Making the Team

"Shit!" Billy sat up with a jolt, staring in disbelief at his clock by his bed. "No! No-no-no-no" was his mantra as he launched out of bed and his pajamas, threw on a t-shirt, grabbed a pair of socks that did not stink too bad, and bolted down the stairs.

"Where are my shoes?" He muttered under his breath, throwing shoes left and right in the closet. Mom might be mad when she saw that, but he would apologize after. Right now, he had to- "What the?" He stared down at his legs in disbelief. No pants, no shorts, just his lucky pair of undies, sharks swimming to and fro across its surface. "Shit!"

He ran back upstairs, hopping his way into a pair of shorts. He had maybe ten minutes to make it to the baseball field for tryouts. Could he make it? He'd have to bike harder than he ever had before. He could do it, right?

"I gotta." He muttered, full of resolve as he nearly tripped and fell down the stairs. He gripped the bannister and launched himself off the third step from the bottom, thumping and clunking his way back to where his shoes were. Or were supposed to be. "What am I-" he groaned as he realized what he would have to do. He shoved his feet into his old sneakers, the ones that lit up with every step. It was a bright, sunny day out so hopefully no one would notice too much. He grimaced all the same. It was not that he had physically outgrown them, it was just that they were so little kiddy and he was a young man. "Ok." He muttered under his breath, grabbing his glove. He headed out to the garage and that was when he remembered; he forgot to ask Dad to help him fix the flat tire on his bike. He growled in frustration and felt tears well up in his eyes. What was he going to do? Without his bike, his only hope was...

His mind made up, Billy broke out into a mad dash. Maybe if he ran, he still had a chance of making it there only a little late. He knew that Coach Marsh would not like that he was even a minute late, but maybe he could make it up to him? There was only one day of Pony League tryouts and he was not going to miss them!

Someone must have been watching out for him because Billy felt like he made it to the park in record time. All that remained was to get over to the ball fields. He figured if he cut across the playground and then the tee-ball field, he could make it. Easy peasy, he thought, grinning as he saw the clock in the center of the park. He had time!

Billy made it across the playground without much difficulty. Thankfully, little kids instinctively knew to get out of the way of a big kid in a hurry. His luck took a turn however as he reached the baseball fields just as the sprinklers came on. With a yelp, he turned for the infield before he got too wet.

"Whoa! Stop swinging!" A friendly adult voice called. Billy was so focused, he had not even noticed the line of little kids waiting behind a tee. The coach in charge jogged over. Billy tried to dodge around him, but he slipped and fell onto the sand. "You alright there?" The coach helped him up and dusted him off.

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Billy touched his lip. He must've bitten it, based on how much it was stinging, but at least it wasn't bleeding.

"Oh, to try out." He nodded in the direction of the Pony League banner, but as luck would have it, the tee-ball team stood between him and the banner. The coach chuckled.

"Tryouts, huh? Well, you made it, champ!" He gave Billy's shoulder a pat and began to subtly, but undeniably guide him over to the waiting line of kindergartners. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Billy."

"Nice to meet you, Billy. My name's Coach John." He smiled at the boy standing by the tee. "Hey, Avery? Do you mind if we let our latecomer Billy have a try? He wants to try out for the team!"

"Huh? Not this team." Billy protested, but Coach John plopped a batting helmet on his head. "Hit a home run and we'll get you your very own Joeys cap!" He squatted down by the tee. "So, what you're gonna do is hit the ball off the tee and then run as fast as you can to that orange rectangle over there, kay?" He pointed to an orange rubber base, maybe half the distance between home and first base. "That's first base. Then, you'll go to second, then third, and back here to home. Got it?"