Chapter 7: Chapter 7
The booth was relatively quiet for most of the game, and Beth was able to concentrate on the game for once. While she didn’t like to think her friends were upset at her or each other, at least Mr. Cooper didn’t have to turn and shout at them about the score being wrong. He did have to ask the people in the bleachers to keep it down a couple of times, however, and by the second time, Beth began to realize there was a lot of chatter going on down there. She had no idea who it was, however, because of the way the scorekeeper’s booth was situated. The fan was drowning out all but giggles now and again and the high pitched din of muffled conversation.
It wasn’t until Brittany made her way up the stairs halfway through the seventh inning that any of them got a clue. “Hey chicas!” she announced, her blonde, curly hair a little saggy since she’d come from work but otherwise looking pretty and put together. “How’s it going?”
Lexy stuck up a finger and announced the batter before they all turned to greet her. Beth couldn’t rip her eyes away from the game too long since there was an active batter, but she did turn her head when the screeches of metal chair legs bit into plywood, and Brittany situated herself just behind Andi and Lexy.
The tone in the room hadn’t improved much, but they all said hello and asked her how work was. “Blah,” she said, shaking her head. “But at least I’ll have gas money so we can hang out this weekend.”
“Oh, Beth can’t make it Saturday. She has a date,” Andi said, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.
“Did Sammy finally ask you out?!” Brittany asked, falling for it. She leaned so far forward in her chair that Beth thought she might fall out the window.
“No, her date is with Awnold Schwazineggeuh,” Andi explained, her accent horrible. “Her mom is making her go with them to see Cliffhanger—or so she says.”
“So what?” Beth asked, annoyed, as Brittany sat back in disappointment.
“So… I bet Shane won’t be hanging out with the family,” Andi replied quickly. “You always do exactly what your mother says, and he never does. Yet, he’s the one who’s never in any sort of trouble, and how many times have you gotten grounded over stupid shit this year alone?”
“You’re right, Andi. I should give Evelyn a piece of my mind.” Beth turned to glare at her as another roar of laughter filled the space beneath the booth, and Mr. Cooper turned and glared at whoever was making all the racquet.
“What do you want her to do about it, Andi? It’s not like she can talk to her mom the way that Shane does and get away with it,” Lexy asked, speaking up for Beth, something she wanted to appreciate, but she was too irritated to even acknowledge friend’s attempt.
“Oh, my God, you guys, there’s a huge group of popular girls sitting down there. I had to sneak up around the back, praying they didn’t see me, especially looking all sweaty and gross in my work clothes. I’m going to have to sneak out of here. I don’t want any of the ball players to see me.” Brittany was good at changing the subject, but Beth wanted to ask if she really thought it made any difference whether or not any of the baseball players saw her like that—they’d been into the grocery store and seen her, most likely. Not that any of them would be interested in any of her friends with that group sitting down there like a bunch of geese, waiting to suck any unsuspected gander in and then peck his eyes out.
“So that’s what that noise is. What are they all stirred up about?” Andi asked.
“I’m not sure… but I think… there’s this girl, standing over in the shadows, near that big tree over there where I parked. Maybe her.”
Beth turned her head and looked at Brittany like she was nuts, but something caught inside her gut, a sort of foreboding she’d never felt outside of watching a scary movie before. “What do you mean a girl?”
“Yeah, this girl. I’ve never seen her before. She’s just standing over there.” She pointed, not that it mattered because there were four walls hemming them in, with only the window to the ball diamond providing any sort of view, and it was absolutely facing the wrong direction. “She looked almost like a….”
“A what?” Andi prodded, but a line drive to center field interrupted her, and they all paused to watch Kyle Wyatt, the biggest guy on the team, try to beat the ball to third. It looked like Barryville was going to pull this one out, too.
“Brittany?” Lexy said, once Kyle was safely on third, and she’d adjusted the scoreboard to show the run he’d knocked in. “She looked like what?”
“Oh, uh, like a ghost,” Brittany said, barely raising her eyes. “It was weird. I pulled into a spot and didn’t even see her at first, but as I was getting out of my car, I looked over, and she had turned her head to look at me. It was like… her eyes were glowing, or something. I just stared at her for a long moment. But then, she cleared her throat and shifted back around so that she was watching the game, and I realized ghosts don’t clear their throats. It was all… surreal.”
“Where is she? I wanna see!” Lexy’s chair was screeching even before she finished the question.
“You’re going to go all the way down there to see whether or not a girl in the parking lot resembles a ghost?” Andi clarified, but she was up, too, and before Beth realized what was happening, all three of them were headed down the stairs, leaving Beth alone.
She didn’t mind, though. She could keep score by herself, and the stillness was welcoming. Breathing in the staggering heat settled her stomach a little bit, and even though she could still hear the taunting laughter from the girls downstairs, at least it was faint, distant. She let her eyes flicker over to the dugout, expecting all of the boys to be staring at the group of girls on the bleachers. Most of them were, but she could tell even from here that Sammy’s hazel eyes were focused a bit higher, and Beth had to look away. Was it possible he was looking at her?