by Kris Kendall
Prelude to Mercy
By Shannon Dermott
Like a sense of home, the familiar baseball cap on my head was a comfort and not just because of the hot sun. The day was a blaze of light and the baseball in my hand reminded me that I was supposed to be doing something. While I waited for the next batter, my attention shifted just as I wiped at a bead of sweat on my brow.
“Hey Paul, are you going to throw the ball or what?” a voice said off in the distance.
Turning my attention from the girls’ practice, which was taking place on the football field instead of the baseball diamond, I shifted in my stance. My team, the varsity team, got first use of the diamond, fair or not. I looked in the direction of the voice for just a second.
My catcher was ready for the pitch and was probably tired and hot like the rest of us. Hell, I’d waited while everyone else got ready. They could wait just a second more.
A quick glance over my shoulder showed she wasn’t wearing a hat. She would regret that later and I wanted to warn her about potential sunburn if only just to speak to her. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it swayed with her every movement. The fireball next to her was attached to her hip most days.
Maggie was a ball buster that had a way of embarrassing guys to no end when they tried to talk to her. I was sure she would be just as fierce in protecting her best friend. Those two were a pair to the end. That much I knew.
When a cluster of guys came over, they followed my line of sight. I knew they wanted to see who I was checking out. This made me feel vaguely uncomfortable.
A hand clapped on my back and hung on my shoulder. “You better not be looking at my sister, Bowman,” a different voice said.
Turning to face the voice wouldn’t change what I already knew. Looking up, I saw the match to the fireball. Liam was tall with a mix of reddish-blond hair, but the resemblance was clear. Although only a year ahead of me, a junior, Liam wasn’t one to be messed with. And he wasn’t Maggie’s only protector. Her other brother was a senior, but he didn’t play baseball. He played lacrosse, so I didn’t have to deal with both of them at once.
“No, I’m not,” I said flatly.
Liam frowned at me. “What are you saying? You don’t think she’s cute enough?”
Laughing, I wondered why the guy just admonished me from checking his sister out. “She’s cute,” I said in a nonchalant way. “But it’s her friend I’m interested in.”
Liam’s frown stayed in place. “Who, Mercy? She’s like a sister to me too.”
Sighing, I pulled my cap off my head and ran my hand through my hair. Putting my cap back on, I manned up. “Is she off limits too?”
My question, however, came too late before the rest of the team, who’d been practicing, now came over to huddle around, wondering what was going on. A few murmurs were spoken when Liam finally took it upon himself to broadcast to everyone what they’d been talking about.
“Fellas, it seems my young apprentice Paul, here, is going to ask Mercy Moore out,” Liam announced.
“Nice,” a guy named Doug said as he clapped Liam’s other shoulder. “Do you think I can ask your sister out?”
Liam immediately went on a rant while Doug just grinned up at him. Thankfully, the guy took the heat off of me. The guys were quickly immersed in that conversation, leaving me to glance over at the girls’ team again.
Only it seemed not everybody was watching the showdown between Doug and Liam. “So what makes you think she’ll go out with you?” another voice asked arrogantly.
I turned to catch sight of the freshman guy all the girls were going gaga over. Flynn was his name. He was tall like me and he met me eye to eye. Luke, a friend to us both, looked between us. His expression said he really didn’t want to have to pick a side. But I knew he and Flynn were close and if it came down to it, he would side with Flynn.
“What is she your girlfriend or something?” he asked, with a little chuckle to show his confidence. Mercy was in my math class and I’d been talking to her for a while now. I was pretty sure she was interested in me too.
Flynn turned and stared in the direction of the girls. The guy flashed a sly smile. I turned back to see that a bunch of the girls had stopped practice to see what we were doing. Maggie, the firecracker and sister to Liam, started making rude gestures. Chuckling, I watched as Mercy’s face flushed and not from the heat. Other girls began to chime in with hoots about, “You can’t handle all this!”
That quieted Liam, who held his hand out to either side as if he were saying, “Why,” suggesting to his sister he wasn’t pleased. Meanwhile, the cat calls like, “Why don’t you come over here with that sweet ass of yours and find out,” rained out on the guys’ side. This caused Liam to push some kid, and it all seemed to get a little out of control from there.
Coach must have been talking to someone on the phone because he’d yet to break this up. Meanwhile, I blanked out on all the noises around me. Instead, I focused solely on Mercy. She returned my stare with a shy smile and a hint of a dimple. That smile ignited something in me no girl ever had. She was pretty without knowing it, which made her sweet as homemade pie.
Taking a step forward, I planned to make my move. Holding eye contact, I was sure she would move towards me once he started forward. A firm hand grasped my biceps. Turning, I looked to meet the furious glare from Flynn. “Where are you going Cassanova? We’ve got practice.”
Shrugging, I shook out of Flynn’s hold. With my fist gripping the ball, I almost said something. However, Flynn was right. We were at practice. There would be time later to ask Mercy out.
Glancing back, I would have ignored Flynn, who stood his ground if Mercy looked like she was heading my way. However, when I turned back, the girls had dispersed back into their practice formations. Mercy’s back was now to me. The moment passed. Flynn spoiled it. I looked up and met Luke’s eyes. The guy’s facial expression was blank. He turned and headed back to his spot at second base, taking Flynn with him. I couldn’t get a read on Luke. We had gotten to be good friends last year. Things changed once his buddy made his way from middle school here. I watched the freshman, rather Flynn, go back to the catcher spot’s pulling the mask on. The guy wanted it all, my pitcher status and maybe even the girl I was after.
Working my shoulders, I waited while Flynn bent down. The guy signaled for a fastball. Doug, who was up at bat, swung warm ups in anticipation. Even though it wasn’t a real game, and it was pre-pre season, we practiced like it was real. It was one of the coach’s secrets to success. Always play to win. So with that, I prepared and gave everything I had on this pitch which would catch them all by surprise. Especially, the little freshman cock blocker who ruined my moment. I would get him back with the heat off my wicked curve ball.
