High and Inside (7 page)

The plate umpire gave Forshaw his warm-up pitches and Matt couldn't help but think the kid needed them. The Manning reliever resembled a gigantic, gangly spider as he uncoiled from his windup. He was throwing smoke, but he was all over the place. High one pitch, low the next, inside, outside. Everywhere but over the plate.

Matt watched as Jake battled Forshaw at the plate. The Manning pitcher was giving his buddy nothing decent to hit but Jake was showing a good, patient eye. The count was three and one as Forshaw wound up and delivered a fastball, this time down the middle. Jake swung, but he was a fraction late getting around on the blur of a pitch, lifting a high foul down the right field line. The Minuteman fielder chased it down, putting Jake out for the first time that day. Manning's dugout, silent until now, exploded in cheers.

Dave Tanner was next up, but he didn't fare any better. It seemed to Matt that he wasn't standing in there quite as confidently as usual. Who could blame him? Forshaw was getting faster, and wilder, with every pitch. Tanner went down, swinging weakly at a ball that was well outside and high.

Matt gulped. He was next up. As he walked toward the plate, he thought his knees would give out. This kid was throwing so fast. What if he got hit?

The first pitch whizzed downward from Forshaw's hand and ended up somewhere around Matt's ankles. He managed to hold his ground and resisted the urge to swing. It was a ball. He was ahead in the count.

Forshaw wound up again. The ball catapulted toward Matt. All Matt could tell was that it was headed inside. He ducked backward so quickly that he fell to the ground. The kids in the Manning dugout laughed. Matt got up, shaking himself off. Afraid of the ball, he thought to himself. Everybody else must be thinking the same thing.

Matt was determined to stand in there this time. Forshaw delivered another hard pitch inside. Matt swung, as much to protect himself as anything else. He connected weakly, sending the ball foul down the right field line. “Make him pitch to you, Matt,” came Coach's voice from the dugout.

Forshaw wound up again, this time delivering a perfect strike that split the heart of the plate. Matt swung but missed badly. He knew why too. As the ball had been delivered, he had rocked backward away from the pitch. You can't hit it if you're ducking away, he told himself.

The count was 2 and 2. Matt felt the pressure building. Forshaw was winding up again. This time the ball was well outside. Matt left it alone. Full count.

The Manning pitcher stalled for a second on the mound, kicking the dirt by the pitching rubber and staring intently at the plate. Matt gripped his bat tighter, waiting for the deciding pitch. It was coming now, faster than all the others. Matt couldn't help himself, he ducked back again, though not as far as before. The pitch caught the top corner.

“Strike three!” yelled the umpire. On the mound, Forshaw cocked his arm and pumped his fist. It was as if Manning had won the World Series.

Matt headed back to the dugout. He snuck a peek into the stands at his mom. She was clapping hard, yelling, “It's okay, Matty.” Matt didn't feel like it was okay, though. He had struck out ducking again.

Charlie met him at the dugout steps, handing him his glove and hat and taking his batting helmet. “Much better, Matt,” he said. “You stayed in there for most of that at-bat, even got a piece of Forshaw. He's fast, man.”

The words made Matt feel a little better—even if they were coming from the manager. And none of the players in the South Side dugout seemed to be making fun of him this time. He guessed everybody, even Jake, was a little intimidated by Forshaw.

Manning went one-two-three in its half of the seventh and the game was over. South Side had won 12-0 and was a perfect two wins and no losses on the season.

“Good work out there,” Coach Stephens told his players in the dugout afterward. “I saw some improvement on the field, and Mac threw a good solid seven for us. We'll see you Wednesday for practice.”

Matt's mom had a late house showing that night so she suggested they go out for a pizza first. Matt didn't need his arm twisted on this one. They headed to Classico's, the neighborhood restaurant that they always ordered from. They grabbed a booth at the back and ordered up a medium double-cheese, double-pepperoni and onions—the family favorite—and two large Cokes.

“You boys had a good game today,” his mom said.

“Yeah, it wasn't bad,” Matt replied. “I still can't hit, though.”

