Windmill Windup

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2002 by Catherine M. Christopher

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue

  New York, NY 10017

  Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

  First eBook Edition: December 2009

  Matt Christopher™ is a trademark of Catherine M. Christopher.

  ISBN: 978-0-316-09459-7

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Matt Christopher

  The #1 Sports Series for Kids: MATT CHRISTOPHER®

  1

  Get two!” Kelly Conroy yelled. Tossing the softball up in the air, she swung the bat and sent a wicked ground ball toward third base. Karen Haynes grabbed it and whipped a sidearm bullet to second, where Sue Jeffers took the throw, pivoted, and threw on to Laurie Solomon at first to complete the double play. At least it would have been a double play, if this had been a real game.

  It was only mid-March, but Kelly and her friends were already primed for spring softball season. “Awesome!” Kelly shouted approvingly. “And the Devil Rays get out of the inning!”

  “Hit one out here, Kelly!” Nina Montone shouted from center field. “Gimme the patented Conroy Comet!”

  “You asked for it!” Kelly shouted back, beaming. Swinging with all her might, she sent a rocket shot Nina’s way. The ball soared skyward, then kept going and going. Nina turned and started running, farther and farther, but the ball landed just beyond her reach.

  “Are you kidding me?!” Karen said, laughing in amazement. “Man, have we got a cleanup hitter or what?”

  “The Devil Rays are gonna be awesome this season,” Sue agreed, pounding her glove and taking the relay throw from Nina. She tossed the ball softly back to Kelly, who stopped it with her bat.

  “Hey, we weren’t exactly chopped liver last fall,” Kelly reminded them. “If Sue hadn’t gotten the flu and missed the semifinals, we would’ve beaten the Giants and gone all the way.”

  “I don’t care what you say,” Laurie argued. “We’re gonna be even better this time around. I mean, the Giants had half their squad move up to the next league, and we’ve got practically everybody back. We’re gonna be unstoppable!”

  “Yeah!” Sue shouted in agreement. “It’s gonna be a Devil Ray dynasty!”

  “Hey, you guys,” Kelly said, tossing the ball softly up in the air. “Anybody up for pizza?”

  A chorus of agreement came back at her, as the half dozen girls who had gathered for this impromptu early practice trotted in toward home plate. It was lunchtime, and Sammy’s Pizza for Sunday lunch had become a Devil Ray tradition. Sammy’s was where they had their weekly victory celebrations — not only was it the best pizza in all of Murphysville, but Sammy also made a mean ice-cream soda, for anyone who could stomach pizza and ice cream together.

  “Man, we rule!” Kelly gushed as they gathered their equipment and headed down Main Street toward Sammy’s. “I mean, think about it — who else is gonna give us a run?”

  “Nobody, that’s who,” Karen agreed. “We’ve got a team full of all-stars, and the best coach on top of it.”

  “You said it! Coach Masur rocks!” Nina said. “Hey, he said he’s gonna teach us how to pitch windmill.”

  “Yeah, that’s right — it’s windmill pitching this year,” Kelly remembered. She wondered if she could learn to do it. Up to now, she’d been the team’s first baseman — but being a pitcher sounded pretty cool to her. Last year, she’d led the league in home runs. With her big power swing, she could hit the ball farther than any girl in the league.

  She was fast on the base paths, too. Last season, she’d stolen fifteen bases. Standing in line to order her two slices of Sicilian pizza with pepperoni, she imagined what it would be like to be the league’s best pitcher as well — windmilling the ball so fast the hitters couldn’t even see it.

  She’d seen the U.S. women’s softball team on TV, winning gold at the Olympics and the World Championships. One day, she wanted to be on that team — standing on the podium as the American flag was raised and “The Star-Spangled Banner” played….

  “Two Sicilian with pepperoni,” Sammy the pizza man said, shoving a paper plate toward her. “Anything to drink with that?”

