They’d probably lose every game they played. She could see it now — Devil Rays 36, Diamondbacks 0. Football scores.

  Why should she be in the softball league if it was no fun? After being so close to a championship, being on a loser team would be too painful to bear. Watching her friends hoist the trophy at season’s end…

  For the first time since she’d put on a mitt, Kelly Conroy began thinking about quitting altogether. Maybe just for this year. Maybe forever.

  4

  When she got home, Ken’s car was in the driveway. Kelly could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. She opened and shut the door as loudly as she could, but she still caught them breaking away from each other. Jeez, Kelly thought with a shudder. They were probably kissing!

  Her mom had a stirring spoon in her hand and was wearing an apron. Ken held the lid of a pot in his right hand and a fistful of spinach in his left. “Hi!” he greeted Kelly cheerfully. “We were just cooking up something yummy for dinner.”

  Kelly hated it when people said yummy. She didn’t know why; she just did. “Oh, goodie,” she responded in a lackluster voice. She crossed straight in front of him and threw open the fridge door.

  “Honey, what are you looking for?” her mom asked. “We’re going to be eating in half an hour or so.”

  “I’m hungry now,” Kelly said, rummaging in the fridge.

  “Well, take some carrots and celery,” her mom instructed her. “I don’t want you to spoil your appetite.”

  “I don’t feel like carrots and celery,” Kelly said, grabbing a box of chocolate donuts, cold just the way she liked them. “I feel like a snack.”

  “Kelly,” her mom said, her voice rising a bit. “You’re not to eat that now.”

  Kelly ignored her, knowing that her mom usually gave up if Kelly paid no attention to her. She grabbed a donut from the box and was about to pop it into her mouth when she felt a strong hand grab her wrist tight.

  “Your mother said you weren’t to eat that now,” Ken said sternly, pulling her hand away from her mouth. “Didn’t you hear her?”

  Kelly froze, anger rising in her like hot lava. She yanked her hand free of Ken’s grip and spun around on him. “Who do you think you are?” she growled. “You’re not my father. This is no business of yours!”

  “Ken…,” her mom said, putting out a restraining hand.

  “I’m sorry, Nora, but, I can’t stand to see you get disrespected like that,” Ken said, shooting Kelly a reproving look.

  “I don’t even know you,” Kelly said, staring daggers at him.

  “Ken, she’s had a tough week,” her mom started to explain.

  “You know, Nora, when I was a kid, my mother and father never let me talk to them like that, or ignore them. It sets a very poor precedent.”

  “Who cares what your parents did?” Kelly yelled. “Mom, tell him to stay out of this — it’s not his business!”

  “Ken…,” her mom began weakly.

  “Nora, she’s just manipulating you, and you’re letting her.”

  “I know …you’re right …it’s just —”

  “You know, you’ve got to set limits and lay down consequences.” He turned to Kelly. “Do you know my son, Ryan? Ryan Randall?”

  “Huh? Oh …yeah, I know who he is. He’s an eighth-grader?”

  “That’s right. And you know, he hasn’t given me lip like that since he was a little boy. You know why? Because I wouldn’t stand for it, that’s why. I set strict limits for him, and it helped him mature. My kid knows not to treat his parents like that.”

  “Your kid doesn’t even live with you anymore!” Kelly screeched. “That’s how good a job you did!”

  “Kelly!” her mom gasped, horrified. “You apologize right this instant!”

  “I will not!” Kelly said. Spinning on her heels, she grabbed her donut off the countertop and ran up to her room before either of them could stop her. She slammed the door behind her and locked it, just in case they tried to barge in. She wasn’t going to speak with her mother until Ken was out of the house. And as for Ken, she was never going to speak with him again!

  She’d told him off, all right — but good. Who did he think he was, anyway? Next thing you knew, he’d be moving in with them and thinking he was her father and had a right to boss her around. Well, not if she could help it! Kelly decided then and there that she would do what she could to sabotage her mother’s budding romance, for her mom’s sake as well as her own.

  She picked up the phone extension and punched in her father’s number. Lo and behold, he actually picked up the phone!

