Page 33 of The Perfect Play

Chapter 26

Penny

The next month passed like the blink of an eye with both Jake and I busy with baseball and softball, homework, and working at the diner. We often studied at each other’s houses, sharing kisses here and there, which made me realize why everyone made such a big deal about relationships. There were always going to be challenges, but to have my best friend back was like a dream come true. And the fact that he was now my boyfriend? The preteen me would have been squealing for weeks at the thought.

It was interesting to see the changes in Jake too. He’d kept his word at taking things slow, and it was almost like our separation had never happened. He was also working harder and with more determination to reach his new goals for after high school than I’d seen before we started hanging out again. With grades higher and a few letters from schools to play baseball, he was finally getting more excited about the prospect of what could happen in the future.

He’d had a few run-ins with his father, but we’d talked about them for the most part. It was hard to see him so down about things when, in reality, his father had just skewed the facts, making it look as though Jake hadn’t been improving or wasn’t trying. But at least we’d managed to convince his dad we would practice together instead of him repeating the scene from that game with the college coaches.

It was April, and I was feeling the pressure as I studied for each of my advanced placement classes. I’d be taking the tests at the end of April, and as each day passed, my stomach tightened even further. Doubt came soon after. Would I be able to pass all the tests I had to take? What had I been thinking to take this heavy of a schedule?

Jake had been over at the beginning of the week, but we’d missed each other the past few nights, so the knock on the front door on Thursday evening didn’t mean much to me.

Derrick came up to my room. “There’s something at the door for you.” He grinned, and I frowned. I didn’t have money to order anything online, and it wasn’t like people were constantly throwing gifts in my direction.

I threw on a hoodie and walked downstairs, grumbling about being interrupted while I was studying. Opening the door, I found several candles all over the porch with a giant blow-up baseball.

Poking my head out, I glanced around the dark yard, wondering what was happening.

“Why don’t you actually read what it says on the ball, Penny?” Derrick’s voice sounded annoyed.

My bare feet stepped onto the porch, and I pulled the ball toward me, seeing writing on it. The script was more feminine than anything.

Reading it out loud, I said, “‘I might strike out asking, but will you be my catch at prom?’” Was this someone asking me to prom in two weeks? I’d been to a girl’s-ask dance and had done a creative ask, but the guys had always just accepted it at school. This was new territory for me.

I turned to Derrick. “Did you see who did this? Was it Jake?” We hadn’t talked about the dance at all, and I wasn’t even sure if he was up for things like that.

My brother shrugged and leaned against the wall. “I don’t know. Maybe you should look around for the clues to the name. That’s what most people do in these situations.”

I poked him in the chest, laughing. “Oh yeah, Mr. I’ve-never-gone-on-a-date. What makes you the expert now?”

He raised his arms in defense. “I’m a good listener. Most of the girls will talk about it during classes when their older siblings have asked people to dances.”

I looked around the porch, picking up a few of the flameless candles and checking the bottoms for clues. As I neared the end of the porch, my eyes adjusted somewhat to the darkness, and I saw several yellow balls littered around the yard.

“I think I found something. Come help me, Derrick.”

Even though he sighed as if it was the last thing he wanted to do, he came out and gathered several balls, dropping them on the living room floor for me. I expected him to disappear back into his room like he’d done lately, but he seemed to hover, waiting for me to figure out my mystery date.

The back door opened, and I heard the familiar staccato of my father’s steps coming through the kitchen. “I’m home. How was your— what happened here?”

“Penny got asked to prom. Now she just has to unscramble these letters.”

“That’s a lot of letters. Does the kid have four or five names?” My dad scratched the top of his head and chuckled, something he did when he thought his jokes were actually funny.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. But we’ll see, I guess.”

I pulled all the balls together so the letters were visible. With all of them there, I searched for a J or a W but was confused when I didn’t see one. I tried several combinations as I thought about boys from our school, but each one who was a potential decent date didn’t work out.

As the letters came together, my heart dropped a bit. Nate Everton. I barely knew the friend of Jake’s, only that he was a baseball player. Why would he ask me to the dance?

A mixture of sadness and confusion rushed through me.

“Who’s Nate Everton?” my dad asked, eating a chip right after. The crunch of it was loud as he kept his mouth open with each bite.

“Ew, Dad. Close your mouth, please.” I looked back at the letters. “A kid on the baseball team.”

I turned back to see an amused expression on my dad’s face. “So, what happened to Jake? Did he already ask you?”

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