Curveball

by Derek Jeter

  Jumbo clapped his hands and yelled, “Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Then he spit on his hands, rubbed them together, grabbed his bat, and stepped up to the plate.

  Even with that batting helmet on Jumbo’s head, Derek could tell that Jumbo was staring out at shortstop. He wants to hit it to me, Derek realized. But why?

  Jumbo already knew Derek could make a play. What was he trying to prove? That even if Derek was good, he, Jumbo, was better?

  Derek didn’t mind Jumbo’s being a better player. To Derek it didn’t matter. If someone was better than he was at something, he’d try to learn that person’s “tricks,” or skills. He’d practice and practice certain details until he felt he had them down and could be confident of them in actual play. And someday, he felt sure, all that work would pay off.

  He’d been practicing Jumbo’s leap, spin, and throw move all week—whenever his body wasn’t in pain, that is. Now, with the game on the line, if Jumbo wanted to hit it to him, Derek thought, Let him. I’m ready.

  Jumbo had a great eye at the plate. Derek hadn’t seen him swing and miss at a pitch all game. When he wanted to hit the ball, he did. For that alone, Derek held him in awe. But Derek wasn’t so sure he liked this new side of Jumbo he was seeing. The one where it got personal.

  With a count of 2–0 Jumbo coiled around like a spring, and let loose on the next pitch, a fastball down at the knees. He smacked it right back up the middle, just a little to the right of the pitcher, who flinched in terror.

  Derek sped to his left, behind second base, and grabbed the ball in his outstretched mitt—then pivoted and, falling backward, flicked a sidearm throw to second base. The runner slid, but he was too late. He was out, and the ball game was over!

  Derek allowed himself to be mobbed by his new teammates.

  “You coming back next week?” one of them asked him.

  “Yeah. With my friend Dave,” Derek replied.

  “All right! Man, you can play some shortstop!”

  “Look out, Jumbo,” said another. “This kid’s gonna put you on the bench! Ha!”

  Derek looked around, and there was Jumbo, standing right behind him.

  “Over here, Jersey,” said Jumbo, beckoning Derek over toward the third-base line, where his team had sat during the game. “I’ve got something to show you, man.”

  Derek followed him, although he knew his uncle was probably waiting for him. He wondered what Jumbo wanted him for. At the fence Jumbo picked up a backpack and fished for something in it. “Yeah, I’ve got it. Come on back over here for a minute.”

  He led Derek over to a small concrete shed in foul territory on the left field side. “Around this way,” said Jumbo, taking Derek around the back of the little building. “Here you go.”

  Derek looked at what Jumbo had fished out of his backpack. It was a can of black spray paint. “It’s all yours, man,” said Jumbo, holding out the can for Derek to take. “You made the grade, Jersey. You’re one of us now. Go on and put your tag up there with the rest of them.”

  Derek looked at the back wall of the shed. It was covered in graffiti!

  He could feel his heart pounding underneath his ribs, hear the blood rushing in his ears, hear his breath as loud as thunder.

  Graffiti was vandalism, Derek knew. Jumbo was asking him to do something that wasn’t just wrong, but was also against the law!

  But Derek was afraid to come right out and say that. He was afraid to refuse, too. What if these kids decided not to invite him or Dave back to play ball with them ever again?

  Just moments ago he’d been full of the thrill that had come with playing well at a better, higher level. But now Derek wished he could just disappear.

  Why, why hadn’t he run back to meet Uncle Ernie as soon as the game was over? Why had he even followed Jumbo back here?

  “I . . . um . . . have to go. My uncle is waiting back there.”

  “Aw, man,” Jumbo complained, clearly annoyed.

  “Really. I have to, right away. Sorry.”

  “Well, next time, then, for sure,” Jumbo said, backing off for now. “I’m not lettin’ you off the hook, Jersey Boy.”

  Derek nodded but didn’t say anything. He backed up a few steps, then turned and ran off the field and onto the street, where Uncle Ernie was standing by the benches.