  Kelly ordered a soda, paid, and brought her lunch to the big table the Devil Rays always shared. “Shove over,” she told Sue Jeffers, giving her a push with her hip. Sue was her best friend on the team, except for maybe Karen Haynes.

  But really, they were all friends, and over the last year and a half, they’d become almost a family. This coming fall, they’d all be moving up to the next league, scattered among a dozen different teams. But for now, they were still together — and this spring, they were going to win the championship.

  Kelly munched thoughtfully on her pizza, letting the conversation wash over her like pleasant, hypnotizing white noise. Her thoughts drifted from this “family” to her own so-called family. Pathetic. Just her and her mom, ever since her dad had moved out two years ago.

  Kelly loved her mom — a lot — but it wasn’t much fun eating dinner just the two of them every night. Her dad had always been the happy-go-lucky one, keeping everybody laughing and gabbing. True, there was a lot of screaming between him and her mom after Kelly went to bed at night. But without him around, it was too quiet.

  Kelly wished they would get back together someday and be a real family again. But she was pretty sure that would never happen. As her mom always said, her dad was “too irresponsible.” Kelly knew it was true. Half the time, when he came to pick her up for his weekends with her, he was hours late. Every once in a while, he never even showed up. And though he always apologized sincerely, after the first few dozen times the apologies stopped meaning much.

  No, she was much happier with her Devil Rays family than the one at home, Kelly thought. Here, she was accepted, looked up to, needed. She was right at the center of everything, practically the heart of the team. If the Devil Rays had had a captain, she was pretty sure she would have been it.

  Today’s practice had been her idea. Even though the team assignments hadn’t come yet, Kelly knew the girls were all eager to get out there and play ball. She’d called Sue and Karen, and between them they’d managed to corral enough of the team to hold a practice without Coach Masur. They all knew he wouldn’t mind. He’d be pleased they were working off the rust.

  “Who’s up for ice cream?” Nina asked, her mouth still full of pizza.

  “Oh, not me.” Kelly waved her off. “It’s already three o’clock, and my mom’ll be upset if I don’t eat dinner.”

  “Come on, you’re a growing girl!” Nina urged. “Look at you!”

  Kelly blushed. At thirteen, she looked more like a grown woman than any of them. Even though she didn’t wear any makeup, and despite the fact that jeans were her daily uniform, boys had begun to notice her. She’d had frequent invitations to the movies ever since last year, in sixth grade. Not that her friends were jealous, but they did love to tease her about it.

  That was okay. Kelly could take it. She knew they all wished they had boys calling them up. As far as she knew, only Sue and Karen had had boyfriends. That wa
s kind of why the three of them had become so close. They had that much more in common.

  “Shut up!” Kelly told Nina, giggling. “You just want me to get fat.”

  “Hey,” Nina pointed out, “the more you weigh, the farther you’ll hit the ball.”

  That prompted a round of laughter and high-fives. Kelly got up, wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, gathered her trash, and headed for the door of the restaurant. “See you guys at school tomorrow,” she said. With a wave, she pushed open the door and was out on the street again.

  It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, warm for this time of year. Kelly walked home slowly, enjoying the breeze and the scent of the first spring flowers in the air. Her house was only a few blocks away, just on the other side of the softball field. That was one of the best things about living where she did. When her dad had still lived with them, he’d taken her out every day after school to practice with her. That was why she’d gotten so good. He’d taught her everything she knew about softball, from the very first.

  Kelly hadn’t realized it at the time, but the reason her dad had been there for her every day after school was that he didn’t have a steady job. Whenever he did get one, it never lasted. He always quit after a while, saying something or other was wrong with it — the boss, the pay, whatever. Her mom was always angry with him about it. It was one of the things they fought about the most.

  Thinking back on it now, Kelly realized he probably liked taking her to the ball field to get away from thinking about his own problems. But it didn’t matter to Kelly — for her, spending time with her dad like that had been heaven. Her fun, funny, affectionate, irresponsible dad. She missed him so much it made tears come to her eyes.