“Don't worry. It'll come. That kid at the end was throwing pretty fast. I don't blame you for being a little nervous.”

A little nervous? Oh, man, now even his own mother knew he was afraid of the ball.

“By the way,” she said. “How did your practice on Saturday go? Weren't you working on hitting with Coach Stephens then?”

“Yeah, I was working on hitting, but not with Coach,” Matt replied. “It was just me and Chuck…I mean, Charlie.”

“Is that your manager? The boy with the big leg brace?”

Matt, who had a too-big bite of pizza in his mouth, nodded.

“Why does he wear that brace, Matt?” his mom asked. “Is it permanent?”

That was a good question. Matt knew Charlie had some sort of early childhood disease that had left him with a leg problem. But he didn't know what the disease was or whether Charlie would have to wear the brace forever.

“That's nice of him to come out and help you on a Saturday,” his mom said.

Matt hadn't thought much about it before. But Charlie had come out on a Saturday morning. And it wasn't like he was getting anything out of it himself.

“Yeah,” Matt found himself saying. “He's a good guy.”

chapter nine

Friday came sooner than Matt wanted it to. “Don't forget the big Spring Fling tonight at 7:00 PM,” Principal Walker reminded students during the afternoon announcements.

The dance had even affected baseball. Because of it, Coach Stephens had cancelled practice this afternoon. Matt had arranged to meet Phil and Jake before the dance, but first he had to head home and get ready.

After taking a shower, he picked out what he thought were his coolest jeans and then tried to decide what shirt to wear. He settled on a loose-fitting khaki button-up with a white T-shirt underneath. Over top, he wore the plain gold chain his mother had given him for his birthday. It was the first time he had ever worn it.

Mom was still out showing houses to clients, but she had left Matt a note on the stove.
There's pasta
and salad in the fridge
, it read.
Have a great time at
the dance and call me if you need a ride.

Matt didn't feel much like eating. The insides of his stomach were flipping about and he felt on edge. He and Jake were meeting Andrea and Marcia at the dance. It was supposed to be pretty casual, and it wasn't like they had to pick up the girls and meet their parents and all that stuff. But still, it was different. They had actually made plans to all hang out together.

It was 6:30 when Matt slipped out the front door, carrying his jacket. In just a few minutes he was at the oak tree on Anderson, where Phil was waiting.

“No Jake?” Matt asked.

“He called me and said his parents would drop him off here,” Phil said. “They were running late.”

It was just a couple of minutes before the Piancatos' red station wagon pulled up alongside them. But one look at the car and Matt's spirits fell. Not only was Jake in the backseat, but so were his cousins, Cody and Vance. What were those guys doing here? Matt thought. They didn't even go to South Side.

“Hey guys! Sorry we're late,” Jake burst out of the car. “Cody and Vance are going to hang with us tonight too. Their dad got sent to this conference in San Francisco, and they are staying with us for the weekend.”

“Hey,” Matt said, eyeing the cousins warily.

“Hey,” Cody replied. Vance simply nodded his head coolly.

The five boys headed down Anderson toward South Side. The school parking lot was full of cars dropping kids off, and Matt could hear the sounds of Fifty Cent coming from inside. This was kind of cool, he thought. There had been dances at Glenview Elementary, but they had always been in the afternoon with all the lights on. This was different.

Each of the boys got his hand stamped by Principal Walker as he entered the building. The principal gave Cody and Vance the once-over, wondering who they were before Jake piped up. “Mr. Walker, these are my cousins from Eton,” he said. “They're just here for the weekend.”

The principal stamped both boys' hands and ushered them in. The gym was dark except for the light show that had been set up by the DJ. Red, yellow, blue and orange lights flashed on and off in synch with the music, while a strobe light at the front seemed to freeze the dancers in mid-stride every time it flashed. The bass was pumping out of the giant speakers set up at the front of the gym. The place where Matt and his buddies had sweated it out for countless basketball practices had taken on a completely different feel.

Jake spied them first: a small cluster of girls standing in the corner near the concession stand. There was Marcia, dressed in tight jeans and a white sweater, along with her friends Kate and Simone. And there was Andrea.