  “There you are!” he said to Derek, wearing a big grin. “You were fantastic today, kiddo! When did you get that good?”

  “Thanks, Uncle Ernie,” Derek said, and gave him a big hug, squeezing tightly. “Thanks.”

  “Huh? What’d I do?” asked Ernie, puzzled. “Well, never mind. Hugs are always welcome by me.”

  Derek wished he could tell Uncle Ernie what had just happened. Maybe he would, on the way home. Derek didn’t like keeping secrets.

  On the other hand, if he told Uncle Ernie, or Grandma, or any of the other adults in his life about what had just happened with Jumbo, they might not let him come back to the Bronx to play with those kids again.

  He didn’t want to lose that chance, especially not when Dave was coming and would get to be a part of it next week when they went to see the Yankees.

  All the way home he thought about what to do. But he didn’t say anything. He just sat there, feeling guilty, even though he hadn’t really done anything wrong.

  Or had he? For sure, he hadn’t actually done the deed. But he hadn’t come clean about it either. And somehow he felt as guilty about that as if he’d actually sprayed his initials on that concrete wall.

  Chapter Twelve

  FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE

  “Whoo-eee!” Sharlee yelled as she slid down the new slide and cannonballed into the lake. Uncle Jake had put the slide in just before Derek and Sharlee arrived, and it was every kid’s new favorite thing. It shot you into the air about three feet above the water, giving you enough time to scream and yell before splashing into the lake.

  Derek had been at it as well. His babysitting chores were over now, so he could just join in and let loose like the rest of the kids. But during the time when he’d been working to earn money for the Yankees tickets, he’d become used to watching out for the little ones. Now he still found himself making sure they stayed off the slide, which was for kids five years old and up.

  It was past lunch already—midafternoon, the heat of the day. This was the perfect family activity for lazy, hazy days, and all the kids were having a great time, including him.

  Except for one little thing. One eensy, teensy little nagging thing. He still hadn’t mentioned the graffiti incident to Grandma. Nor had he told anyone else. And even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, really, he felt more and more burdened by the secret he was keeping.

  He’d had a few chances already to come clean to Grandma, and had nearly told her a couple of times, but each time, he’d backed off at the last minute, unsure just how to put it.

  He told himself he would find a way to tell her long before next week’s game. But every time he didn’t say anything, it got harder the next time.

  If he hadn’t done anything wrong, then why was it proving so hard to talk about it? That was the question he kept asking himself.

  The worst part was, Derek knew that next Wednesday, with Dave coming along, he would have to face Jumbo and that spray can again. And this time he wouldn’t have a ready excuse.

  If Derek agreed to do it, Dave would surely find out and be totally shocked. Even worse, it would be a breach of Derek’s contract with his mom and dad, and most of all, it would be just plain wrong.

  But if he turned Jumbo down, Derek would risk being called a wimp. It was one thing to have a nickname, but it was another thing if your nickname was “Chicken.” Right now those kids thought he was pretty cool. But they wouldn’t if Jumbo decided that Derek didn’t fit in after all.

  “Wheeee!” cried his cousin Jessica, flying off the slide and making a huge splash. Derek smiled and laughed along with the rest of his cousins, but his heart wasn’t in it, and his mind was
on other things.

  He left the lake with Sharlee and Grandma at five and drove back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to shower and get ready for dinner. Tomorrow, thought Derek, Dave would finally arrive. Now, that was something to get excited about!

  They’d start out by taking Dave to the lake, where he would meet the whole family and get into some games with the cousins. The second day maybe they’d play that round of golf Dave was dreaming of, or at least go to the driving range. For that he’d have to get Grandma to drive them.

  And of course Derek couldn’t wait to throw the baseball around with Dave. Maybe his cousin Zach and a few of the older kids would join them, and then the kids could meet up at the local athletic fields sometime when the fields weren’t being used. That way Derek could get the chance to try mastering some of those moves he’d seen Jumbo make.

