Chapter Two: The Baseball Game
Once I opened it, I was outside. I wasn't outside the mansion, but instead at a park or school field. I could smell freshly trimmed grass and grilling hot dogs. I walked closer toward the fence to see what was happening. It was a little league game in progress, and the scoreboard read 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning. I kept watching to see if I recognized anyone. I didn't know any of the players. Lifting my camera up to my eye, I took a few snapshots of the game.
"You're late." The umpire marched over to me. He lifted his mask off. He was a handsome black man with a strong jaw who looked to be in his mid forties. He wore a black shirt and gray pants. He had a rich deep baritone voice that was commanding yet smooth.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand," I replied.
"For the game, of course. Your team has missed you." He pointed to the home team dugout. "Coach told me their star hitter was absent."
"I think you have the wrong guy," I said. "I'm terrible at baseball. I didn't even make it past coach pitch."
"You are Robert, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Then I believe you are the right guy." He flashed a toothy grin at me. Something about his smile was unsettling. "You're up to bat according to the batting order."
"I don't even have a uniform."
"That's alright. Everyone will recognize you better without one anyway."
My cheeks went red. I had never been very good at sports, and I had quit little league even earlier than I had soccer or basketball. Being regarded so highly as a valuable player was odd, to say the least, but flattering.
"No time to waste," the umpire said before waving me over to the home dugout. I walked through the gate into the in-field and made my way over to the dugout. I didn't see a coach, which was strange. Perhaps he was on a bathroom break. I put my camera down on the bench. One of my teammates handed me an aluminum bat and a helmet. I stepped up to the plate.
The pitcher threw a fastball at me. Well, here comes strike one, I thought. I swung. The ball soared high and far, way over the heads of the outfielders. It cleared the back wall. I started running toward first base. My teammates were cheering, "Home run!" as I circled the bases. I couldn't believe what I had just done. As I touched home base, the umpire leaned in toward me.
"Looks like you really are a star hitter after all. And look who came to support you." He pointed toward the first-base side stands. Will was sitting in the crowd cheering me on. He waved at me. I waved back sheepishly. If that home run wasn't reassuring enough, I knew I had to keep playing for Will. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to impress him. Still I couldn't help but feel something was off about this whole game. Since when was I good at hitting? Would I also be as good at fielding? To top it off, the umpire gave me the creeps.
A few innings and home runs later, the game was tied yet again at the bottom of the ninth inning. Turns out I was a decent fielder too. Threw some balls in for tag-outs and caught a few hits. I was up to bat again. I turned around to look at Will, who waved at me, beaming. I smiled back. He looked exactly the same as before when I first saw him in the stands. Same wave. Same smile. Weird, I thought. I shrugged it off and focused my attention back to the game, waiting for the first pitch. As the pitcher wound up, I suddenly remembered a word that I felt like I had heard a lifetime ago. Danger. It rang in my head.
Bam! The ball struck me on my left arm. I winced in pain as the ball dropped to the ground. I let go of the bat and grabbed my arm.
"Hit by pitch! Go ahead and walk to first base," the umpire shouted. He walked over to me before I could start walking. "Something wrong?" he asked quietly.
"Just misread the pitch, that's all." I replied, suspicious of him and his extra attention on me. I walked over to first base. I looked over to see Will's reaction to me getting hit, but he was gone. No sign of him at all. Then I remembered that word again, "danger." This time, I could clearly hear El saying it. I caught the umpire looking at me. I could sense a smirk through his mask. It seemed malicious. I knew now something was very wrong. The personal attention given to me by the umpire, the fact that I was unusually good at the game, Will disappearing out of thin air. This had to be some sort of sham. I had to find Will and get out of this baseball game.
I darted off first base toward the stands.
"Going somewhere?" The umpire approached unnaturally fast.
"What did you do with Will?" I demanded.
"Nothing. You made him disappear when you failed to perform. What disappointment he must feel for you."
"That's insane. He would never leave me behind just because I got hit by a pitch." Right?
"You have to win the game if you want him to come back, but you'll never truly win. You'll keep trying and trying. Doing whatever it takes to make him accept you, but it won't be enough. You already knew that, though, didn't you?"
His words hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like he was digging into my psyche, as if he knew how much I truly cared about Will. I had always liked him as more than a friend, but I could never bring myself to tell him that. Boys weren't supposed to like other boys, so I had been conditioned. Will couldn't possibly like me back in that way, so I settled for just being his best friend. How would he even react to me being gay? He'd probably be grossed out or scared to be around me, as if he and the rest of the group needed another excuse to get beaten up at school. He'd probably be polite about it but then avoid me. I'd get kicked out of the party and become a pariah. Robert the Fag they'd call me. How did this umpire know my deepest desires and fears? Suddenly, something clicked. I realized what this place truly must be — my own mind.
I grabbed my camera from the dugout bench and bolted away from the field grabbing my arm, desperate to get back to reality. This wasn't like any dream I had had before. It was vivid, like some sort of drug trip. I ran back to the door I had entered through.
"YOU MIGHT ESCAPE NOW, BUT YOU'LL BE BACK!" A giant head with the face of the umpire surrounded by a black shadow screamed toward me as I shut the door and exited this twisted hallucination.
