Senior Year Box Set

We worked out a system. I would sign and then hand the yearbook to Destiny to sign. She and I had ours out front so they could sign our books. Being a girl, she wanted to talk to everyone. I put a stop to that because she slowed the process down, which earned me a derisive look. I ignored her and figured that if she wanted to horn in, she could suck it up and talk to them later.

I ended up signing yearbooks for nearly two hours before I had to go play ball.

◊◊◊

 

Cassidy had waited for me by the bus.

“Your mom figured you wouldn’t get a chance to eat,” she said as she handed me a bag of food.

“Thanks.”

I took the bag to my seat next to Wolf. He didn’t look right.

“What’s your problem?” I asked.

“My stomach feels like Misery has taken up residence and is trying to claw her way out.”

Misery was Wolf’s ‘attack cat’ from Precious’s litter. She turned out to be a complete klutz and scared of her own shadow. The image of his cat clawing her way out of his stomach amused me.

“Are you nervous about the game? Because we got this,” I assured him.

“I’ve played in a lot of big games, but I’ve never felt like this,” he shared.

I thought for a moment. Wolf was usually the one who got everyone to calm down, and he did it with jokes. I waited until everyone was seated and we were on our way to State before I stood up to share my comedic genius.

“Wolf isn’t up to telling his usual bad jokes, so I decided you should hear some better material,” I announced.

“Please don’t,” Phil quipped, which started similar taunts from the peanut gallery.

Of course, that didn’t dissuade me.

“If you’re American when you go into the bathroom and American when you come out, what are you in the bathroom?”

I received blank stares in response.

“European!”

That got a chorus of groans.

“Okay. They can’t all be good. That one was probably too sophisticated for this crowd. Let me dumb one down for you,” I said reasonably.

I was impressed when they all flipped me off, even the coaches.

“What did the fish say when he ran into a wall?” I asked.

More blank stares.

“Dam!”

I actually received a chorus of boos.

“My nephew, Kyle, thought that one was hilarious.”

“He’s like, three,” Yuri said.

I didn’t hesitate to offer another one.

“What does the acronym ‘Iowa’ mean?”

This one had them interested.

“Idiots Out Walking Around.”

That received a few chuckles. I looked down at Wolf, and he was smiling.

“I have more,” I told him.

“Please stop. Let someone who knows what they’re doing handle the jokes.”

“By all means,” I said to my seatmate.

He stood up, and everyone cheered in good fun.

“Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut? He just needed some space,” Wolf began.

The dicks all laughed at that one. Some people had no idea what funny was.

Wolf held court until we arrived. I looked around and saw we were loose. We were ready for this.

◊◊◊

Tonight’s game featured two teams that were literally thirty minutes apart. Central had been named the top seed, so we were the away team for tonight’s game.

That saved me from being interviewed again by the sports TV channel carrying the game. They talked to Central’s star, James Ryan, who’d hit a ton of home runs this year. He was destined to get drafted and had said he planned to sign a minor league contract if one was offered.

The consensus was that once Ryan got into the minors, got some experience, and put on some additional muscle, he had a real chance of making it to The Show. Jeff showed me the video of his interview. I chuckled when he used every cliché in the book and even managed to thank God.

“Damn, he’s good,” I offered.

“It sounds like he’s been listening to you too much,” Jeff grumped.

“At least he didn’t throw his team to the wolves,” I said.

Jeff gave me a knowing grin.

“Spill it,” I said.

“He might have commented, off-camera, that he planned to outhit you tonight,” Jeff said, intending to rile me up.

“Did he?”

“Care to comment?” Jeff asked as he thrust his phone under my nose.

“I’ll leave it in God’s hands,” I said with a straight face.

“You suck. You know that, don’t you?” Jeff asked.

“If it’s God’s will …”

“I give up. Good luck tonight.”

“You’re not going to ask me the final score?” I asked.

“No need. I’m sure you’ll find a way to win.”

I nodded my head and left to get ready for the game.

◊◊◊

From the get-go, it was a pitching duel. Justin was probably pitching his best game, and the Central pitcher had been a strikeout machine.

I’d managed to hit three solo shots, and Ryan had hit two. Those were the only runs, making the score3–2 going into the bottom of the seventh and Central’s last shot to either catch up or win the game.

“Dawson, take the mound,” Moose said.

Justin had been tiring after pitching Monday and then again today. He gave me a fist-bump to let me know he agreed with Moose’s decision.

Coach Haskins took me aside.

“Ryan is up fourth. Let’s not let him win this for them. Get the first three out and win this.”

“Hold that thought,” I said as I bent over and threw up into the garbage can for water cups.

“You okay?” Coach Haskins asked in concern.