. They seemed close, judging from the press photos they did the other day, and while the camaraderie was there, they were current rivals. Friendship aside, it was evident in Coach's face that he wanted to win championships just as badly as the rest of us.
But beating last year's Ivy League champs would be challenging, and Yale hadn't won one since 2017. But our team was different, and there was a chance that their change in lineups and new starters would give us a chance.
Our alternative pitcher, third-year Tyson, couldn't make it. And with only a freshman alternate pitcher, we were putting most of our fate in Kenji's hands.
The freshman, Casey, was a star pitcher in high school, and while he was promising, his pitches weren't as stable and reliable. Kenji was in tune with Eric; they had played together since the training camp before freshman year. Casey wasn't used to Eric's calls and signals and often forgot to check for anyone stealing bases during practice. Coach planned to switch Casey in only if Kenji's throwing arm needed a rest, but Kenji wasn't one to give up.
Our other alternate, a sophomore who had played infield, was a little more reliable but had little experience in this conference.
Coach ran us through the run-down and lineups we had discussed before leaving Yale, adding some information he gathered about the opposing team.
It went over my head at some points, my mind still thinking about earlier.
After Coach left to discuss things with the umpire and publicity team, Felipe wrapped his arms around two of our outfielders, Richie and Jesse. "Y'all gotta head to the sports bar after. I think I found my match there."
Richie made a face. "The bar staff?"
Felipe raised a brow. "She was beautiful, Rich. She said her coworkers were single too."
"And I'm not, remember?" Richie shrugged Felipe's arm off his shoulder. "Kayla and I are celebrating two months next week."
Felipe blinked. "Right, must've slipped my mind. But, all of you should come. Celebrate champs; no flirting with waiters necessary."
Eric looked ready to argue, but judging by the look Kenji was giving him, it was likely our captain would make this outing mandatory.
"Fine," Eric said. "But I'm not the one chasing after our shortstop."
Jesse snorted. "We should get one of those child leashes. He's short enough that it should fit."
