Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Beth headed back toward the scorekeeper’s box and noticed Tiffany had company on the bleachers. Amber, Carly, Jessica, and a couple of other girls were sitting with her, and it was obvious from their expressions they were talking about her. With a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and forced her feet to head that direction. “Hey girls,” she called in a sing song voice. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, my God, Beth! You look so… different!” Carly said, not smiling so much as looking confused.

“Yeah, well, I was just tired of being so… you know… lame.” Beth said with a shrug. “My friends from Lockton stopped by. They’re totally awesome.” She pointed back at Dee Dee and Zoey who were chatting and not even paying the Barryville girls any attention at all.

“They look like supermodels,” Amber, who was one of the nicer popular girls, said quietly. “And so do you.”

“Oh, yeah? Thanks.” Beth made it sound like she already knew that and it wasn’t a big deal. “Well, I have a job to do.” She rolled her eyes. “See ya all downtown later.”

“Yeah, see ya,” Tiffany said. She was the only one who was freely smiling at Beth and she imagined that was because she was also the only one who didn’t have to worry about Beth trying to steal her boyfriend.

As soon as she had her back to them and was out of earshot, Beth let out a deep breath and bit her tongue to keep from muttering again. She was within ten feet of the scorekeeper’s box now, and if she could make it up there, she could at least pretend to be herself for a little bit while no one could see her. Luckily, she made it up the steep ladder with the book, her drink, and what was left of her dignity.

The game itself was pretty boring as baseball games went. The score was low, and it seemed like the whole thing might be over before Brittany even got off of work. Beth did just fine keeping score by herself, though she really hated announcing the batters, but she did it with as much confidence in her voice as she could muster. Her drama teacher would be proud.

That’s all she was doing anyway, wasn’t it? Playing a part? She was uncomfortable being herself, so she had invented a persona to present to the world, and whether or not this new Beth was the one she would stick with henceforth, for now, it seemed to be achieving her goal.

Except for she wasn’t really sure what that goal was anymore. Originally, she’d thought it was to get Sammy’s attention—something she was pretty sure she had now—but that didn’t feel as good as she’d expected. Perhaps her goal was to get herself in with the popular girls. But she didn’t really want to be friends with any of those girls. Wouldn’t that mean she’d have to walk away from her current friends? That didn’t seem appealing at all.

Was she just trying to get a boyfriend in general? She could already have that, if she’d go back to her former self and break Lexy’s heart. Was she trying to show Shane he was wrong about her, and she wasn’t completely lame? That did sound like the best explanation of all so far, but she wasn’t quite sure she even cared what he thought.

What was it then? A combination of all of those things? Maybe she just wanted to see if she could do it, if she could sweep in the way that Halley had and steal everyone’s attention. So far so good. She did think it was odd Halley hadn’t been down there with the other popular girls, but then, she did seem to show up and disappear at will, like a ghost.

Regardless of why she’d decided to change herself, Beth wasn’t planning on going back anytime soon. She might be completely uncomfortable right now, but eventually, she thought this new guise would grow on her. After all, it was kinda fun having everyone’s eyes on her—except the creepy coach for the other team and Mr. Burk.

It was the bottom of the eighth inning when she heard footsteps on the ladder and knew her friends were there. She could hear them chatting even over the fan, which she had on high in an attempt to keep her face from melting and her hair from drooping. She knew Zoey would retouch her makeup before they went to the square, but she didn’t want to walk out of the box looking like a clown.

She turned her head to make sure the noise was actually her friends and smiled as Brittany, Lexy, and Andi’s heads popped up from the ladder one at a time. “Hey, girls,” she said, turning her head back to the game.

“Beth? Holy shit!” Andi spoke first, darting across the box and grabbing her shoulder. “Oh, my God! You look amazing!”

“Oh, Mylanta!” Brittany agreed. “Where are these friends of yours? I could totally use their help.”

“I wouldn’t have recognized you,” Lexy said. “For reals. You look like a different person. A hot different person.”

“Uh, thanks,” Beth said, shrugging it off like their compliments were no big deal. “Glad y’all could make it, but the game’s just about over.”

“Yeah, it’s no wonder those guys can’t bat for shit. They’re all down there having wet dreams about you.” Andi pulled out a chair and sat down in front of the machine, and Beth slid down so that her friend had more room to run it for her.

“Is it a wet dream if you’re awake?” Lexy asked, dropping into a seat behind Beth.

“Does it matter?” Brittany asked, taking the last of the folding chairs. “They’re definitely distracted.”

“I hope not. If we manage to lose this game and my dad thinks it’s my fault, I’ll be out of a job.” Beth double-checked the score, and while Barryville was ahead by one run right now, Lockton had two outs on them and would be batting again soon.

“Like he could find anyone else to work for seven dollars a game,” Andi mumbled.

“You work for free,” Lexy reminded her. Andi made a point of clicking the ball switch as loudly as possible, her eyes narrowed.

“So are you going to the square after this?” Brittany asked.

“Yeah. My dad said I could go with Zoey. And I don’t have to be home until midnight.”

“Shut up!” Andi exclaimed. “What’s gotten into Evelyn?”

“Richard decided this for her,” Beth replied, snickering at how her dad had inserted himself right into the action.

“That’s cool. But I’m guessing you’re not going to want to hang around with us,” Brittany said, her voice faltering just a bit.

“What?” Beth turned and looked at her. “Don’t be stupid. Of course I do. I mean, Zoey and Dee Dee, too, but if you guys want to meet us up there, that’s cool.”

“We totally won’t fit in with the three of you,” Lexy surmised.

“Whatever, Lex. It’s fine,” Beth said, though she had to admit they did look like they were from different worlds at the moment.

“Do you think Michael will be there?” Lexy asked in a whisper.

“Yeah.” Beth hadn’t told any of them about what happened at the batting cages, so it seemed pointless to mention that he seemed pissed at her now.

Lexy took a few deep breaths, and the first baseman for Lockton threw Kyle out at second ending the inning. If Lockton didn’t score, there’d just be three more outs.

“I didn’t see Halley down there,” Brittany said. “I wonder where she’s at.”

“Who knows? Probably hanging out in the shadows again.” Andi didn’t seem to care either way.

“Why would she do that? She’s totally part of that click now, even though she stole Sammy from Carly. But then she dumped him, so I guess he’s back with Carly now? Or did Amber finally say she’d go out with him?” Brittany seemed confused. “I guess it doesn’t matter now that you look like that, Beth. He’ll soon see the error of his ways.”

“Whatever,” Beth said again. “I don’t think I like Sammy anymore.”

“What?” Andi exclaimed. “I thought all of this was about him!”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Beth admitted. Tom struck out the first batter for Lockton, and she wrote a large K in the appropriate box on the scorebook and circled it. “Clear the balls and strikes,” she reminded Andi and several clicks told her the scoreboard was cleared.

“I don’t understand you, Elizabeth Monroe,” Lexy mumbled. “If Michael asked me out, I would be jumping for joy. You will probably have Sammy Burk as putty in your hands in a few minutes, and you don’t seem to care. Maybe you’re not really Beth. Maybe you’re Halley dressed as Beth.”

“Yeah, if Halley gained twenty pounds and five inches,” Andi muttered. Beth immediately turned and shot daggers at her. “What? That wasn’t a comment on your weight, Beth. I’m saying, Halley is child-sized, and you’re a woman.”

“Whatever.” Beth realized that seemed to be the only word she could think of right now, but it still stung to hear her friend comment on her weight despite her new look.

“She didn’t mean it that way,” Brittany assured her, but Beth didn’t respond, choosing instead to concentrate on the game.