  “Hello?”

  “Daddy, it’s me.”

  “Sugarplum! It’s so great to hear your voice!”

  “You too, Daddy.”

  “What’s the matter, sugar? You sound upset.”

  “I am, kind of.”

  “Well, what is it? You know you can tell me.”

  “Well …I’m not so sure this time….” Kelly let her voice trail off, just to make him curious.

  “Hey, Kel. Didn’t I always tell you you could count on me?”

  “Well, yes….” He’d told her, all right. But every time she’d done it, he’d let her down.

  “Come on, tell me. There’s nothing so terrible that we can’t work it out together.”

  “Okay,” Kelly said, figuring he was ready to hear it now. “There are two things, actually. First of all, they put me on the wrong softball team.”

  “What? The idiots!”

  “I know. All my friends are on my old team, and it’s an awesome team, too. So they decided to break up the team, and they put me on this team of sixth-grade losers!”

  “Okay, okay, back up,” her dad said. “Who made this decision?”

  “The commissioner. And he’s the father of this girl who hates me.”

  “Well, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll have a little talk with the guy, and then let’s see what he says.”

  “Thanks, Daddy,” Kelly said, a smile playing on her lips. “I asked Mommy to call him, but she didn’t really try to convince him.”

  “Your mom’s not exactly tough when it comes to things like this,” her dad said in a forgiving, affectionate tone. Kelly could tell he still missed her, still loved her, even though she’d divorced him. “Okay, so that little problem’s taken care of. What else is bothering you?”

  Kelly cleared her throat. “Well,” she said, “actually, it’s about Mom. She’s …well, she’s got this new boyfriend….”

  There was a black silence on the other end of the line. “Oh?” her dad finally said, trying to sound casual and cover the obvious jealousy in his voice.

  “Yeah. His name’s Ken, and he’s a total jerk. But Mom seems wild about him.”

  “Ken, huh?” Her dad’s voice was thick with anger and frustration.

  “He tries to act like he’s my father or something,” Kelly told him. “But I let him know he wasn’t.”

  “Good girl,” her dad told her. “Well, don’t worry. Your mom’s not stupid. If this guy’s half the jerk you say he is, she’ll figure it out soon enough.”

  “I don’t know,” Kelly said tauntingly. “She seems pretty gaga, if you ask me….”

  “She does, huh? Well, I’ll have a little talk with her, too.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. I knew I could count on you.” Kelly hung up, feeling very naughty, but not sorry. She knew she’d tossed a bomb. Now it was just a matter of waiting for it to go off.

  5

  Kelly was feeling more upbeat the next morning when Sue Jeffers and Karen Haynes caught up to her at her locker before school. “Well?” Sue asked, breathless. “Any progress?”

  “Mmm …not yet,” Kelly said, smiling mysteriously.

  “You know, today’s our first practice. We start playing games next week,” Karen said.

  “Are you gonna get switched or aren’t you?” Sue asked. “Because if you aren’t, Beth Parks wants to play first base.”

  “Beth? She’s an outfielder,” Kelly moaned. “She’s not used to taking ground balls.”

  “Oh, and Laurie is gonna pitch,” Karen said. “She went to this clinic over the winter and learned how to pitch windmill.”

  Kelly felt a sharp pain in her side, a pang of loss and regret. “Don’t worry,” she said, a little too confidently. “My dad is going to tell off Mr. Jenkins.”

  “Seriously?” Karen asked, her eyes growing wide.

  “Is he gonna threaten to beat him up?” Sue wondered.

  “Probably.” Kelly shrugged. “I don’t know. He told me not to worry about it, that he’d take care of it.”

  Kelly noticed a quick exchange of doubtful glances between Sue and Karen. She knew they were remembering all the times Kelly’d said her dad was coming to see them play, only to have him not show up.

  But this time was going to be different, Kelly told herself. She was sure her dad had heard the pain in her voice. He knew how important this was to her. This time, he wouldn’t let her down.

  “Maybe I’ll cut out of my team’s practice and come over to work out with you guys,” Kelly suddenly said.

