Chapter 4
The Softball Game
After her encounter with Howlin' Harriet, Molly spent the next couple of days trying to relax after that night. It wasn't long before she forgot about her terrifying experience with Howlin' Harriet as she decided to come to a softball game to cheer her friends on. Libby, along with the rest of her friends were part of a softball team known as The Lemmings. Despite how poorly the Lemmings were doing, it didn't stop Molly from having faith in them.
"Whoo! Let's go, Lemmings!" Molly cheered.
Despite Molly's enthusiasm, it still wasn't enough to motivate the Lemmings. Most of the girls ended up crashing into each other from trying to catch the ball, and Andrea wasn't even paying attention since she was focused on her phone instead. With an annoyed groan, Molly lowered her head in defeat before Scratch showed up, writing down one of his scare reports.
"And I terrified one William Palmer! Scare report done, and off to the Ghost Council it goes!" Scratch threw the report through a portal to the ghost world before he brought his attention to Molly. "So, what's going on here?'
In response, Molly pointed at the scoreboard, which revealed that the Lemmings haven't earned a single point.
"19 to nothing? Ugh! Is there, like any other team to root for?" Scratch asked.
"Hey, this is just an off day for the Lemmings! I'm sure that they would get better soon!" Molly assured.
As Molly said that, she noticed a softball flying in the air before it headed straight for Libby.
"That ball's going right to Libby! You got it, girl!" Molly cheered.
The sound of Molly's cheers distracted Libby as she brought her attention to her best friend. She started to blush from seeing how much Molly has been encouraging her. Libby was so distracted, she forgot about the ball, which fell on the head, knocking her to the ground.
"Libby!" Molly immediately rushed down the stands before kneeling next to Libby to make sure she was okay. "Are you alright?" Molly helped Libby up.
"I'm fine, even though my confidence is at an all-time low." Libby sighed as she got back up. "I appreciate all of your cheering and encouragement, but let's face it, I'm just terrible."
"Hey, don't you ever say that about yourself! You're just having an off day! That's all! Why don't I join the Lemmings? That way, you would feel more comfortable!" Molly offered.
Hearing this surprised Libby. In all the years she had known Molly, she didn't remember Molly ever playing softball before.
"But, Molly! Have you even played softball before?" Libby asked.
"Have I played it? No. Have I wanted to play it? Also, no! But am I going to play it? Heck to the yes!" Molly exclaimed.
It was at this point when Libby knew that she couldn't stop Molly as her mind has already been made up. Truthfully, Libby actually liked the idea of being with Molly for the rest of the softball games.
"Well, I guess I can't stop you! I'm looking forward to us being on the same team! I'll see you later!" Libby waved goodbye to Molly before she left.
This left Molly staring at Libby with a loving smile. She was so distracted she didn't noticed a couple of girls approaching.
"Well, Well, Well! You and Libby seem to have gotten really close lately!"
Surprised by this, Molly turned to see Kat and Sheela staring at her with a couple of smug grins.
"Kat! Sheela! How long have you been standing there?" Molly asked, surprised.
"Oh, long even to see you staring at Libby all lovingly!" said Kat.
"Something tells me that you only want to join the Lemmings just so you can spend time with Libby!" Sheela pointed out.
Molly blushed. "Uh, I have no idea what you two are talking about! Oh, would you look at the time! I'd better go!"
With that, Molly immediately left, only convincing Kat and Sheela even more about Molly's crush on Libby. As the sun was about to set, Molly returned home to get ready for the softball game.
A few days later, Molly joined the Lemmings before getting changed in her softball attire. Once everyone sat down to enjoy the game, Molly did her best to encourage her team.
"Okay, Lemmings! To win this game, all we need to do is believe in ourselves! We're winners on 3! 1 2-" Before Molly could count to 3, her teammates simply walked away, not even caring about the game.
"It was a good pep talk, Molly!" Libby tried being supportive of Molly.
