Page 14 of The Perfect Hit

The students filed out, and the director turned to me. “I know it’s hard to cut right in the middle, but we’ll get this cast ready by the end of the week and get rehearsals going. I’ve got mid-April blocked off for the performances, so that will give us plenty of time to polish the cast.”

I blew out a breath, grateful for that insight. I’d been panicking about a lot of things over the past month, and looking back, I couldn’t believe I’d been able to accomplish all this in such a short time. But as Mrs. Sanderson pointed out, I’d already done most of the hard work, the base of the story, last semester in English. And I wouldn’t have survived without the constant reassurance from Colt.

“Thank you, Mrs. Sanderson. It will be nice to picture the leads.”

She nodded. “Yes, the people taking over your beloved roles is a big deal. Although I didn’t see anyone up on stage who was quite there yet. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get someone tomorrow who decides to give it a chance.”

We both looked at each other and laughed. Everyone who'd been there this afternoon had been a part of the fall musical. The chances of anyone outside the drama club showing up were pretty slim.

I just hoped we’d be able to find the right people to make my first play unforgettable. And that I’d know what to tell them to make it a success.

8

Colt

Iglanced out at the players as we got ready for the first day of tryouts. I loved baseball, but I was starting to feel the pressure. It was only day one, and I knew there was a lot more coming up. And glancing up at the darkening sky, I hoped it wouldn’t downpour on us.

The kid next to me who pulled out his cleats and glove from his bag looked unfamiliar. He didn't have the doe-eyed look of a freshman, either excited to finally be in high school or thinking he was going to rule the school and show all the seniors a little something, so he must've just moved in.

“Hey,” I said, “I'm Colt. Are you new here?”

The kid turned to me, standing at his full height, which was at least three inches taller than me. “Yeah, I'm Adam Taylor. I just moved here last week from California.”

“Sweet, welcome to Rosemont baseball. What position do you play?”

“I was a third baseman in California, but I've been known to play just about anywhere on the field.”

When he said he played third base, I had a slight gut check. That had been my position for the past four years on our competition team and in high school. I glanced up at him, knowing that if I was going to keep the starting spot at third base, I’d have to work through the competition with him.

“What brings you here from California?” I asked, pulling the strings on my cleats to tie them tighter.

“My dad just got transferred here for a job.”

“And? What do you think of the place so far?” I grabbed my glove and the ball inside it and began tossing the ball into the palm of it as I waited for his answer.

“Well, there's a lot of flat land. We lived by the beach back in California, so I miss surfing and all that.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. “That sounds epic. You were probably devastated when your dad said you were moving, huh?”

“For sure,” Adam said, readjusting his baseball cap.

“Okay, team. It’s time to get going,” Coach Maddox said. “Let's do some warm-ups. Four laps around the field, and then get some good stretching in. We’re going to be running today, boys.”

I groaned and turned to see Nate looking like that was the last thing he wanted to do. We got in a pack, and I was surrounded by Jake, Dax, Ben, and Nate, grateful I had to go through all this with them. We'd run a lot at the camp last weekend, but I wasn't sure I was up for a marathon today.

After the first lap, I noticed a few of the kids up front, and Adam was one of them.

“Great,” I said, mostly joking. “New kid’s going to show me up.”

“What are you talking about?” Nate asked, frowning at me.

“That one tall, lanky kid up there just moved from California. And guess what position he plays?” I gave a fake grin, and Nate chuckled.

“Let me guess. Third base.”

I pointed my finger at him. “Bingo!”

“I overheard him talking to someone else, and he said he plays first base too,” Ben said.

---