  She wiped them away before turning her corner. The last thing she wanted was for her mom to see her upset and to have to explain why. Kelly and her mom were almost like sisters, now that it was just the two of them. They often spent evenings together watching TV, or playing cards, or just hanging out. Kelly loved her mom, but could tell she was lonely. Kelly couldn’t blame her after fifteen years of marriage. But then why had her mom insisted on getting a divorce?

  Taking a deep breath, Kelly climbed the front steps and reached for the door handle. That’s when she noticed the yellow note attached to the door. “Dinner in fridge. Have a nice evening. Love, Mom.” Kelly pulled it off, sighing heavily. Notes like this usually meant only one thing — her mom had a date.

  Dates for her mom didn’t happen that often, and usually the guys didn’t hang around very long, not once they found out that Mrs. Conroy had a daughter. Kelly’s mom was pretty — redheaded like Kelly, but taller and slimmer, and with a bubbly, sweet personality. Kelly herself was much pricklier. When she had something on her mind, she just came right out and said it. Her mom usually found a way to make everything sound polite and nice.

  Kelly pushed open the door. Once she stepped inside, she realized her mom hadn’t actually left yet. Kelly could hear her singing softly to herself as she got ready upstairs. “Don’t throw …bouquets at me…. People will say …we’re in loooove.”

  Yuck. Kelly couldn’t stand it when her mom got mushy like this. It usually meant she liked the guy she was dating a lot and was only going to get her heart broken when he decided to drop the relationship.

  “Hi, Mom!” Kelly shouted, loud enough so that her mom would hear her and stop singing.

  “Hi, sweetie!” her mom’s melodious voice came back. “Did you have a good practice?”

  “The best,” Kelly answered. “What’s for dinner?”

  “Meat loaf and mashed potatoes with creamed spinach, okay?”

  “Do I get a choice?” Kelly asked sardonically.

  “Nooo…,” trilled her mother.

  “I didn’t think so. Meat loaf will be fine. Where are you going?”

  “To Il Capriccio.”

  “Fancy-shmantsy,” Kelly said, as her mom came tripping lightly down the stairs, almost dancing. She looked radiant and beautiful. Staring at her mother, Kelly hoped that when she was all grown up, she’d look as pretty.

  “Of course you will,” her mom always told her. “You are already.” Kelly almost believed her, until her mom would add something like, “Besides, looks aren’t all that count.” That would make Kelly think her mom thought she was ugly — but only for a second. Kelly knew she was nice-looking. Why else had Billy O’Donnell, the most popular boy in school, asked her to the spring dance last year?

  “You’re going out, huh?” Kelly said, a smile playing at one corner of her mouth. “Who’s the new Romeo?”

  “His name is Ken,” her mother said, saying the name like it was sooo meaningful. Kennnn.

  “Kennnn,” Kelly repeated. “And that would make you Barbie?”

  “That’s right,” her mom countered playfully. “I’m a living doll. Can’t you tell?” Putting a finger to her cheek, Mrs. Conroy spun around like a doll. Kelly couldn’t help laughing.

  Then the doorbell rang, and her laughter froze in her throat. “Oh!” her mom gasped. “He’s here already! Do I look all right?”

  “You look fine,” Kelly assured her. “You always look fine. Who cares, anyway?”

  “What do you mean, who cares?” her mom said, frowning. She regarded Kelly suspiciously. “You be nice, now,” she warned Kelly.

  “Aren’t I always?”

  “No, you aren’t, and you know it,” her mom said, seriously worried now. “Don’t blow this for me, Kel, okay? I like this guy.”

  Now it was Kelly’s turn to frown. “Okay,” she grumbled. “I’ll be nice.”

  She hated Ken already. Who did this guy think he was, sweeping her mom off her feet like this?

  Mrs. Conroy opened the door and said, “Hi!” in a breathy, nervous, too-loud voice. Ken smiled back. He was tall — well over six feet — and had long, dark hair and brown eyes. Kelly had to admit he was good-looking, but what she couldn’t stand was the way he was staring at her mom.