  The thought of Jumbo brought Derek back again to the horrible, nagging guilt he’d been feeling. But still he found himself unable to tell Grandma about it. He was just too afraid of how she might react.

  As they pulled into the driveway, Derek saw the mailman’s truck drive off. “I’ll get off here,” he told his grandma. She came to a stop, and he got out and grabbed the mail. The car rolled on while he walked slowly up the driveway, examining the day’s mail.

  A letter for him! From Vijay! Derek broke into a run, stepped inside the house, laid the rest of the mail down on the living room coffee table, took off his sneakers, and sat down to read his good friend’s letter—all the way from India!

  Derek admired the colorful stamps on the envelope, which was made of very lightweight paper. He tore it open, unfolded Vijay’s letter, and read:

  Dear Derek,

  You can’t believe how hot it is here! The monsoon rains are late, and everyone is waiting for them. They are pouring rains, but everybody is happy to see them because we can cool off. That will be good.

  The wedding is next week, and already we have had many pre-wedding parties. The dancing goes on and on. I have some new moves to bust out when I come back! I will teach them to you, and maybe we can do them in the Saint Augustine’s talent show in October. What do you think? Just like Bollywood movies!

  Derek thought of himself as a pretty good dancer, but he’d never been in any kind of talent show and wasn’t sure about trying some totally new Bollywood moves in front of his schoolmates.

  But you never knew. Vijay sometimes came up with weird ideas that wound up being really good. Maybe there was something there.

  The wedding ceremony and feast has seven different parts. But that is not until next week. This week we have the pre-wedding parties. First comes the Haldi ceremony. They cover the bride and groom all over with this sticky paste.

  “Eeeuw!” Derek said, making a face.

  You may think it’s gross, but it’s really not, even though it is a bit strange. It’s all made from natural things, and it smells like perfume.

  For Haldi they put up a canopy of flowers in all colors. Next is the Mehndi ceremony, where the bride and all the young women in the family get their hands and feet painted with henna. It’s like a temporary tattoo, and they all go crazy for it. That will be the day before the wedding.

  Wait, there’s more. Next comes Baraat, when the groom arrives on horseback with his friends and close family. Everyone sings and dances to welcome them. My cousins are trying to teach me the songs, but they’re in Hindi, so it’s hard for me because I don’t remember that much of the language. I was only four when we left here, so . . .

  That night comes Milni, where our family will greet the groom’s family. We will put flowers around their necks to honor them.

  Then we will honor the elephant-headed god Ganesh, for good luck. This is called Ganesh Puja. And all this is before the real wedding! Can you imagine? Now you know why we are away from home the whole summer long! But don’t worry, I am having lots of fun.

  All my cousins here follow me around all the time, because of my “strange accent” and my American ways. They think I am the coolest, and call me the “American cousin.”

  Derek paused for a moment. He wished Vijay were there in New Jersey right now, so that Derek could ask him what to do in his own current predicament. Vijay would know what to do, what to say. He always did, somehow.

  I will have lots of pictures to show you when I come home. I hope you and Dave are having a good time there in New Jersey. See you in August.

  Your friend, V ijay Patel

  Derek folded up the letter and put it into his pocket. Funny, he thought. Vijay and I are on opposite sides of the world, but we’re both surrounded by cousins who look up to us.

  Well, he could understand why Vijay’s cousins would flock around him and look up to him. But his own cousins?

  Was he being a good role model to them? How did keeping secrets from the grown-ups in your life fit into that picture?

  And tomorrow Dave would be arriving, which would only make telling the truth harder.

  • • •

  “Wow! Are these all your suitcases?” Derek was staring at Dave’s two big pieces of luggage, and one huge, heavy duffel bag. “All for one week?”

  “Well,” said Dave with a sheepish grin. “Those are my golf clubs, actually.”

  “You’ve got enough here for two months!” Derek said with a laugh. “Well, come on!”

  He grabbed one huge suitcase and hoisted the clubs over his other shoulder. “Urghf!” he grunted as he lifted them both off the ground.

