Ruby (Rue) Mack is on the varsity softball team. She started pitching for all three years of her high school career, and she hasn't struck out at bat once throughout all of her seasons.
When a mysterious note appears at her locker, threatening to b...
"You earn your trophies at practice. You collect them after the game."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The team screams in victory, piling into the middle of the infield and slamming their bodies into me. I had just struck out their center fielder, giving us both three outs and the game. As the batter stormed off of the field, my team greeted me with butt slaps and hugs. My catcher was the first to run to me, dropping the ball and tackling me with all of her gear on. Her sudden weight made me lose my balance, and I stumbled back a bit to regain it.
"Ladies!" our coach yelled, walking into the field, "right field; you know the drill." Breanna gives me a sideways glance, but I'm already way ahead of her. I raced ahead, pumping my arms as hard as I could. Her catcher's gear ricocheted off each other behind me as she got closer, and pretty soon saw her dirt-covered blue and black uniform pass me. Breanna was a tall girl; no matter how far ahead I may seem, her long legs catch up to me in no time.
We sat down, out of breath with the rest of our team in a half-moon shape to wait for our coach. Everyone chatted happily to each other about the game while Coach Pearson talked with the umpires. As she got closer, an anxious silence settled over us. This was our second to last game of the season. We have a record of 14 wins and 1 loss, and considering I wasn't there for the game we lost, I'm not seeing too much of a problem with it.
"Alright ladies, that was a great game." he commended us. "Now, for the moment you all wait for every game."
We all stood up and looked around anxiously at each other, wondering who would get the game ball. I look to my left and grab Breanna's hand tightly. She gives me a small reassuring nod. Bailee Muhn stood diagonally from me, biting her lip. Our eyes meet and her eyes harden. Bailee is the other pitcher on the team, but she doesn't play much. It's usually always me, mostly because of her attitude. Bailee still gets to play, and an infield position, no less. Once the coach picks out his starting lineup, he rarely changes it.
"You all did a phenomenal job tonight, girls. A 17-3 win?! That's unheard of!" He takes off his hat and scratches his head. "Unfortunately, we only have two game balls, so I can't give one to each of you, though you all deserve it." He looks around at us, noticing our nervousness. "Okay, let's get down to it. The first one will be going to Galloway." He throws the ball to her, and she catches it, one handed. "You had amazing hits today. You brought in seven of our seventeen runs just by batting! Not to mention your catching was on-par tonight; I don't think I saw a single ball go past you."
Everyone applauds Breanna, and her face turns bright pink. She isn't used to a lot of attention. I give her hand a squeeze, and she turns her eyes to the beat up softball she has in her hand. The coach clears his throat, giving us the signal that he wasn't done speaking yet.
"I have one more," he says, showing us the dirt-ridden softball. "Now, tonight was a huge moment for all of us. It was the first time I saw us get four outs in an inning until this game. He takes a slight pause as more silence engulfs is. I have also never seen someone get nine of out fifteen outs in one game by themselves." He tosses the ball to me, and everyone cheers. A huge smile emerges on my face, but as I'm looking around, I see Bailee glaring at me, and my smile fades. I shift uncomfortably where I stand and look down at the ball I was just given.