"Thank you, Libby! Don't worry! I promise that by the time this game is over, our teammates will regain their confidence in themselves!" Molly promised.
It wasn't long before everyone was ready and the game began. Libby stepped forward, ready to pitch the ball before meeting the opponent who is batting for the opposing team.
"For the Skylarks batting first, Tammy Myers!" the announcer introduced.
At that moment, a girl stepped on to the base, her baseball bat in hand.
"Let's see what you got, kid!" the girl named Tammy, taunted Libby.
Intimated by Tammy, Libby gave a nervous gulp as the softball trembled in her hand. She took a quick glance at Molly, who gave her an encouraging thumbs up. With a deep breath, Libby attempted to throw the ball, only to accidentally throw it above her. This caused the ball to fall on her head once again, knocking her to the ground. The members of the opposing team ended up laughing at Libby's misfortune.
"Is this a joke? That girl is the worst softball player ever!" Tammy mocked as Libby did her best not to cry.
Seeing Libby upset caused Molly to send a death glare towards Tammy. No one insults her best friend and gets away with it! Wanting Libby to gain some confidence in herself, Molly decided to ask Scratch for help.
"Scratch, do you think you can use your ghost powers to help Libby out?" Molly whispered.
Surprised by what he heard, Scratch turned to face Molly. "Wait a minute! Is Molly McGee really suggesting I help Libby cheat?"
"Don't say it like that! You see how that girl is treating Libby! Libby just needs a confidence boost! Please help her, Scratch!" Molly begged.
"Alright! Alright!" Scratch finally agreed. "Maybe if I use my ghost powers, everyone would believe that Libby isn't as terrible as she really is!"
After Libby got back up from the ground, she tried again. Right when she was about to throw the ball again, it got enveloped in a ghostly glow. This time, the ball flew really fast, causing Tammy to miss.
"Strike one!" The umpire yelled.
Libby just stood in shock surprised by what she just did. After getting over her surprise, Libby picked up the softball once more.
"Lucky pitch!" Tammy was ready to hit the ball, but it flew past her once again.
"Strike two!" The umpire yelled once more.
It was at this point when the Lemmings started to feel that they might actually have a chance to win this time. With a glare, Tammy was now more serious than ever. After Libby threw the ball the third time, the ball ended up floating in front of Tammy. Tammy desperately tried to hit the ball multiple times, only for it to move out of the way every single time.
"Strike 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9! You're out three times!" The umpire announced.
With their confidence restored, Libby along with the rest of the Lemmings were happy to finally be batting for once. For the rest of the game, Libby has been hitting the ball out of the park, allowing her teammates to score for their team.
It wasn't long before the game was over as The Lemmings won the game 19 to 0. As the game came to an end, everyone cheered for Libby. Libby wasn't used to getting this much praise, but kind of liked it. Leah made her way down the stands before hugging her daughter.
"Libby, I'm so proud of you! It was because of you that your team won!" Leah exclaimed.
"You're mom is right, Libby! You were incredible!" Molly agreed.
Libby smiled before nervously looking away. "Oh, thanks! I just hope I would be able to keep this up for the rest of the games!"
"Don't worry! I'm sure that you will!" Molly assured.
"Molly is right! Now let's go home, my star player!" Leah said as she and Libby returned home.
Once Libby left, Scratch showed up, knowing where this was going.
"So, I'm guessing that you want me to help out Libby with the rest of the games." Scratch guessed.
"Just for a little longer, please! Libby could really use the confidence boost, and I just want her to be happy!" Molly explained.
"Fine! But if she gets too happy, I'm done helping her! Don't forget that I still need to keep my scare numbers up for the Ghost Council!" Scratch reminded.
Molly soon gave Scratch a grateful hug. "Thank you!"
For the next couple of games, Libby continued to win for her team. Every game that went by, Libby began to gain more and more confidence in herself. As Libby won the last game for her team, the Lemmings were happy that they were now going to the championship.
