Agent Jane Doe 1: The Catalyst

Rumor Has It

"Go, go, go!" the crowd cheers as I swing my bat and hit the softball, sending it soaring over the field. As the opposing team dash to catch it, I bolt towards first base. Then, realizing the other players were still going after the ball, I see my chance. Passing by second base, I turn around, only to find one of the outfielders chasing after me.

"Come on, Jojo! You've got this!" my friend, Jolee, cheers as I near third base. This is a critical moment in the game. It's the end of the ninth inning of our game against our school rivals and we're tied. This is anybody's game. If I don't make another home run, then we will lose to our rivals---again. What else is new?

I slide towards the home plate in the nick of time. As the whistle blows, everybody cheers as they gather around the team. Before I know it, I'm hoisted into the air, hands supporting every part of my body. This feels like heaven on Earth. I couldn't believe it. I finally helped the team win their first game against our rivals in years. And I mean YEARS.

"Nice job out there, Jojo," Jolee says once the crowd let me down.

"Ahahaha, thanks, Jolee," I chuckle. "You know, that was a tough game. I can't wait to brag about it on Hot Mess,"

"Hey, Jojo," a voice calls out. A slender boy of fifteen steps out of the crowd and approaches us.

"Oh, hi, Christian!" I cheerfully wave.

"You wanna hang out tonight?"

"Sure thing. Your place?"

"Alright. Meet you there at seven," Christian waves goodbye as he rejoins the crowd. Out of the corner of my eye, I see two girls, one black haired, the other pink haired, approaching us.

"Look what we have here. The little freak is here," the black haired girl smirked and giggled.

"Kylie, are you here to pick on us AGAIN?! Cuz I'm sick and tired of this nonsense," Jolee pointed at the black haired girl.

"Say something, Cynthia," Kylie roughly nudges the pink haired girl.

"You shouldn't hang out with Christian, Jojo," Cynthia says after hesitating.

"Yeah, he's trouble," Kylie adds.

"You can't tell me who I can and can't hang out with," I shoot back. "Christian is a nice guy,"

"Christian's got weird views on things. He thinks different from the rest of us,"

"Like, who doesn't LOVE bragging about shit on Hot Mess?" Kylie chuckles to herself. "You gotta be the best of the best if you're gonna make it in this world. You know, act perfect. Otherwise, you'll become an outcast," I know immediately what being an outcast is like. My own father was shunned from society when I was four.

"We gotta roll, girls. And don't forget what I said about Christian, Jojo," Cynthia and Kylie leave and join the crowd.

"They don't have any right to tell me what to do," I scoff. "Like, who do they think they are?"

"Just ignore them, Jojo. Just hang out with Christian as planned," Jolee says. "C'mon, let's go," And the two of us leave the baseball field together.

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Author's Note: What 'views' does Christian have? What did Jojo's father do to deserve what he got? Leave your thoughts below.