  “Hi, yourself!” he said back, giving Kelly’s mom a big smile.

  “Um, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Kelly,” she said, stepping back so that Ken could come inside.

  “Hi,” Kelly muttered, holding her hand up in a lackluster wave.

  “Hello, Kelly!” Ken said, beaming. He strode over to her, holding his hand out for her to shake. She held hers up limply and let him shake it, but she couldn’t make herself look in his eyes.

  Ken seemed a little taken aback by her cool reception. “Your mom has told me so many nice things about you,” he offered.

  “Uh-huh,” Kelly said noncommittally.

  Ken cleared his throat. “Well!” he said, clapping his hands together and turning back to her mom. “Shall we go?”

  “Yes, let’s!” her mom said, keeping up the enthusiasm as best she could. “I’ll just get my bag….” She ran into the kitchen and came back a second later with her handbag. “Kelly, I’ll be back by ten or so. You be good, okay, sweetie?” She gave Kelly a quick peck on the cheek, which Kelly did not return. “Bye now.”

  “Bye, Kelly! Nice meeting you!” Ken said with a wave. Slipping his arm through Mrs. Conroy’s, he led her out the door and down the steps to his car, a boxy-looking sedan.

  Kelly smirked. Her dad would never be caught dead in a car like that. He liked Corvettes and Mustangs and cool cars like that. Her mom always said he refused to grow up, but that was what Kelly liked best about him.

  Her mom turned at the car door. “Oh, I almost forgot!” she called to Kelly. “There’s a letter for you on the kitchen table!”

  “Okay. Bye,” Kelly said, closing the door and locking it. She sighed softly as the car drove off. She had the whole evening ahead of her, and nothing to do but watch TV or read. Alone.

  She wandered slowly into the kitchen. Not that she was hungry — not after all that pizza — but she was curious about the letter. She rarely got mail, and she wondered if one of her friends had sent her a party invitation.

  The letter was f
rom the town’s parks and recreation department. Oh, good. Her team assignment. Kelly tore the envelope open, just to see when the first Devil Rays’ practice was.

  She stopped breathing. She could hear her heart hammering inside her as she read the awful words. “KELLY CONROY: DIAMONDBACKS.”

  Oh, no! They’d put her on the wrong team!

  2

  The message of doom still clutched in her hand, Kelly ran for the door. She threw it open, yelling, “Mom! Wait!”

  But it was too late. The car had already turned the corner and was accelerating onto Main Street. Kelly had a loud voice, but not that loud. Collapsing onto the concrete stoop, she put her head in her hands and moaned, “Now what am I going to do?”

  She sat there for a long time — it seemed like hours to Kelly, but it was probably only five minutes or so — and finally, still utterly at a loss, she dragged herself to her feet and went back into the house.

  How was it possible? Were they out to ruin her life, or what? Didn’t they understand how important it was for a girl to stay with her teammates, especially when they were about to be champions? Not knowing what else to do, she went to the phone and dialed Sue Jeffers’s number.

  “Are you kidding me?” was Sue’s stunned reaction. “You can’t be on another team! We need you!”

  “I know!” Kelly said, distraught. She waved the paper, which she still hadn’t put down, as if Sue could see it. “But it says right here that I’m on the Diamondbacks.”

  “Omigosh — what if everybody got put onto a different team?” Sue gasped in horror. “I’ll call you right back. I’ve gotta check.” She hung up before Kelly could stop her.

  “This is a nightmare,” Kelly groaned, leaning her head against the refrigerator. Just for something to do, she pulled open the fridge and looked inside. The plate of meat loaf and mashed potatoes with creamed spinach stared at her. She usually liked her mom’s cooking, but looking at the plate of food suddenly made her feel sick to her stomach. Just when she thought she was going to hurl, the phone rang and Kelly forgot all about her digestive troubles.