The sun began to set as Libby was ready to leave. Even though Scratch helped out Libby the whole time, it still brought Molly joy seeing Libby so happy. As everyone was about to leave, Molly decided to approach Libby to wish her luck on the championship.
"Hey, there's the Lemmings' superstar! How are you feeling about tomorrow? Ready to win the championship for the Lemmings?"
Instead of replying, Libby just stood in silence, her back turned to Molly. "Can I be honest with you, Molly? I'm scared."
Molly blinked in confusion. "Scared? I don't understand. You carried the Lemmings to victory! You should be proud of yourself!"
"I should, but I still feel nervous. This is the last game, and everyone has high expectations for me!" Libby explained. "What if I let the Lemmings down? What if I let you down?"
It was at that point when Molly started to feel that asking Scratch to help Libby might not have been a good idea after all. In her efforts to boost Libby's confidence, Molly didn't realize that it might end up hurting her instead.
"Libby, I promise you will do great! I know that you can win the softball game for us because you are amazing!"
As Molly said that, Libby smiled before she blushed slightly. "Y-You really think I'm amazing?"
"Are you kidding? Of course! Just believe in yourself, and you can do anything!" Molly exclaimed.
Grateful for Molly's words, Libby was now ready for tomorrow. "You're right! Thank you, Molly! I'll see you at the game tomorrow!" Libby waved goodbye as she got ready for the championship game.
The next morning, the Lemmings arrived at the baseball field, determined to win the game. In the midst of the excitement, Scratch was surprised to see that Molly was the only one who didn't seem that excited. It wasn't like Molly to seem so sad, so Scratch decided to see what was wrong.
"What's wrong, Molly? I thought you would have been happy that your team is going to win." said Scratch.
"Scratch, I'm starting to feel a little guilty. I wanted Libby to be happy, but not like this! We gave her false confidence! It was a bad idea to trick Libby like this." Molly gave a depressed sigh.
Truthfully, Scratch started to not like this plan anymore as well, but it was too late to turn back now.
"Hey, after this last game, we won't have to cheat anymore! Let's just give Libby one last confidence boost, and we won't have to do this again!" Scratch tried to make Molly feel better.
"I understand! One more game, and we won't cheat again!" Molly said before she and the rest of the Lemmings started to play against the Skylarks once again.
Just like the last couple of games, Scratch used his ghost powers to help Libby cheat. This went on until the Lemmings scored 18 to 0. Now, Molly was convinced that there was no way they could lose now.
"So, that was easy! I mean, we are up 18 to zip! And now all we gotta do is nail this one last out, and we're champions!" said Scratch.
Suddenly, a portal to the ghost world appeared behind Scratch, and he knew exactly what that meant. He had no idea what the Ghost Council wanted, but this was the worst possible time to summon him.
"Oh, no! The Ghost Council is summoning me!" Scratch noticed, trying to hold on to Molly's glove as long as possible.
"What? Now? But Libby still needs you!" Molly pointed out.
"They have terrible timing! Look, just stall and I'll be back as soon as I can!"
Unable to maintain his grip any longer, Scratch ended up getting sucked through the portal. Once he was brought back to the ghost world, he was face to face with the Ghost Council, each of them staring at him with their usual strict expressions.
"Hey, hey! There's my guys! Look, you know, I'm in the middle of a thing right now! It's pretty important!" Scratch turned to leave before Lucretia stopped him.
"We just want to discuss your monthly scare report, Scratch!"
"On page 3, it said you scared Billy Palmer." Sir Alister noticed.
"But then, on page 5, it said you terrified a William Palmer." Bartholomew pointed out.
"Are Billy and William the same person?" asked Grimbella.
Scratch awkwardly looked away, surprised by the mistake he made. "I don't know. Maybe?"
"They are." said Sir Alister.
