Page 32 of The Perfect Hit

Straightening up a bit, I said, “Thanks.”

“Do you mind if I give you a suggestion?” And just like that, the little ego I’d puffed up popped like a balloon.

“Sure, why not?” I spread my arms out at my sides and handed him the bat.

“Go ahead and get into your stance.” I did as he asked, and he stepped closer. “I noticed in the game the other day that you go a little early for the ball and end up spreading out your legs too far. Those are the ones where you don’t have as much power. The one you drove into the outfield, you stayed compact with your legs and used everything to push the ball forward.”

I thought about it, recalling the experience with the double before I twisted my ankle. Focusing on that, I hit the ball off the tee. The power drove from my legs, and not just from launching it with my arms.

“Wow, how’d you learn that?”

“Like I said, I’m an only child, and there are only so many camps and YouTube videos a kid can watch before he internalizes everything.”

I swung again, focusing on using my legs, and had the same results. “That’s crazy, man. I just went to a camp before tryouts, and that wasn’t anything they were telling me.”

Adam nodded. “Yeah, baby steps. Sometimes it’s nice to fix one thing and then move on to the next.”

“So what do you think so far?” I said, getting in my stance for the last ball.

“About the team? There are some good vibes here. A lot of good chemistry. Not like my last high school but the one before it, the team was chill and decent.”

“What do you want to do after high school? Are you hoping to play college ball?” The question reminded me of Hazel’s short interrogation, and I wondered what he’d say.

Adam nodded. “Yeah, I’d love it. I’d love to get to the majors, even.”

I nodded, trying to picture myself playing professional baseball, but nothing came up. Even thinking about playing in college wasn’t a clear picture. “That’s a sweet goal. I’m just hoping to get through high school ball and see what happens.”

Adam grinned. “I love the game and analyzing everything about it. There is so much cool stuff we don’t even realize. Even if I didn’t make it as a player, I’d love to be a scout. That would be my dream job. It would be hard to sit behind a desk all day.”

We walked down to the end of the batting cage and picked up the balls, throwing them into the bucket and carrying it back to the tee. A whistle blew, meaning we were supposed to switch groups out to the outfield.

We were spread out farther, unable to talk like before, but I thought about Adam’s dream. I didn’t have one that big and hadn’t even thought that far out yet. I guess part of my thought process was that my dad wanted me to get good grades so I could do something more than a factory worker. But I always imagined I’d figure it out by the time I graduated.

How hard would it be to get seen if I was being moved around the country all the time? After blowing my chance at wowing the college coaches at the camp, I’d kind of shelved the idea of worrying about getting a scholarship. Taking a state championship could help Adam and me get seen, giving me a second chance. We just had to make it there first.

20

Hazel

The play was coming along easier than I originally thought. It helped that Mrs. Sanderson kept bestowing her many years of wisdom on me, and I was forever grateful. Tonight was a practice for the leads and secondary characters, and I’d hoped to get everything blocked and ready before they showed up.

I heard voices coming down the hall and looked up to see Ellie and Marcy walking through the door.

“Hey, Hazel,” Marcy said, waving the hand holding her script. It was bent in several places, and I could see a pink highlighter on a few pages.

“Hey, girls. I’m just trying to get this figured out before everyone arrives.”

Ellie slumped down on the edge of the stage. “It shouldn’t be that hard, right? I mean, you wrote the script. You should know where you want all the characters.” She turned and looked up to where I was standing just a foot or so away, mumbling to myself about who would be there and when.

I gritted my teeth, trying to figure out what to do in that instance. A year ago, no, even six months ago, I would’ve thought the same thing. But now I understood that it was more than just placing the lead characters, but also figuring out how each person came on and off the stage throughout a scene. I was dealing with up to twenty cast members I had to help, and it was all a little overwhelming.

“You’re doing a really great job, Hazel,” Marcy said with a smile. “I was a bit skeptical when I heard you’d written the play, but after seeing all you’ve gone through to make it happen, I’m just glad it wasn’t me Mrs. Sanderson asked.”

I gave her a quick smile, returning to the process I’d already mapped out for some of the characters. It was good to know how little support I had and how hard I had to work to win it back.

Scott walked in, along with a few of the other background characters who were supposed to be there, and I kept glancing toward the doors, waiting for Colt to arrive. Today was only a practice for baseball, and they hadn’t gone over with one of those yet.

“Are we ready to start?” Mrs. Sanderson asked, walking into the auditorium.

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