  Dave grabbed the bigger of the two suitcases, and they slowly made their way out of the terminal and across the street to the parking lot.

  “How was your flight, Dave?” Derek’s grandma asked him.

  “Good,” Dave said, beaming. “I can’t believe I’m really here, and that my folks actually let me come!”

  “Man, I can’t wait to get you down to the lake!” Derek said, throwing an arm around Dave’s shoulders. “Everyone’s waiting to meet you. I talked you up, so don’t make a liar out of me, okay? And guess what? I scored us Yankees tickets for next Wednesday night!”

  “No way!”

  “Yes way!”

  “All right!” Dave exulted, high-fiving Derek. “And I looked up golf courses. There’s a really good one right near Greenwood Lake we can try out.”

  “Cool! Um, you brought your mitt, right?”

  “Yeah,” Dave said. “I knew you’d want me to.”

  Derek didn’t mention his other big surprise—that he and Dave were invited to play ball in the Bronx—for one very good reason. If he did decide to come clean and tell his grandma what had gone down there last time, he risked disappointing Dave if she didn’t let them play.

  • • •

  “Wow! This is so awesome!”

  Dave was blown away by the Castle, and the lake, and the huge number of kids running around everywhere, playing games, swimming, and laughing up a storm. “This is so different from anything I’ve ever known. . . .” He fell silent, taking in the chaotic, happy scene.

  Derek understood where his friend was coming from. At home Dave was the only child in a huge house on a huge property, far from other houses, or other kids. Being here, surrounded by at least twenty kids, along with assorted parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, was something as strange to Dave as an elephant-headed god would have seemed to Derek’s cousins here at the lake.

  They spent the afternoon sampling all the fun things to do at the Castle. Derek taught Dave all the water games he and his cousins liked to play—from Marco Polo, to water polo, to backflip contests and, of course, going down the new slide.

  Then, when they’d all dried off, Derek and Oscar got everyone together for a quick game of Wiffle ball.

  “Half hour, boys!” Grandma called to them, waving. Derek knew that meant she had to get home and start cooking dinner.

  Derek turned around to find Dave with a long canvas bag in his hand. “What’s that?” he asked.

  Dave answered by pulling out a gol
f club and then shaking out half a dozen Wiffle golf balls! “It’s a five iron,” he answered. “Anybody want to try hitting a few?”

  All the cousins gathered around, eager to try. Golf was one thing that hadn’t been a part of their lakeside fun up until that point. But by the time Derek and Dave and Sharlee had to go home with Grandma, everyone was crazy for golf!

  Derek felt deeply, truly happy. Not only had New Jersey and his family made a great impression on Dave, but Dave had also made a great impression on them.

  Tomorrow they’d look into playing some golf. And Derek would make sure they also practiced their baseball fielding, so that he could work on some of those acrobatic moves.

  He couldn’t wait to take Dave to the Bronx and introduce him to Tiny and the guys, and see the Yankees play the Royals at Yankee Stadium!

  And that teeny, tiny little problem? For the moment Derek just forced it out of his mind, telling himself it would work itself out in the end. Hey, maybe Jumbo would forget to bring his spray can, or give up trying to get Derek to do anything dicey.

  • • •

  It was only late that night, after Grandma had said good night, shut off the light, and closed the bedroom door, that the dark thoughts and fears came back to haunt him as he lay in bed.

  Earlier that evening Derek’s parents had called to see how Dave was doing. And then Dave’s parents had called to speak to their son, for the very same reason. Obviously both sets of parents were anxious for this visit to work out well, and Derek was happy to be able to report that their first day together had been a smashing success.

  But he still hadn’t mentioned his dilemma with Jumbo to anyone. Not to his parents, not to Uncle Ernie, not to Grandma. He didn’t even feel like he could tell Dave. He was doomed whatever he did.

  What was he going to do? What should he do?

  He knew what his parents would say.

  And that gave him his answer, at long last.

  Chapter Thirteen

  COMING CLEAN