Can anyone hear us?

11

Walking up to the plate, striking out. I walked into the dugout. I sat down frustrated because this game wasn't going the way we hoped for. I left and went to the locker rooms to get fresh air.

Just then my dad entered the room, his hands in his pockets. Something seemed wrong.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm kicking you out of my house. Your mother has become very rich and is giving money to me. I no longer need you."

"Ok." I said.

"No, you don't understand." He added. Ok, now I was confused. "I no longer need you." He pulled a gun to my head and shot.

--------------------------

I awoke from the hotel bed, startled. Jake looked at me.

"You good?" He asked. I nodded yes. "You were mumbling something and then jumped awake."

"Just a bad dream." I replied.

"Uh huh."

The coach was still in his room by the time everyone was ready to continue the game. We gathered in one room, without the coach.

"So, why we here?" Ted asked Cody who was one of the best pitchers on the team. He was the one who called a meeting for just the players.

"So I know y'all are nervous about today's game 'cause if we lose we're out. I got news that somethin' is waiting for y'all downstairs."

"Food?" Jake said. A few chuckled at his joke.

"No. Go see."

Everyone rushed out of the tiny doorway and tried to squeeze on top of each other in the elevator. Once we got to the lobby, we could barely make it out of the elevator because it was so cramped.

"No way." I said. The lobby was decorated in our jerseys. A giant sign read, "Go Gators!"

"The staff is voting for you. I may have bought some things overnight." Elizabeth said while walking through the entrance.

"You did this?" I asked.

She nodded yes.

"How are we goin' to get to the game?" Ted asked. I remembered how our bus got stuck in a ditch.

"Not a problem." The hotel manager said. He gestured out the window and two big cargo trucks were outside. They were the color of our uniforms.

"That's awesome." I said.

The coach came down the stair.

"Sorry, got caught up in paperwork." He said unconvincingly. "Alright, we got a game to finish."

He hopped in one truck and the bus driver drove the other. The team split up, half in one and half in the other.

There were no seats so the team stood up, uncomfortable. Why? Because the people on the sidewalk stared at us like we were crazy, which in some way we were.

The car came to a stop at a red light. Suddenly, I heard a clap. I turned towards the noise and a pedestrian was clapping.

"Go Gators! Woo!" He said. I laughed a little but then a few more people joined in. Some gave death stares at others who were clapping, but almost the whole sidewalk was.

"Yeah!" Our team was yelling and celebrating, rocking the trucks. The coach honked, glad that we finally had fans and not haters.

Once we arrived at the stadium, we went to the locker rooms. The other team was already there and stretching on the field. I assumed Vex had already done his team pep talk.

"Coach, what were you doing inside your room?" I asked once everyone else left the locker room.

"Paperwork." He replied. I shot him a stare.

"Aron, not everything is about you."

"It is if it's about the team!" I argued.

"Look, I've had to pay many bills on our car recently because of damage to it." He spat.

"Who is damaging it?" I asked.

"Haters. They smash Windows and make dents. But I have it under control."

"How? They could hurt your family! Damage your house!"

"If we win this game and the next, we are in the World Series. We could earn the respect we all deserve. Don't do anything, Aron! You've been through enough."

"Coach, I'm sorry." I felt like a jerk, butting into coach's personal life.

We continued the game. Top of the ninth inning, the crowd was at its maximum. At least half of the stadium was full of our fans. But none of them were excited. The board read: Home-12 Away-9. Bases loaded with our players. All we needed was a home run and we would win the game.

I stepped up to plate, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. The pitcher threw the ball.

"Strike!" Umpire yelled. Another ball thrown. I swung but felt no contact.

"Strike!" Curveball. We needed to win this..

The pitcher threw the ball again, and faster than the ones before. Everything went into slow motion. My heart pounded in my chest. I took a deep breath, focused on the ball, and swung my bat.

Smack! I hit the ball and watched it go up and up. The center fielder chased it to the wall. He leapt up in the air to catch it, but it went into the crowd and he hit the padded wall with a thump. I ran the bases, along with everyone else already on them.

Teammates slapped me on the helmet as I walked into the dugout.

"Hey, this bat must be lucky." I laughed.

Home-12 Away-13 was the final score. At least my dream didn't come true...

Jake, Elizabeth, Ted and I walked up the sidewalk celebrating. A police car just then pulled up besides us.

"Officer?" I asked him as he rolled down his window.

He seemed to be thinking for a moment, seeing whites and blacks mixed together.

"Good job today." He said.

"Thank you, sir."

He drove away with a friendly nod. We were one game away from World Series.

We entered a local bar and luckily they didn't make us leave. Some people shot glares but I didn't care.

"So, y'all ready for next game?" Ted asked.

"Yes. We're gonna kick their asses." Jake replied.

"Aron, do you ride motorcycles?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering." She was unconvincing.

Suddenly, a few players from the team we played walked over to where we were sitting.

I swallowed hard, having a bad feeling in my stomach.