Page 59 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘How would you know?’ Madeline said.
‘Concentrate!’ Ruby shouted from the non-striker’s end, and Madeline dragged her eyes away from Adam Wright just in time to see the ball come zooming towards her. More out of an attempt to protect herself than anything else, she took a massive swipe at the ball, somehow stuck it with the back of her bat, and stared in dismay as it flew straight towards where Adam Wright stood a few metres away.
It was an easy catch. All he had to do was hold his hands still, but as the ball went into his hands, he leaned back, and his feet slipped on the grass. He fell backwards, and the ball popped out, rolling across the grass.
The Milton Road players cheered. Adam Wright jumped up, protesting to the umpires about poor playing conditions.
‘All right, back to your positions,’ the umpire said, as Adam Wright glared at Madeline.
‘Lucky there,’ he said. ‘You won’t get lucky twice.’
‘Ignore that clown!’ Ruby shouted, coming down the wicket as the bowler walked back to his mark to prepare for the last ball of the match. ‘Concentrate,’ she hissed. ‘This is the last ball, and the scores are tied. They lost less wickets, though, so they win if the scores finish like this. You just have to get back on it and I’ll run like hell. Just get your head down and get to the other end. Got it?’
Madeline forced a smile, but inside she was a bundle of nerves. ‘I’ll do my best.’
‘It’s over to you now,’ Ruby said. ‘Do you want to go down in club folklore, or do you want to spend the rest of your life polishing a second place medal?’
‘We get medals?’
‘I don’t know. I suppose it depends on the league association’s budget.’
‘Can we please get on with the game?’ shouted the umpire.
Ruby patted Madeline on the shoulder. ‘Good luck.’
‘Thanks.’
As Ruby ran back to her end of the pitch, Madeline tapped her bat on the ground and stared at the bowler about to run in. She was acutely aware of Adam Wright chirping at her from a few feet away. Something about how if she couldn’t see a bicycle, she had no chance at seeing a ball. She thought of Rory, stomping his feet and ripping up her petition.
There really were a lot of idiots in the world. In some ways she felt sorry for the poor ball—
‘Hit it!’
It bounced midway down the pitch and came steepling for her face. Madeline threw up her bat, shut her eyes. She missed the ball completely, instead feeling it bounce off her shoulder with a sharp stab of pain.
‘Ow!’
‘Run!’
Madeline opened her eyes to see Ruby racing towards her. She started forwards, dropped and tripped over her bat, sprawling forwards onto the pitch. Then, with Ruby nearly upon her, she scrambled to her feet.
Behind her, someone was shouting for the fielder to throw the ball to the non-striker’s end. Madeline was still miles away from safety, and a fielder had come to stand behind the stumps. Aware she was racing against a ball she couldn’t see, Madeline closed her eyes and tried to summon one of her old bursts of speed, the ones she had loved at the end of a tough cross-country race, where you empty out the tank for one last push for the line. The safety crease became the finish line, and Madeline found herself grinning.
One more step—
The ball bounced in beside her, the fielder reaching to gather it. As he collected the ball and pulled it across to break the stumps, Madeline got a foot over the line.
Milton Road’s players erupted in a massive cheer. Madeline stumbled to safety, looking up to see the dismay on Adam Wright’s face as he broke the wicket just a second too late.
Her momentum had sent her sprawling. As she rolled over and sat up, Adam Wright came over and extended a hand.
‘Well played, cake girl,’ he said, offering her a grim smile.
Madeline had blood ringing in her ears. She smiled back and took his hand. ‘Oak Leaf Café in Sycamore Park,’ she said. ‘We also have second-place cakes, and they taste just as good. Everyone welcome.’
Adam smiled. ‘Good game,’ he said. ‘We’ll see you all there.’
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