Start-Up
The night of the championship was stressful on every side. Left and right something had gone wrong and yet they still won. Laurie quit softball, yes, though it felt right to her, since it left her with the entire 8th grade after that year to discover her own interests and passions outside of the sport. It didn't tarnish emany friendships but she didn't get to hangout too much outside of school with friends if they had practice or game days, she cheered them on however, and visited the games she could in her own free time.
This year was different, they aren't in the same school with the same classes, or same schedules. They were highschool. Different classmates, different teachers, different classes, different everything. Stress in high gear and free time is a bit of a hit or miss depending on who and when.
To Laurie the place was ready and disorienting. A maze formed of bricks, paint, and the horrible stench of BO from unhygienic teenagers. Her first day she got lost while talking with Rochelle and going with her to her class instead. It embarrassed her so horribly. Things had changed so drastically, from simple math to adding letters to equations, no softball, and a not very busy schedule since she was still picking up her feet. It made her a little lonely, everyone had new things to do, half her friends had jobs and the other half had all these clubs, she herself was too nervous to ask to join one, and it consequently made her more left out.
Day after day she was brought into a loop of complicated classes and an anxious mess of thoughts she had to pick up to do her school. Paula helped, she was a junior now only about two years older than Laurie, so she was a great tutor, she even drove her to school, which made it easier but it also gave her less time to hangout with friends on the bus.
A relieved smile graced her face at the joy of a weekend at her dad's. He was coaching a new Middle School softball team, same school, just different kids. Laurie sat on the wood bleachers, chewing on sunflower seeds as the sun began to set. The sun leaves its warmth with fluorescent lights only remaining among the field for sight. Silently Laurie corrected errors of the young players, swinging too early, not going back far enough, or just not catching the ball. They did manage a win or two, but they weren't the winning team by the half of it. Maybe if someone as passionate as Kai, or as good a catcher as Rochelle, or better pitcher like Yuwen, they'd have better luck.
Laurie continued her ceaseless chewing on sunflower seeds, a savior to her anxious tendencies as her dad cheered. If her friends weren't busy she would've been elsewhere, but Rochelle had a job, Taylor had boy problems, and Kai.. Well, Laurie was a little too nervous to ask her to hang out. Lately even talking to Kai made the blonde sweat now, she didn't know where to place this feeling except having a familiar version of it for Yuwen in 7th grade. It was recognizable as a crush, though this time it lasted longer than a couple months. It collided with Laurie a lot really, from the end of 7th grade softball to now did she feel it. This eery nervousness that made her afraid to even breathe around the other. It made her guilty, not because of her religion since God loved all, but because it made her almost ignore Kai a lot in fear of it growing or she said something about it. The endless worth started when Laurie tried to tell Taylor since she wasn't really busy and shared lunch with her. Because of it, Taylor came up with a code name and now she had to ask about it everyday, which is why a weekend was even nicer not being asked about “Goldielocs” while she tried to eat and drive her mind from worrying about such emotions.
Amongst the cheers and shouts from parents and friends a hand patted Laurie’s shoulder, holding onto her and her basic white T-shirt. The soft fabric under their fingers, looking up she saw a dark complexion with a high ponytail full of locs, Kai. She was in a black hoodie, though this one much different than the one she once grew out of. Lately Kai had been struggling with dysphoria more as teenage years rounded the corner, which meant more hoodie, and less big toothy smiles Laurie had locks in her memory. Today seemed different. She seemed confident, but why was she at the game?
“Hey Laur, I didn't know you still watched Softball.” The voice upheld a cheery tune, her hand removed itself and his away in her pocket with the other. She was admittedly pretty to Laurie, the way even the big lights on the field somehow made her face prettier for such a bland light. She had grown taller, then again, Laurie herself had a massive growth spurt herself, which made her more intimidating than she wanted to be, another reason she was nervous to get into clubs.
They talked, and this talking reminded her of their time in the dugouts, when Kai would encourage cheers and they'd mess around during practice. Those were things she missed about softball, the fun parts, the bit of it that didn't leave her hands calloused by her firm grip on a bat or leaving dirt in her hair from an overdramatic fail or fall. It sucked they didn't have softball in highschool, and even Kai mentioned how much of a passion she had for the sport. A sport that could bring back their friends into something to where they actually could hang out, save for if their schedules aren't too full as is. Without thinking, a thought crossed Laurie’s head and ran out her mouth before she could even process it.
“What if we brought softball to high school?”