  “Cool!” Sue said.

  “Awesome!” Karen added.

  “I mean, I’m going to be back with the Devil Rays after tomorrow, so why not, right?”

  “Um, right!” both girls said in hesitant unison.

  “Cool,” Kelly said, nodding with finality. “See you guys then.” Closing her locker, she headed down the hall toward her first class.

  Murphysville Park had four softball fields, placed in the four corners of the park so that their outfields merged into one if you went back far enough. This made for a lot of home runs, since hard-hit balls kept rolling and rolling till they wound up in the infield of another diamond, in the middle of somebody else’s game!

  In the week before the opening of softball season, four teams could practice at once from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. From 5:00 to 6:00, teams played each other in pickup games, to give the players the feeling of real game action. Since there were now ten teams in the league, this meant that each team could practice only every third day. So every practice was important, and Kelly meant to get the most out of every minute.

  That was why, instead of heading over to field number three, where the Diamondbacks were gathering, she strode right over to field number one, where her beloved Devil Rays were already taking serious fielding practice.

  Kelly had stuffed her old Devil Rays jersey into her backpack that morning. Now she slipped it on, changed into her spikes, flexed her mitt, and stuck her hand into it, ready to begin another great season. “Yo, guys!” she called out, trotting over to exchange hugs and high-fives with her homegirls.

  “Conroy!” Coach Masur cried happily, waving the bat at her. “What happened with you?” He put down the bat and walked over to first base, where Kelly was now surrounded by her teammates. “I fought and fought to get you, but the commissioner said no way. You in trouble with him or something?”

  “His daughter hates me,” Kelly said, not caring who heard her say it. “He did it just for spite. Isn’t that demented?”

  “Well, now, wait a minute,” Coach Masur said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure that’s not why. You know, they did add two new teams, and we all lost good players in the draft. I was just kiddin’ about you being in trouble with him.”

  “It’s okay,” Kelly told him. “My dad’s going to get me back on the team.”

  “Is that a fact?” Coach said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Well, let’s hope so, huh?”

  “Yeah. So I thought I’d practice with you guys today.”

  “Ahem …well, that wouldn’t be a good idea,” Coach Masur said, clearing his throat and staring at the ground.

  Kelly shrank back, stunned. “W-why not?” she asked.

  “Well, your other coach will be counting on you to be there, Kelly,” Coach Masur explained. “That team needs you.”

  “And you guys don’t? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “You know that’s not what I mean,” Coach Masur said. “We’ve got the cleanup spot reserved for you, along with first base — if you get switched back to us. But until then, I’ve only got three practices to prepare my team for the first game. I’ve gotta find a new first baseman, see who can pitch windmill, and who’s new that can try to fill your very big shoes.”

  Kelly sniffed back the tears that she felt coming. “Are you saying I’ve got big feet?” she tried to joke. She burst out laughing and crying at the same time.

  Coach Masur gave her a tight hug. “Hey, Kelly, believe me, if I could have changed it, I would have. I hope your dad has better luck than I did. And if he doesn’t, you’re gonna have a great season anyway. It just won’t be for us and nobody’s sorrier about that than I am.”

  “Thanks, Coach,” Kelly said in a voice no louder than a whisper. “Bye, guys. See you at the next practice, after I get switched.” Wiping her nose with her sleeve, she picked up her stuff and walked slowly into the outfield, headed for field number three.

  “Kelly!” A girl came running toward her from first base. It was Allie Warheit, the one who’d tried to make friends with her in school the other day.

  Why is she being so nice? Kelly wondered. She doesn’t even know me!

  Kelly didn’t want to make friends with Allie, or with any of these kids. What for, anyway? Tomorrow, she wouldn’t even be with this team anymore — probably.…

  “Hi!” Allie greeted her, flashing such an irresistible smile that Kelly couldn’t help smiling back. This girl was just so thrilled to see her, it was almost weird.

  “Do you want first base?” Allie asked her. “I’ve always played first, but I know you did, too, and so if you want it, it’s okay. I could play short or something. Or maybe even pitch.”

