Chapter 8
The Angels’ next practice was Friday, so Jo talked Delia into coming with her to watch. They rode the bus down to City Park after school. Jo hadn’t told Delia that the Angels had asked her to play for them, just that she wanted to see how they practiced.
Which is true, Jo thought. It’s not like I’m lying.
“Maybe we can pick up some tips,” Delia suggested.
The two girls walked over to the field nervously. They chose a spot behind some parents so they wouldn’t be noticed.
The Angels practiced batting and fielding for a long time. They were very serious and got through way more drills than the Sonics usually did. It helped that all of the players seemed practically perfect.
Jo and Delia took note of the drills they hadn’t tried before. After a while, they took the bus back to their neighborhood.
“Maybe we should call some of the other girls and see if they want to practice,” Jo suggested on the way. “We can try out some of the drills we saw.”
“Great idea!” Delia agreed. She pulled out her phone and started calling some of their teammates.
By the time they reached the park, four other girls were waiting.
Jo and Delia shared what they’d learned at the Angels’ practice, and the girls got busy. They spent the most time on a drill designed to improve their reaction time.
The players all took turns hitting balls into the field where the other girls quickly threw them back. Then the batter caught the ball and hit it back again as quickly as possible.
It took some of the girls a while to catch onto some of the more complicated drills, but everyone had a lot of fun.
By the time her last teammate had left to go home for dinner, Jo knew what she had to do. She walked home, feeling nervous but happy, and went straight to her room.
Jo picked up the phone and dialed Coach Sanderson’s number. The phone rang twice, and she heard a click.
“Hello?” the coach said.
“Hello, Coach Sanderson?” Jo said politely. “This is Jo Adler. You called me about joining the Angels.”
“Oh, yes, hello, Jo,” the coach replied. “I saw that you came to our practice today. Are you ready to join the Angels? I can get you a —”
Jo interrupted, not wanting to waste any time. “I’ve decided I’m going to stay on the Sonics,” she said. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m happy with my team. And I want to help them win.”
“Oh, I see,” the coach said. “Well, that’s very nice of you, Jo. Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” Jo said.
“I guess I’ll see you on the field, then. Thanks for letting me know,” the coach said.
Jo felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She let out a sigh of relief and headed downstairs.
“Hey, Mom!” she called. “What’s for dinner?”