Series
One
Softball cap pulled low over her face, so low she nearly walked into the rusting, chain-linked fence, Heather ducked into Sunny View's High School softball dugout. None of her teammates paused in their continuous chatter and gossip as they pulled on cleats and knee pads, somehow drawing out a two minute gear-up into ten minutes.
They were all, carefully, not looking at Suzie.
Heather lifted her head to see beyond the brim of her hat. Suzie sat on the metal bench, knees tucked against her chest, and rubbed at her face. Her eyes were still red and tears still broke free no matter how much she seemed to dab at them.
Suzie, the girl who always smiled, the girl who always cheered on her friends, the girl who just got the dreaded 'call.' She might as well have been invisible.
Like Heather.
Heather swerved her attention back to her bat bag and yanked out her glove. It wasn’t fair that Suzie hadn’t gotten the offer from Mount Forest University, not after they’d flown her up and toured the campus, not after she met the team.
It wasn't fair. But it was even more unfair that Heather had two offers. Three, if she counted the one from today.
Her hands shook and she glanced at her teammates. They weren't watching, though. They never watched her.
But they would be soon, at least if Heather had the nerve to stand up and make the one decision any of the girls here would kill for.
Heather threw on her cleats, deciding to tie the laces in the field while she stretched. She’d already changed in the bathroom, putting on her practice uniform alone and without questions while her team had gotten ready in the locker room.