Matt was used to seeing Andrea in gym shorts or sweats. For half the time he had known her, her right leg had been in a huge red cast. But she looked so much different tonight. A short black dress, nylons and dress shoes made her look so grown up. So…Matt didn't know how to describe it in his mind. So beautiful, maybe?

Andrea's big blue eyes lit up as she saw him coming. She waved. As Matt drew closer, the difference in Andrea was even more stunning. Her long blond hair was styled differently tonight and she was wearing makeup.

“Hey,” he said. He realized he didn't have the faintest idea how to act.

“Hey,” Andrea said. “You look really nice tonight.”

Embarrassed, he said, “Um, thanks.” He knew he should tell her she looked great too, but the words wouldn't come. “The gym sure looks different. Guess you're not taping any ankles or knuckles tonight.”

They both laughed. Andrea had been a terrific student manager-trainer for the boys' basketball team that winter. And she had taped up Matt on a couple of occasions.

With small talk out of the way, Matt began to feel more comfortable. He stood by Andrea and the two watched the dancers together. He felt like he should ask her to dance, but he also felt like he didn't know how. To dance, that is.

“Let's go,” she said, arching her eyebrows at Matt. “This is a good song!”

Matt followed Andrea out onto the dance floor. There was a first time for everything, he guessed. Andrea was already moving to the music, a smile across her face. She looked comfortable on the dance floor despite recovering from a leg injury. Matt, on the other hand, felt like a complete geek. He imagined all the movies he had seen of people dancing in night-clubs and tried to remember what they had done. He could fake it as well as the next guy, he thought.

As the evening wore on, Matt felt more and more at ease. It was too loud to talk inside the gym so he was off the hook as far as making conversation with Andrea went. And she seemed quite content just standing beside him, grooving to the music and dancing to the occasional song.

About an hour into the dance, Jake leaned close to Matt and whispered. “I'm going outside with Cody and Vance,” he said. “You coming?”

Matt shook his head. Why would those guys want to go outside? The dance was in here. He noticed Marcia Evans was leaving with the other boys.

“Where are they going?” Andrea asked Matt.

“Just outside,” he said.

They shrugged at each other and laughed. Andrea moved a little closer to Matt and he didn't move away. Her shoulder was touching his.

A couple minutes later, Marcia came back into the gym. She was by herself and she didn't look happy. “Can I talk to you?” she asked Andrea, pointing to the washroom. “In there.”

Marcia and Andrea left Matt by himself on the edge of the dance floor. By now, it was full for practically every song—a combination of the song selection getting better and everybody's nerves easing.

When the girls returned five minutes later, Matt leaned over to Andrea. He could smell the light perfume she was wearing. “What's up?” he asked.

“I'll tell you later,” she promised, easing back into her position just in front of Matt, watching the dance floor.

An hour later, the music stopped and Principal Walker came to the center of the gym with a microphone. “I'd like to thank the Spring Fling committee and all the teachers and parents for putting this dance on,” he said. “This is the last song, so enjoy it and thanks for coming.”

It was a slow song, which normally meant Matt wasn't too interested. But Andrea grabbed his hand and led him out onto the floor. “I don't know how to dance like this,” Matt said apologetically.

“Don't worry,” she smiled. “It's not hard.”

Andrea placed Matt's left hand on her waist and took his right hand in her left. They were still a few inches apart, but it was the closest Matt had ever been to a girl, not counting his mother. Her hand felt warm in his, and he hoped his fingers weren't too sweaty. He and Andrea moved around in a circle, looking at the other dancers and not saying anything to each other.

When the song was over, Andrea stepped back and said, “Thanks.”

Matt nodded and said, “Yeah.” What a stupid thing to say, he thought. Why hadn't he said thanks too?

Principal Walker and the parents were already turning up the lights and volunteers were beginning to pick up the soda cans.

Phil came up to Matt, Andrea and Marcia at the edge of the dance floor, but Matt realized that he hadn't seen Jake and his cousins since they had gone outside.

“Marcia, do you know where Jake and those guys went?” Matt asked.