âJust come to Kids Get In Free Day. Youâll see.â
âI was already going,â said Ivan.
âMe too,â said Crystal.
âEverybodyâs going,â said Oscar. âAre you going?â
âIâm a batboy! I have to be there!â
âChad, donât raise your voice,â said Ms. Singer.
âSorry.â
The bell rang, and school was over. Not just for the day but for the whole year.
ylan and I showed up at Pine City Park the next evening to unload the bus, just like Wally asked. It was beginning to get dark. The bus wasnât there yet, so we waited. Dylan was quiet.
âThisâll be a fun summer, huh?â I asked.
âSure,â Dylan answeredâbut not like he meant it.
âThe Pines lost three games in Centralville and two out of three in Farmington,â I said. âTheyâre in last place by nine games.â
âOh, well.â Dylan shrugged.
âI wonder what the surprise is on Saturday?â I said.
âSomething to do with baseball, I bet,â Dylan said.
âHey, do you collect baseball cards?â I asked.
âNope.â
I wanted to tell Dylan about my collection, but decided not to. I stopped trying to talk to him. He didnât want to talk to me anyway.
The bus finally rolled in. There was so much mud spattered on it that you could barely see the porcupine logo on the side.
The first player off the bus had a mustache like an old-timey movie star. He was new to the team, but I recognized him. It was the Pinesâ new pitcher, Lance Pantaño.
âGood evening, gentlemen,â he said, with a little bow. Then he leaned over and whispered, âBe careful. Thereâs a giant rat on the bus.â
âA
rat
?â I took a step back.
âJust be careful,â Pantaño said. With that, he turned and walked across the parking lot toward the playersâ entrance.
I looked back at the bus and saw Sammy Solaris coming down the steps. Sammy was usually the designated hitter. He could really smack the ball, but he was too slow to play in the field.
âHave you seen the rat?â he asked in a low voice.
âNo,â said Dylan.
âKeep your eyes open,â said Sammy. He poked his thumb at the bus. âHuge . . . rat . . . in there . . .â
âReally?â said Dylan.
âHey, Sammy! Chad the batboy,â I jumped in. âIâm a big fan.â
âYouâre a big fan, and heâs a big player. Allthose corn dogs, eh, Sammy?â said the next guy off the bus. It was Wayne Zane, the catcher. Zaneâs face was as wrinkled as an old mitt. He had been with the Porcupines for as long as I could remember.
â
Youâre
the corny one,â said Sammy. It was true. Wayne Zane was always joking around.
âIâm just sayinâ,â said Wayne. âBut seriously, kidsâwatch out for that rat.â
Both players set off for the locker room.
Wally came out to the parking lot. He opened the side door of the bus and pulled out a cart.
âYou kids haul in the equipment,â he said. âNo dillydallying.â
Dylan pulled out a canvas bag of bats, set it on the cart, and reached in for another.
âWhatâs dillydallying?â I asked Dylan.
âI think itâs like lollygagging,â he replied.
âOh.â
Â
Dillydallying? Lollygagging? Must mean talking instead of working. I knew baseball had a lot of funny words. I wondered if these were two of them.
I started pulling out equipment, but I kept my eyes on the bus door.
One by one, the rest of the team hopped off and headed for the locker room. There was Ryan Kimball, the tall, tattooed closer.
âHave you seen the rat?â he asked us.
âNo,â said Dylan.
âKeep your eyes open,â Kimball said. âAnd watch your toes.â
âEEEK, EEEK, EEEK!â
âEEK! EEK!â
Outfielders Danny OâBrien and Brian Daniels
Donna Andrews
Judith Flanders
Molly McLain
Devri Walls
Janet Chapman
Gary Gibson
Tim Pegler
Donna Hill
Pauliena Acheson
Charisma Knight