We Come Alive 5

Contracts

Monday afternoon, Hurst and Ricky were back at their normal daily routine of working with the baseball team, only this time they had a large distraction. Hurst's step-son Barrett. Ricky did all he could to ignore Barrett, opting to pretend he doesn't exist, but Barrett was determined to make his presence known.

Barrett laughed when Stephen hit the ball right into the outsiders mitt. Hurst glared back at his step-son, but Barrett didn't stop.

"If only y'all didn't have such huge egos needing to prove you're great at everything." Barrett chuckled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the dugout doorway.

Ricky walked further away from Barrett only to notice Manny getting out her car with her purse and coming towards the field. Mateo had already warned them that Manny would be coming to do his work for him to check up on the team.

Manny walked onto the sanded field and straight to Ricky who's angered eyes were hidden away by his sunglasses. She glanced away from him and over to Baylor who was walking up to them. Ricky walked away, calling for a break since Hurst had to go get Barrett under control.

"What's with him?" Baylor asked, scratching under his SnapBack.

Manny shrugged, going into her purse and pulling out a bottle of pink lemonade. "I don't know. He's probably pissed off."

Both of them turned around when they heard arguing not too far from where they were. Ricky grabbed the back of Diego's shirt and pulled him away from where Barrett was leaning against the fence.

"Stop." Ricky told him. "He ain't worth it."

"No shit." Clover scoffed, walking around the two boys.

Barrett looked taken back by Clover's comment. "You should be talking. How many sports you gotta prove that women empowerment is real? Okay, great, you can throw a ball far. Last time I checked, you had to lie and scheme to get a good scholarship."

Clover walked towards him, but stopped and walked away. "Fuck this. I'm out of here." She said, taking off her mitt and throwing it to the ground. "I ain't sticking around with this loser."

Clover stormed off towards the school to get her bags out the locker room. Hurst watched her leave for a few seconds, then for the first time, someone stepped up to her. Hurst followed her inside, yelling to Ricky to continue practice. The head baseball coach ran into the school through the back door and saw his pitcher walking down the hall.

"You have two seconds to turn around and get on that field or you're off this team." Hurst's voice boomed through the empty hall.

Clover used her hand to flip him off. "Get a new pitcher. Good luck with playoffs."

It seemed like he took three steps before he made it to the pitcher. He grabbed her arm tightly and threw her against the wall. He didn't do it hard, but rough enough for her to understand he was serious.

"I don't know what they've taught you around here, but if your spoiled ass doesn't get onto that field then you ain't gonna make it in life.  I've heard a lot about you. How could I not? Everyone makes you into some big idol. Your loyal to your teammates, right? Cause right now you're looking like a selfish little girl. Get your act together and get on that field. I don't care if you don't like him and I couldn't care less if you hate me. I need you to lead this team. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, sir. I can." She nodded timidly.

"Then get your ass back on that field and throw the damn ball." Hurst growled, pushing her towards the door almost like she was a rag doll.

Clover caught her footing and made her way back outside. By the time she got back to the field, everyone was getting ready to start up again. She went straight to Manny and drank some of her lemonade.