Susie halted the curse in her head when she caught Marlee's sympathetic smile.
"Sorry," Marlee mouthed.
Susie nodded and rolled her eyes trying not to let her anger bubble any closer to the surface than it already had. She slinked back to the far end of the bench so she wouldn't be in the way.
Sam called a quick huddle with a few of her teammates. Susie wondered what they could possibly be talking about. All they had to do after they batted was keep Elmhurst from scoring more than six runs. Easy for a team like the Nor'easters.
Rachel was the leadoff batter. Susie noticed her crowding the plate more than usual and wasn't surprised when she got hit by the first pitch. The Elmhurst pitcher had been throwing inside pitches the entire game to brush batters off the plate. The next batter for the Nor'easters also crowded the plate and promptly got hit by a pitch. Susie had to laugh. Her teammates had lost their minds.
With runners on first and second, Sam stepped into the batter's box.
"C'mon, Sam," Susie yelled from her dark corner. This ought to be good. Sam was a good hitter. At least one run should score.
"You go, Two," Marlee yelled using her nickname for Sam. "Hit it out there." Marlee stood up. "I'm on deck. I gotta get ready."
It was just as well. Poor Marlee had been suffering in self-imposed incarceration in Susie's dark loser-of-the-day corner.
"Get a hit," Susie encouraged.
Marlee waggled her eyebrows in response, grabbed her helmet from the bench, and headed to the line of bats leaning against the fence.
"We'll take it, Two," Marlee yelled.
Susie looked up. Sam had walked to load the bases. "Ho, ho," Susie cheered under her breath. Lisa was the cleanup hitter, and that meant trouble for Elmhurst. Lisa had been named to the all-county batting team during the last school year, so Elmhurst didn't stand a chance. Especially because there was no way the pitcher would pitch around her. Not with the bases loaded.
Susie caught the blood thirsty gleam in Coach Gellar's eye. She obviously liked going for the kill. Marlee was right. Coach Gellar liked to be in control, and it certainly looked like the Nor'easters were just that.
Lisa could have knocked the ball out of the park for a home run, but fell behind in the count, and dinked a weak grounder over the second baseman's head. It didn't look like she'd swung the bat all the way around. Rachel ran home making the score 8-0, and all the other runners advanced safely to the next base. Marlee stepped into the box as the fifth batter of the inning. Susie did the math and realized that as the number nine batter she might actually get a chance to hit that inning.
Susie stood up and gripped the chain link fence. "C'mon, Marlee! Give 'em heck." Susie was stunned when Marlee crowded the plate. "No, no, no," Susie hissed under her breath. The last time Marlee had gotten hit by a pitch, she ended up in the hospital. "Don't do it, Marlee," Susie yelled toward home plate. It wasn't worth it.
Too late. Marlee turned to get out of the way of the pitch and got hit square in the back.
"First," the home plate umpire called and pointed toward first base.
The athletic trainer started to run toward Marlee, but Marlee waved her off and trotted to first base unfazed by just getting hit by a fastball. Another run came in for the Nor'easters. The score was 9-0.
"Time," the Elmhurst coach called and headed toward the pitcher's circle for a conference with her pitcher.
Susie wished she had a camera. Sam stood on third base, Lisa on second, and Marlee on first. The bases were full of her friends.
The next Nor'easter batter got up and walked. Sam scored giving them a 10-0 lead. Susie was officially on deck and stood up to get her bat from where it stood gathering dust against the fence. She plunked on her batting helmet and waited by the dugout gate. The Elmhurst pitcher walked the next batter, and Lisa scored making it 11-0.
Susie walked onto the field feeling rather strange. She took her practice swings in the on-deck circle and tried to make sense of her role in the game. Pinch hitting was new for her. Coach Gellar gave the batter at the plate the take sign, obviously wanting to milk as many walks out of the Elmhurst pitcher as she could. It worked. The batter walked, and Marlee crossed the plate for their twelfth run.
Susie high-fived Marlee as she passed by. Marlee called back over her shoulder, "Ducks on the pond, batter. Hit away."
Coach Gellar must have thought that was a good idea, too and gave Susie the green light. Susie almost laughed when one of the Elmhurst outfielders groaned and then backed up toward the fence. Her outfield teammates did the same.
