Kevin was beginning to get irritated. Edd was there a second ago, he was sure of it. He might have even waved at one point. Why would he leave right before they won the game? Kevin risked another glance at the stands: big mistake. The ball whistled by his ear and he didn't even react.
"Strike one!"
Kevin flinched and glanced over at the dugout. The coach was staring at him like he had tentacles sprouting from his ears. He wrinkled his nose and exhaled sharply. Focus. The pitch came fast and low, and he missed it by a mile.
"Strike two!"
He began to sweat. This was so unlike him and everyone knew it. He could feel the stares of his coach, his teammates, his classmates, even the other team. For what felt like the first time in his life he was nervous, but...for some reason, he didn't think it was the game that he was nervous about. He didn't have time to worry about it at the moment, however. He gritted his teeth and turned his attention back to the game.
"Strike three! You're out!"
The call rang across the field, ending the game in Peach Creek's favor, but nobody moved. Did...did I just strike out? Kevin felt the bat drop from his hands, clattering to the ground. The noise startled him. He looked over at the stands, searching for the gap-toothed smile that would tell him everything was alright. He didn't find it. He locked eyes with Nazz. She pointed back toward the school building. He could see a crease in her brow, as if she were worried. She held up her wrist and tapped it, biting her lip. Something wasn't right. Kevin took a deep breath, forced a smile, and turned back to his waiting teammates.
"What are you guys doing?" he shouted. "We won!"
His exclamation broke the spell. The students in the bleachers began to cheer as the team flooded the field, hugging and high-fiving. Kevin felt himself jostled into the middle of the group, vaguely aware that he was being comforted for his strike-out. He shook his head, waving them off with a smile. After a lengthy celebration on the field, the team packed up and headed back to the locker rooms. Kevin texted Nazz to ask her to look for Edd. She gave him a thumbs-up from across the stadium and took off running. After a quick shower, Kevin parted ways with the team, passing on their offer of post-game pizza at Matt's house.
"Dude, what? You're passing up pizza? Are you sick or something?" Matt asked.
Kevin smiled. "Something like that." He left through the back door and found Nazz waiting for him, leaning up against the wall.
"Did you find him?" he asked, pulling her in for a hug.
"No," she replied. "It looks like everyone's gone home. I looked everywhere except the boys' bathroom. It's out of order."
Kevin wrinkled his brow in confusion. "It wasn't out of order before the game. I wonder what happened. Probably some stupid prank." Together they began walking toward the student parking lot.
"Well, don't blame the Eds. Double D was here alone. By the way, you're an idiot for thinking that no one would notice him. Poor kid had nearly passed out by the time I found him."
"Oh." Kevin rubbed the back of his neck. "My bad. I wonder if he just got overwhelmed and went home."
"I'm sure that's it. Why don't you give him a call? He'll be super excited that you won. Well, my parents are probably sick of waiting for me." She kissed him on the cheek and took off. "Later, dude!"
Kevin waved at her and shook his head. She's right. He probably just wanted to avoid the crowd. Why am I worried? He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the one with the little heart next to it. He pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear, waiting for the ring as he passed by the bathrooms. Very faintly, the sound of Edd's dorky Mozart ringtone made its way to his ears. He stopped and looked around.
