Home Base

Anything But This Moment

The dark clouds hung low to the ground as the tournament began around 10 am. In flats this time, I made my way to the concessions. The green door was already propped open with the cinder block.

"Kasey?" I peered through the doorway to find a short girl in athletic shorts and a t-shirt.

"Sorry for the disappointment, but he's going to be a little late today, so it'll be just us." She smiled at me with her tiny teeth, "I'm Melanie, but you can just call me Mel."

"Hi, I'm Ni-" 

"Nicola. We all know who you are. You're like a celebrity here." Mel interrupted and lifted a box of candy onto the counter.

"Wait, what?"

"Raymond has been talking about you for a while now. He told everyone to act like we didn't know you. I, being the rebel, decided not to go along with it." 

At that moment, a steady rain beat on the top of the building. "Yes!" Mel exclaimed, pounding her hands on the counter. "What?" I gave her a look. The rain was the last thing I wanted. My hair would curl up in no time. "After rainy tournaments, the baseball field workers go muddin' in the field in the middle of the woods." She celebrated to herself as she danced around the room. I had no idea what mudding was, and I was too embarrassed to ask. I simply smiled slightly and nodded like I knew what was going on. The sound of the activity made me cringe. I didn't want to get dirty, especially in my black Pink long sleeve shirt.

With the rain, the crack of a bat was louder and more startling. Every hit caused me to jump; that earning a childish laugh from Mel. My cheeks were permanently pink from embarrassment. To get the attention off of me, I decided to get to know Mel, "So why do you work at the baseball fields?" "My mom thought I should have some social interaction. If it were up to me, I'd be at home on my computer. I don't really like to socialize, but apparently I'm quite good at it." She shrugged with a weird smile. "And how old are you?" I questioned. "16." She beamed. I nodded slowly at how immature she acted for her age.

She seemed to be the exact opposite of me; hyper, outgoing, nice. She was becoming slightly annoying. Maybe because I don't usually surround myself with people like her. Her type in California were most times really into school activities and pretty motivated. I could have considered myself a slacker, but I didn't fail any classes. I didn't want to be considered nerdy for being smart. I just wanted to fit in.

"Hey, Mr. Walker!" Mel burst, looking at the green door. I turned around to see Kasey trying not to grin, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?" 

"Where were you?" I asked, staring directly into his eyes.

"It's not that important." He smiled at me, walking by to get to the window.

It was already a little past 2:00, and not many people had been coming up to the concession stands. Mel had gone to her car, leaving me and Kasey alone. "Why don't you play baseball?" I tried to spark up a normal conversation with him since all we've done so far is banter. 

"I never found the appeal of it."

"Then why do you work at the fields?" 

"I like meeting new people."

"That's dumb."

"I met you, didn't I?"

My cheeks darkened to a red. That statement left me speechless, catching me completely off guard. "I'm back!" Mel exclaimed, making her presence known. I instantly pretended to mess with the hotdog machine. "Hey, Kasey. Where are the wieners?" "Bend over and I'll show you." He spoke quietly, thinking I wouldn't hear. "Kasey!" I blushed noticeably. "Just kidding, they're in the fridge." His little smirk was already on its way.