"That's respect, Sus," Sam called from the dugout. "Show 'em what you've got."
Susie swallowed hard and took a practice swing. She needed to get a big hit to prove to Coach Geller that she didn't belong on the bench. She needed to prove that she belonged back in the starting lineup.
The Elmhurst pitcher took the sign from her catcher. Susie let the outside pitch go by.
"Ball," the umpire yelled.
The next pitch hit the dirt for ball two.
Susie stepped one foot out of the box and looked at her coach for the sign. Sometimes on a 2-0 count, Coach Gellar would flash the take sign to lay off the next pitch. No such thing. Hit away. With a grin, Susie stepped back in the box and got ready. A sweet fastball came right down the middle of the plate. She swung hard, putting all her anger and frustration into it, and sent the ball rocketing toward deep left field. She sprinted toward first base knowing she had hit at least a double, hoping she could leg out a triple. Betsy waved her on to second base. Susie sprinted and looked at her coach. Green light. Her adrenaline kicked in as she stomped on second base and headed toward third. She expected her coach to throw up a stop sign, but she didn't. Her teammates screamed for her to score, so she threw on the after burners and rounded third toward home. Rachel stood behind the plate yelling for her to slide. The catcher crouched down. The ball was on its way. Susie leaned back, threw her arms up and slid desperately hoping that home plate was somewhere underneath her.
She had no idea where the ball was, but didn't need to. The umpire threw her arms out to her sides and yelled, "Safe!"
Susie's teammates stormed her from the dugout.
"In the park grand slam," Marlee yelled in her ear over their shouting teammates. "My hero."
Susie was on top of the world. Once free from her teammates, she trotted back to the dugout. She looked toward her coach expecting some kind of smile or thumbs up, something to indicate that she was out of the doghouse. Nothing. Her coach kept her nose in the scorebook, presumably writing down the play. Susie shrugged. Whatever. She didn't live to please Coach Gellar. Still. It stung.
Susie sat down in a thump. This time she sat in the middle of the bench instead of in self-imposed exile. Every single one of her teammates congratulated her again. It felt good to be part of the team again.
Marlee plopped down on one side of her. Sam and Lisa on the other. Sam looked Susie straight in the eye and said, "Like I said before, we've got your back."
Susie looked at her friends wide eyed. Why hadn't she realized it? "Dios mío, you guys totally set that up for me, didn't you?"
The grin on Marlee's face gave it away.
"Yes, I do," Susie said looking up to the heavens. "I've got good friends."
She looked back down, but a particular blonde-haired spectator in the bleachers caught her eye. "Uh, oh." She pointed toward the bleachers. "Houston, we've got a problem."
Her friends turned to see where she was pointing.
Marlee gasped. "Bree." She groaned and hid her head in her hands.
Almost in unison, Susie, Sam, and Lisa said, "We've got your back."
Chapter Twelve
Two-by-Four
PLAN A WAS to deliberately delay their exit from the dugout after their win against Elmhurst. The idea was that Bree would get bored waiting for them and leave. Susie tried not to laugh as Marlee moved like a robot in slow motion.
Susie snuck a peek
through the dugout cinderblocks. She frowned when she saw Bree taking up residence on the bleachers. "Muchachas?" Susie whispered. "Plan A has officially bombed. On to Plan B?" Marlee, Sam, and Lisa nodded their understanding. Sam and Lisa flanked Marlee on either side. Susie moved in behind all of them. "Got your keys, Marlee?"
Marlee nodded. The plan was to move as a group toward Marlee's van, dive in, and drive away. They would come back later for Sam's car, once the fields were Bree-free.
"Guys," Susie said, "if Plan B doesn't work then we go to Plan C."
"What's Plan C?" Marlee whispered over her shoulder. "Make a run for it even if she's in the middle of a sentence." Everyone chuckled, and Sam reached behind her to give Susie a playful smack.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"Ready everybody?" Susie asked. They all nodded.
"Okay, go." Marlee pushed the gate open, and they collectively power walked toward the van.
Out of the corner of her eye, Susie saw Bree push off the bleachers and head toward them.
