Page 6 of Hard Hitter

"Oh, Margaux, it's her birthday," her dad said, smiling down at her and sneaking her another piece of bacon. Raelyn smiled back up at him but caught sight of her mother's face and thought she had better just grab a plate.

Raelyn’s big sister, Camille, entered the kitchen, looking just as wide-eyed and awe struck by the smorgasbord in the middle of the room. The two sisters filled their plates and scurried giddily into the formal dining room. Their parents met the girls at the dining table once their plates were also full, and each set a glass of orange juice in a fancy champagne flute in front of the girls. Camille and Raelyn exchanged wide grins and clinked glasses before digging into their plates. In thatmoment, Raelyn knew without a doubt she was the luckiest birthday girl in the world.

Raelyn's birthday party was not just a party, it was an extravaganza! Because the only way she could think to describe it was "extravagant." "Over the top" didn't quite cut it, though it would not be inaccurate, and outdoorsy as it was, "lavish" didn't quite make the mark either. As usual the event was on the beach of Lake Michigan. There was a park with a playground and large play set for the kids, but it was empty because the beach itself was full of different activities. The theme here was clearly carnival; there were face painters, one of those giant hammer swinging games to win a stuffed animal, ski ball, a giant slide, pony rides-pony rides!-and even a few dunk tanks with clowns waiting to be dropped into the water below. There were concession stands with elephant ears, cotton candy, nachos, deep-friedanything, and an ice cream truck was parked in the shade past the sand.

Raelyn could not believe that this was her party. She was once again glad that her birthday was the longest day of the year because she was sure she would never get to all the events if it weren’t. She had done her best so far, having ridden the giant slide several times, taken six pony rides, and she had beat both her sister and their older cousin, Paul, at ski ball- twice! Now walking around with a stuffed elephant the size of, well, her, in one hand and a fried corn dog in the other, she thought she needed to take a minute and breathe, and maybe let up on the junk food once this corn dog was gone.

Raelyn found her grand-pére who gladly took the stuffed elephant and tucked it away for her so that she could roam the beach more freely. She was walking by herself when she passed the three dunk tanks with clowns still dry, waiting to be dunked. She really didn't like clowns and wondered if her parents put them in the dunk tanks because of that, or if they simply forgot that she did not like them.

These clowns all had different make up and wigs. One wearing mostly yellow with a bright green wig seemed less intimidating than the other two. Not realizing the line had moved and Raelyn was nowat the front of it, the man tending to the dunk tanks tossed her a baseball. She looked at the ball in her hand and back up at the clown, with its creepy oversized smile, trying to appear friendly but still scaring her a little.

"The birthday girl, yes?" The man had golden tan skin and dark hair, and she didn't recognize what kind of accent he had, but she found it enjoyable to listen to. Raelyn nodded in response. "We will give you some extra throws, of course! However many you want. None of these clowns has been in the water yet."

Raelyn concentrated, let out a breath and threw the ball as hard as she could.

Missed.

The man tossed the baseball back to her and this time she focused more on aim than force.

Missed again.

She caught the ball in her hand once more, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She opened her eyes and saw the clown waving her hands around by her head in a teasing manner. Raelyn sent the ball flying one more time.

Ping!

The ball had just grazed the end of the metal circle and bounced off, not hitting the button hard enough to send the clown into the water. The clown mimed a big, hearty laugh. Raelyn shook her head, but still smiled.

"I'll come back," she told the man. "May I keep one of the baseballs?" Baseball and softball were not sports she played much yet, but perhaps they should be. Maybe she needed to practice throwing a little so the next time there was a clown that needed to be dunked she could do it with ease.

The man nodded and tossed her one of the baseballs out of his bucket. She caught the ball and headed down the beach, tossing it in the air and catching it until she realized she had wandered a little farther from the party than she had meant to do. She turned to look back at all her friends and family having fun and smiled. Thinking sheshould probably head back before someone thought she was missing, she caught sight of a boy skipping rocks a little farther down the beach. Giving another glance back toward the party, she made up her mind and decided to walk toward the boy.

She stood back and watched him throw several rocks, sending them skimming and hopping gently across the surface of the lake. Raelyn noticed the boy's intensity gradually increasing, his arm throwing the rocks harder and harder until he was no longer skipping them, but simply seeing how far he could throw them. She thought maybe he sounded out of breath or like he was breathing heavily for some reason, and before she could stop herself she spoke.

"You can really throw.”

The boy startled, whipping around and looking at Raelyn with his brow furrowed. He almost looked angry or sad, or maybe both. He was breathing heavily, his chest and shoulders rising and falling with harsh breaths as though he were about to scream or cry. His features softened when he took in Raelyn's presence. She was wearing purple shorts with a white tank top and a sash that said "Birthday Girl" in sparkly gold letters, her long blonde hair a windblown mess around her head.

When the boy didn't say anything to her she looked around and asked him, "Are you here by yourself? Shouldn't your parents be with you?"

The boy looked down, seeming to notice what he was wearing for the first time. An oversized t-shirt that had theBudweiserlogo across the front and a pair of jeans that had large holes in both knees. His hair was dark brown, except when the sun hit it just right there was a hint of auburn, and it was untidy, sticking up in all places. Raelyn thought he must be around her age. He was standing barefoot in the sand, still holding a rock in one hand.

"Shouldn't yours?" the boy finally said.

Raelyn turned and gestured toward the bigextravaganzadown the beach, "They're over there. Along with my grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins." They stood in silence for a short moment andRaelyn approached him further, taking a few more steps toward him. "I'm Raelyn DeRose. That's my birthday party, I'm seven today."

The boy looked over her shoulder at the beach carnival, then back at her skeptically, "That's a birthday party? It’s a whole carnival."

“My family likes birthday parties," Raelyn said smiling. She took in the boy's appearance again and could have sworn she heard his stomach growl once or twice. "Do you want to join us? I'm the birthday girl so I can get you free food or whatever you want."

"I don't need your food," the boy said, not looking her in the eye this time.

Raelyn considered for a moment, "Well, here's the thing," she took another step closer, "there are three dunk tanks with clowns just waiting to be dropped into the water, but no one has dunked them yet. I really don't like clowns and I can tell you can throw." She tossed him the baseball that was curled in her hand. He dropped the rock he’d been holding and caught the baseball, looking down at it as though it were some valued treasure. Raelyn smiled and held her hand out for him to take. "Come on, let's go dunk some clowns."

The boy stared at her hand for a few beats before the corners of his mouth turned up in what was almost a smile. He said, "I'm Quinn...Quinn Casey," and took Raelyn's hand, letting her lead him back to her birthday party.

Quinn wasn't sure what to think of this girl who had dragged him away from his solitude; he'd gotten so used to being alone, but she seemed friendly enough, if a little spoiled to have a whole carnival set up for her birthday. He hoped she wouldn't ask too many questions about where his parents were. He didn't like to share about his mom's issues, or the large, dangerous looking men who came into the house wreaking of stale cigarette smoke, beer, and something more bitter. He would always slip out his bedroom window when he heard the low, scratchy male voices coming through the front door. His mom wouldn't notice his absence, and even if she did, by the time he got home she would be too far gone to care.

Raelyn stopped in front of the dunk tanks and spoke to the man who seemed to be in charge, "I told you I'd be back!" Still holding Quinn's hand, she pulled him to the front of the line. "This is Quinn. I'm giving him my unlimited throws."

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