As soon as they arrived on campus the next day, Ana rushed out of the car. “Going to the library?” Mami asked. “You’re so antsy! Just remember that it’s not like the public library. A lot of the books are for studying, so it won’t just be a room full of Ana-approved fantasy adventures.”
“I know, Mami!” Ana said, avoiding saying yes to her question. She didn’t want to lie to her mother, but she also didn’t want to tell her she had lost her brand new book.
And anyway, she could go to the library after she got the book from the softball stadium, and then it wouldn’t be a fib.
“Make sure you have your phone in case I need to contact you,” Mami said. It was her way of saying goodbye.
“I have it!” Ana said. She dashed out of the parking lot and raced toward the softball stadium.
She found the softball field quickly. Luckily, the gate was open again today. She could hear the sounds of practice again. Ana slipped in and went back to the bleachers where she’d been the day before.
No book.
Ana sighed. She blinked rapidly, not wanting to cry. First she had dripped peanut butter all over the pages. Now she would have to tell her mother that she lost a book after saving her allowance to buy it.
“Is this yours?” said a voice behind her.
Ana jumped. She turned around and saw a young woman in a softball uniform standing behind her . . . holding Ana’s book!
“Yes!” Ana said.
The girl came closer. “I saw it yesterday after practice. It looked . . .” she looked down at the book, which had peanut-buttery fingerprints on the cover in addition to the stained pages. “It looked well loved, so I thought I should take care of it.”
“I forgot it here,” Ana explained. She took the book from the young woman. “My mom texted and I got distracted.”
“You were watching us practice?” asked the softball player.
“Yeah!” Ana said, with a grin. “You guys are amazing.”
“Thanks,” the girl said. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Caitlin. I’m one of the pitchers.” They shook hands.
“How’d you get on the team? Are there tryouts for the whole university?” Ana asked. Ana talked very fast when she was excited about meeting new people.
Caitlin smiled. “No, in college you get recruited. Coaches visit high schools and watch us play. Then, if we’re lucky, they offer us spots on their teams. We get a scholarship for school and we get to play the entire time we’re students.”
Ana knew from her research last night that Southwest U had one of the top softball teams in the country. Caitlin must be really good, she thought.
“Hey,” Caitlin said. “Want to come down and watch us practice?”
Ana nodded excitedly. “I’d love to!”
She followed Caitlin around the stadium. There were a few people in bleacher seats also watching. Two people, a girl about Ana’s age and her dad, glanced at Caitlin and Ana.
The girl had dark, almost-black hair and a broad nose. She looked Ana right in the eye as she walked by. Ana couldn’t tell if she was angry at her or jealous. She turned her head away and continued following Caitlin to the team’s dugout.
Caitlin pointed to a bench where a few other softball players sat. “Make yourself at home,” she said. Shyly, Ana sat at the very edge of the bench.
“Who’s your friend, Caitlin?” one of the other softball players asked.
“Oh! I didn’t actually catch your name,” Caitlin said.
“It’s Ana,” Ana said.
“Nice to meet you,” the other athlete said. “I’m Shanice.”
“She plays center field,” Caitlin said.
Ana recognized Shanice from her research last night. Shanice was famous for how high she could jump when catching a fly ball. She had kept a lot of opposing teams from getting home runs.
Caitlin was pulling her long, curly hair into a ponytail, and then she put her visor on. “Time to warm up,” she said. “Enjoy, Ana! If you have any questions, ask Niran over there. He always knows what’s going on. It’s his job!”
Niran, a guy who seemed about the same age as Caitlin and Shanice, looked over from the other end of the dugout and gave her a nod. Ana nodded back.
Caitlin and Shanice ran out to the field to join their teammates. In four lines, the team began warming up, hopping, shuffling, and bending up and down to stretch their muscles. When they were far away, it was harder to figure out who was who, and she lost track of Shanice. Caitlin’s jersey said JONES on the back and had the number 42.
Ana felt someone sit down next to her. Turning to look, she saw Niran.
“So what do you do for the team?” Ana asked.
“I’m the statistician,” he said. “It’s my job to make note of each player’s stats — hits, pitches, that sort of stuff.”
“Wow!” Ana said. “That’s a lot.”
“It’s still pre-season,” he said. “So you won’t catch them doing anything too exciting. Do you play softball?”
Ana shook her head. “I just like watching,” she said. She didn’t want to explain that she had only been interested in softball since yesterday.
“You should try playing, then,” Niran said. “What grade are you in?”
“Seventh.”
“My little sister’s in seventh too. She loves softball.” He tilted his head up, as if he was trying to point to something in the bleachers. “Definitely give it a try.”
Ana nodded. “Maybe,” she said. She sat back to watch the action.