"Hurry," Susie urged. "She's gaining on us." They walked quickly, weaving their way through the cars. "Hurry, hurry," Susie urged them on. Bree was almost on them. They reached the van, Marlee had her key ready, but then the unimaginable happened. The keys flipped out of Marlee's hand and tumbled end over end to the pavement. Everyone groaned.
Marlee scurried to pick them up and fumbled to find the right key. Susie urged her on silently. "Nice game, Marlee," a cheerful voice said right behind them. Susie jumped and almost laughed out of sheer panic.
The four friends slowly turned around to face Bree. "Thanks," Marlee said. "Did you, uh, have a game today?"
"Yeah, we had a home game against Mohawk." Bree looked smug.
"We pounded them." "Mercy rule?"
"Yeah, I pitched."
Susie shot a sidelong glance at Marlee, willing her to end the conversation before it even got started. Something dawned on her. Southbridge was a hell of a long way from Elmhurst. After her game, Bree must have broken the sound barrier getting there. Where did she find time to change into her form-fitting shorts and tight tank top? Her outfit was obviously designed to turn a certain blonde pitcher's head.
Sam exchanged a knowing glance with Susie. She must have figured it out, too.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sam interrupted. "We haven't met. I'm Sam."
Bree looked startled, as if she hadn't realized there were other people around. "Oh, uh, I'm Bree. I pitch for Southbridge."
"I love your outfit," Sam said.
Susie clamped her lips together trying not to laugh.
Sam took a step closer, putting herself between Marlee and Bree. She pointed to the girl's snug tank top. "Is that wickaway fabric?"
"Yeah, it's supposed to pull the perspiration away from your skin." Bree looked desperate as she tried to see past Sam.
Marlee, meanwhile, had taken that opportunity to casually unlock the sliding door of the van and toss her gear inside. Susie tossed hers next to Marlee's and then climbed in. On her way to the passenger seat, she reached over and unlocked Marlee's driver's side door. It looked like they might have to invoke Plan C after all.
Lisa, who had been standing next to Sam, said, "Where'd you get your tank? Think they have my size?" Lisa rose up to her full amazon height. If that didn't make Bree back down, Susie didn't know what would.
"I got it online, I think," Bree said impatiently. With a snort, she brushed past Sam and was on Marlee in a flash. "So, uh, think you can give some pitching pointers sometime?"
Bree's cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson, and Susie almost began to feel sorry for the girl.
"Yeah," Marlee said in a way that Susie knew she was weakening, too. "I guess maybe I could show you some stuff the next time we play you guys."
"Tuesday," Bree said so quickly that Sam actually laughed out loud. "Okay," Marlee gave in. She gestured toward Lisa in introduction. "I don't think you've met my catcher. This is Lisa."
"Hey," Bree said with disinterest and the barest of nods.
"Hey," Lisa mimicked. The look on her face clearly showed that she wasn't amused by Bree's lack of manners.
"Lisa just got back from a hand injury, so she can't catch for us."
"That's okay. We don't need a catcher." Bree seemed undeterred in her quest to get Marlee alone.
"Oh." Marlee turned around to roll her eyes in frustration at Susie. Clearly Marlee knew it was time for Plan C. She turned back toward Bree and said, "We'll use your catcher, okay?" She looked over Bree's head and said to Lisa and Sam. "Hey, you guys? We gotta get going. We don't want to be late." Marlee opened her car door and climbed in the driver's seat.
Sam's eyes grew wide in confusion. They hadn't discussed what they were doing after the game. "Ah, yes. Okay," Sam agreed. "C'mon, Lisa. We don't want to be late."
"Where are you guys going?" Bree's hand was now on Marlee's open door.
The look on Susie's face probably matched the look of disbelief on both Sam's and Lisa's. The girl was relentless.
Marlee didn't answer right away, so Susie leaned over and said. "We're going somewhere to be alone so we can make out."
Bree took a step back, clearly not knowing how to respond, but she'd let go of the door, and Marlee slammed it shut. She rolled her window down a few inches and sputtered, "Sorry, but we really have to go." She started the van.
"See ya." Bree's voice held so much disappointment, that Susie almost felt rotten that they were dissing her.
