A Ship Without Sails

Chapter 3

At around 12:15, the game began. Kurt and Blake's team, the Eagles, were in the field first. Kurt struck out two batters in the first ten minutes of playing. Kerry's high-pitched cheers could be heard from miles.

The third batter was a tall, burly player with mean eyes twinkling from behind his helmet guard. Kurt pitched a fastball and the batter hit it all the way to the fence, left field.

With one player on third, a lanky but trembling boy stepped up to the plate. He hit the ball with a tiny doink and managed to get to first base. The opposing team now had one run.

Then, the next batter stepped up. He looked nothing special- except that he was a lefty. Kurt pitched a curveball. The ball went crack and soared through the sky, deep into right field. Blake scrambled to get the ball, but by the time he could throw it in, the score was 0-3.

Luckily, Kurt struck out the next batter. As the Eagles trooped into the dugout, the coach waited at the entrance for Blake.

Coach Duncan was a fifty-something year old man who wore the same kind of polo shirt, stiff golf shorts, and beaten up white New Balances everyday. When he was mad, he yelled. "Before you're yelled at, you don't know true fear," Kurt had always told the sisters when telling them about Coach Duncan.

As soon as Blake came into the dugout, Coach Duncan ranted. And ranted. And ranted. He only stopped when it was Blake's turn to bat- at the end of the order.

Finally, Kurt interrupted. "Coach," he said sternly, "Blake did his best. And we're tied now, anyway. What good does this do?"

Before Coach could reply, Blake snapped at Kurt, "I don't want your help, Mr. Perfect."

Shayna had to restrain Kerry from going for Blake.

In the last ten minutes of the game, it was pretty clear that the Eagles were not going to win. The score was 4-6, with two outs and the Eagles up at bat. Although the bases were loaded, the other team's pitcher had struck out two batters already.

Then Kurt stepped up to bat. He swung at a fastball and missed. He let another strike pass by.

"Come on, Kurt!" Kerry and Daisy shrieked. Shayna slumped in her seat, feeling bad for Kurt. He didn't function very well under pressure.

Then, with a loud cracking noise, the ball sailed over the infield and hit the grass, deep left center.

"WE WON! WE WON!" Coach Duncan kept yelling, waving his clipboard around. "KURT'S THE STAR OF THIS TEAM! WE WON!"

Kerry and Daisy hustled down to congratulate Kurt, while Shayna slipped into the dugout to talk to Blake. "Nice base running," she tried as a pathetic attempt to lift his spirits. Her enthusiasm vanished like dew drying up when the sun rises in the morning. He looked like a sad puppy. "Thanks," he responded, his voice flat.

"Blake, Kurt, come on over!" Mr. Blackburn called, watching his girls and their boyfriends with a hint of suspiciousness in his gaze. Kerry and Daisy rolled their bright eyes, but Shayna took Blake by the hand and they went to meet her father and mother.

"Guys, to celebrate your victory, we're all going to a cookout at Potomac Overlook tomorrow!" Mrs. Blackburn said, her voice excited but her eyes cold. Clearly, she thought that she was above a high school cookout. After all, she had worn a summer suit to the game.

"Yay," the team crowed. The crowd of sweaty boys disbanded and the Blackburns piled back into the car to drive home. As soon as it had made a complete stop, Kerry and Daisy scrambled out of the car and up to their rooms.

"What's with the hurry?" Shayna dared asking once they were in their rooms.

"We need to get our outfits ready for tomorrow!" Daisy called from her room down the hall.

"Yeah, we can't just do it last minute tomorrow!" Kerry agreed, her voice oozing "duh!"

"Oh," Shayna said in a small voice. "I'll be in my room," she added louder, hoping one of them would ask for her help. She got no response.