Page 23 of The Perfect Hit

“I get it,” Colt said, nodding. “For me, it’s like there’s pressure, but it’s not to the point where all my insides are locking down.”

He walked me over to my car and opened the door for me. “You’ve got this, director diva. Just let me know how I can help.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I always do.”

He smiled back and shut the door, taking a few steps backward as I started up my car. I put it into drive and drove out of the parking lot, processing everything that had gone on today.

Why had I gotten so annoyed when I saw Marcy and Colt together? And what was I going to do with Scott’s attitude?

14

Colt

It felt like the week had sped by with all that was on my plate. I was juggling baseball, the play, and school. To be honest, I wasn’t doing too bad of a job at it. I mean, I still struggled with math and had to put extra time into it, but overall, I was feeling pretty good about things.

Memorizing the lines was kind of a struggle, but I figured I needed to just keep working on it to remember.It did help that I’d gone through a lot of the storyline while Hazel wrote it over the past several months.

Although I would’ve liked to do something with Hazel for Valentine’s day the weekend before, she’d been babysitting for the couple next door for what seemed like forever. I’d gotten her a bag of chocolate-covered cinnamon bears, one of her favorite treats. She gave me a shirt that said,Theater: it’s a stage I’m going through.

I’d laughed hard at it but had made sure to stick it in the bottom of my shirt drawer so my brothers didn’t see it.

We’d made it to Friday, and I was rehearsing with Marcy, trying to get one of the lines I’d thought I’d already memorized.

“You’re fine,” Marcy said after the fifth time I flubbed the words. “It takes time to get it all down.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Fielding grounders is definitely easier than this.”

Marcy laughed. “There are a lot of things easier than memorizing fifty lines. This is the most I’ve ever had in a play.”

I watched as the insecurity passed over her expression, and I said, “Well, I think you’re doing a pretty great job.”

She blew out a breath. “Do you think?”

“Yeah, I mean, you remember a lot more than I do.”

We laughed together, and she said, “Yeah, but is it bad I’m hoping nothing bad happens to Ellie? I mean, this is way cool and all, me being her understudy, but that’s so much pressure. I would probably stand up there and be an icicle, frozen in place.”

I nodded, understanding what she meant by that. “Well, I’m in the same boat. Scott better not get sick or anything. I would hate to ruin Hazel’s play.” I turned, searching for her. It was kind of fun to watch her work. She was really encouraging, but I could see the underlying layer of panic ready to step in if anything happened. She’d assured me she was okay, but I needed to keep an eye on her.

“What position do you play in baseball?” Marcy asked, her voice soft.

“I, uh, I play third base.” I watched her reaction, waiting to see if she understood what that meant. Hazel, for all I’d tried to teach her over the past several months, still looked at me like I was speaking in a foreign language when I talked to her about the results of a game and how I played.

Marcy smiled. “Gotcha. One of my younger brothers plays second base. Not for the high school of course. He’s only in eighth grade.”

“He should try out next year. We’ll have a few spots to fill once the seniors graduate.” That made my stomach clench, and a slight worry about why I was here instead of in my backyard working on my swing grabbed ahold of me. I wouldn’t have the seniors to lean on, and the true weight of what this year meant in terms of how far we’d get was pressing down on me.

“He plans to. He pretty much eats, sleeps, and lives for baseball.” She paused and glanced in the direction of Hazel. “Kind of like she does with acting.”

I nodded.“We’re good friends, and I want her to do well. She’s worked so hard at this play, writing it and getting worried over directing it, that I’m hoping it goes well for her, you know?”

Marcy’s eyes squinted like she was trying to decide if she believed me or not. “Yeah, she totally deserves to have that support.”

“Has she said anything to you about her past boyfriend?” I asked, curious. The two of them had been friends before I’d started hanging out with Hazel, and I wondered if Marcy knew more about that situation than Hazel had confessed to me.

Marcy gave me a tight smile. “The only thing she said was that her boyfriend was unsupportive. And then he broke up with her because she spent too much time at her activities instead of being there to cheer him on all the time.”

With a quick nod, I smiled. “Thanks for that. She doesn’t talk much about him, and I was just curious.”

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