Marlee yanked the gear shifter into drive and squealed her way out of the parking lot.
"Dios mío," Susie said with a laugh, "she's pushy."
"Dog with a bone, man." Marlee shook her head. "She's, like, crazy or something."
"Crazy in love," Susie teased.
"I know, but even though she's annoying as hell, I kind of feel bad for her." Marlee turned on to the main road.
"Me, too." Susie checked to make sure Sam and Lisa were following them.
"I mean, like, when I fell for you, I fell pretty hard. What if you'd blown me off like that?" Marlee glanced at Susie with puppy dog eyes.
"I see what you mean, Jelly Bean." Susie thought about it for a minute. "But you were giving her all the hints she needed to know that you weren't interested."
"I need a two-by-four."
"Okay," Susie said slowly, "I'll bite. A two-by-four?"
Marlee laughed. "I never told you that story?"
Susie shook her head.
"It's a story my dad told me once. Do you want to hear it?"
"Yeah."
"There are two farmers."
"Okay."
"The first farmer sells a donkey to the second farmer, and says, 'This donkey is great. He'll plow all your fields. He just keeps going and going. Just say, Hyah! and he'll plow all day. Say, Whoa and he'll stop.' The second farmer says, 'Great. I'll take him.' So the next morning, the second farmer gets the donkey ready to plow his field. He says, 'Hyah!', but the donkey doesn't move. He says, 'Hyah!' again, but the donkey still doesn't budge. He keeps at it for almost an hour, when the first farmer comes along and asks, 'How's the plowing going?' The second farmer says, 'Plowing? This is the laziest donkey in the world. He hasn't moved an inch. I want my money back.' The first farmer says, 'Have you said, Hyah?' The second farmer says, 'Yes! For an hour.' The first farmer says, 'Oh, I forgot to tell you.' He picks up a two-by-four, whacks the donkey in between the eyes, and says, 'Hyah!' The donkey takes off plowing the field, and the first farmer says, 'You just have to get his attention first.'"
Susie burst out laughing. "That's crazy. Not to mention abusive to animals." Susie laughed again as she reheard the punch line in her head.
Marlee laughed with her, until they were both giggling out of control. Breathless, Marlee pulled the van down a neighborhood street and pulled over to the side. She put the van in park and when she finally caught her breath, looked around. "I have no idea where we are."
"Me, neither. So," Susie
chuckled again, "what does a two-by-four have to do with Bree?"
"Bree won't take any of our hints, so somehow we have to get her attention for when we implement Plan D."
"What's Plan D?"
"I have no idea."
Susie burst out laughing again, and Marlee joined her.
Lisa and Sam appeared at the driver's side window so suddenly that Marlee and Susie jumped causing them to howl even louder.
"What are you guys laughing about?" Sam bugged out her eyes.
Susie caught her breath long enough to say, "Dios mío. It's way too long to repeat right now, but, uh, we have no idea where we are."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Well, I do. At least Bree didn't follow us, so that's a good sign."
"Thank goodness." Marlee sighed in relief, but then grabbed her stomach. "Oh, man, I'm starving."
"Me, too," Sam said. "I know a good diner in Elmhurst. Let's get lunch there."
"Sounds good to me." Susie realized she was hungry, too. "We can come up with Plan D while we're there."
"Plan D?" Lisa asked.
Susie and Marlee started laughing again, and Susie said, "We, uh, haven't worked out all the details, but so far it involves a donkey and a two-by-four."
SAM PULLED THE Sebring into Susie's driveway and popped the trunk. They sat for a moment talking in the dark car, the sun having set at least an hour earlier.
"Dios mío, I have so much fun with you guys," Susie said. "My stomach hurts from laughing so much."
"Oh, me, too. I'm so glad Marlee's looking for a new car tomorrow with her mom."
"That's just 'cuz you want Marlee to be able to drive Lisa here to East Valley."
"So?" Sam said with a smile. "A girl can want, can't she?"
Susie waggled her eyebrows. "Yeah, but I'm gonna miss her mother's van. It's nice and roomy."
"I bet." Sam smacked the console in between them. "You don't know how many times I've wanted to rip this thing out."
Going, Going, Gone: Suzie's Story Page 10