  “Yeah,” Kelly said, trying to make herself sound tough. “First.” She really was touched, though. “That’s nice of you, Allie.”

  “Oh, that’s okay,” the other girl said, flashing that smile again that was just like a light bulb lighting up.

  “’Kay,” Kelly said. She dumped her gear on the bench, then went to meet the coach, a tall, gawky-looking guy with glasses, who was wearing a T-shirt, khaki shorts, big sneakers with no socks, and a yellow Diamondbacks hat. He looked like some big wading bird — or like a kid who was lousy at sports, but was now all grown up.

  “Hi, I’m Kelly Conroy,” she said, holding up a hand in greeting.

  “Hey! Nice to see ya!” the man said, shaking hands. “I’m Coach Beigelman. Welcome to the team!”

  Ugh. Kelly nodded, but couldn’t manage a smile. She couldn’t even look the guy in the eye.

  “Okay, Diamondbacks!” Coach Beigelman called out. “I think we’ve got a quorum, so let’s start our practice. First of all, I think we should introduce ourselves to each other. So please share your first and last names, what grade you’re in, and what position you want to play.”

  Kelly listened as the girls took turns introducing themselves. She knew some of the players, of course. It was a collection of girls from other teams, plus a few girls whose parents had filled out the applications after the deadline and so got shunted onto the last team available.

  Five of the Diamondbacks were sixth-graders, including Allie Warheit. Of the seventh-graders, a few were good athletes, but one or two were just hopeless. This was not going to be pretty.

  “Oh, boy,” Kelly said under her breath, “I get to be the star of the worst team in softball history.”

  “Okay.” Coach Beigelman applauded them when they were done with the introductions. “I want you to know that we’re all here to have fun first of all and that no matter what happens out on the field, to me, you’re all winners!”

  Oh, brother, Kelly moaned inwardly. He was going to be big on the rah-rah, and nonexistent on the fundamentals. A perfect coach for a team full of losers!

  “Okay, everybody out to the positions you asked for!” the coach yelled. “Go, D’backs!”

  The girls cheered, except for Kelly. They all made their way into the field at various speeds. Some, eager to claim a favorite position, ran to be the first one there. Others, who cared less or just reacted slower, jogged or walked into position, taking their places behind the early birds.

  Kelly ambled slowly out toward first base, where Allie and four other girls were standing. They all backed away and let Kelly position herself at the bag. Everyone knew who Kelly Conroy was. Everybody, it seemed, but Coach Beigelman.

  “Okay, let’s get one!” he shouted, then tossed the ball up and tried to hit a grounder. He missed, and the ball dropped to the ground.

  “Brother,” Kelly muttered, shaking her head.

  “Okay, okay, here goes.” Again he missed, and then a third time. “Um, would any of you like to hit grounders to the team?”

  “I’ll do it,” Kelly said, a smug smile playing across her face. Let Allie play first. She, Kelly, would hit these kids some real grounders. She would see soon enough how good they really were.

  Kelly shot a vicious ground ball at the third baseman. The girl let the ball scoot right between her legs into the outfield.

  “Nice try!” Coach Beigelman said gently. “You’ll catch the next one!”

  Not unless you tell her to keep her glove down,Kelly thought disgustedly. It was a good thing she wasn’t going to be on this team for long.

  The shortstop ducked when Kelly sent a hard line drive her way. “Stay with it! Stay with it!” Coach Beigelman said, clapping his hands together for encouragement.

  The second baseman managed to knock the ball down when Kelly hit it to her. Picking it up, the girl then threw high and wide to first. Allie Warheit stretched, briefly left the ground, then came down in a split, with her right toe still touching the bag.

  “Great play, first base!” Coach yelled excitedly. “Hey, we’ve got an all-star!”

  An all-star, huh? Kelly thought, suddenly angry at Allie. Okay, all-star, try this one on for size! Kelly sent a wicked line drive to Allie’s right, far off the bag. Allie leaped, reached out, and snagged it. The ball nearly ripped the glove out of her hand, but she held on for a miraculous catch.