"Which means you are one scare short for the month." Grimbella explained.
"Scare someone today!" All four of the Ghost Council members demanded in unison.
With that, Scratch was teleported through the portal once again as he returned to the human world. Even though he was one scare short of the month, Scratch decided to worry about it later and help Molly finish the softball game.
"Sorry, Moll. Ghost work thing. But, good news, I'm back! So, let's get this baby wrapped up!" Scratch said before he noticed a worried look on Molly's face.
Confused, Scratch turned to what Molly was looking at, and was shocked by what he saw. He took one look at the scoreboard and found out that the Skylarks somehow managed to score 17 points in the short time he was gone.
"What the hey? Libby gave up 17 runs and the bases are loaded? How?"
"I don't know, man! I don't know! It was a blur of bats, and balls, and humiliation!" Molly still tried to figure out how it happened.
"I knew you'd start losing sooner or later!" Tammy mocked Libby, who was now more worried than ever.
Despite how much of a surprise this unexpected turn was, Scratch was not ready to give up just yet. "Well, lucky for you, I'm back! I can at least help Libby catch the ball and-"
"No." Molly interrupted. "No more cheating! It's time that Libby believed in herself the right way."
Molly walked over to Libby to comfort her. Even though she had good intentions, Molly realized that this wasn't the way to make Libby happy, so she was going to make everything right.
"Libby? Are you okay?" Molly asked.
"I don't think so." Libby admitted. "Let's just face it. I was never good at softball. It was only dumb luck that got me this far."
Molly shook her head. "That's not true! You are more amazing than you think! You just have to believe in yourself, just like I believe in you!"
Deep down, Libby knew that Molly was right. After all the times Molly encouraged and cheered her on, she couldn't let it all be for nothing!
"I understand! Thank you, Molly! I shouldn't give up, especially when we are so close to victory!"
"That's the spirit! Now let's go win this game!" Molly exclaimed.
Once everyone was ready to finish the game, the softball was pitched before Tammy hit the ball in the air. Everyone ran all over the field before Molly realized where the ball was headed.
"It's going to Libby! You can do it, Libby! Believe in yourself!" Molly cheered Libby on.
"Believe in yourself! Believe in yourself!" Libby repeatedly told herself as the ball flew closer to her.
Instead of catching the ball in her hand, the ball ended up hitting Libby, right in the face. Both, Molly and Scratch cringed from how painful that looked. At that moment, Libby sat up from the ground, revealing that she managed to catch the softball in her mouth. Once she realized what happened, Libby took the softball from her mouth and smiled in victory, not even caring that she lost a tooth from the impact of the ball.
Molly along with the rest of the Lemmings cheered for Libby as they carried her in the air. As Libby earned a trophy for winning the game for her team, her mom rushed down the stands to congratulate her.
"Congratulations, Libby! I couldn't be more proud of you!" Leah praised.
"Thanks, Mom! But I couldn't have done it without my teammates! Especially, Molly!" Libby said before bringing her attention to Molly. "Molly, I think I finally figured out how I was so good at softball in the first place! It was all because of you!"
At that moment, Molly and Scratch shared a couple of nervous glances with each other.
"Oh, you don't say!" Molly gave a nervous grin.
"Of course! If it hadn't been for you constantly cheering me on, I wouldn't have had the courage to believe in myself! You've done so much for me during all the years we've been friends, and I-" Libby paused for a moment.
"Yes?" Molly asked, curious with what Libby had to say.
Once again, Libby opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, she walked up to Molly and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, much to everyone's surprise.
Surprised by the kiss, Molly blushed deeply, not able to think straight. The field was silent apart from Kat and Sheela letting out squeals of joy from what they just saw. That was the moment, Libby immediately regretted what she did. She not only kissed Molly in front of her mom, but the rest of the Lemmings as well.
Embarrassed by what she just did, Libby said, "I'm so sorry, Molly! I shouldn't have done that!"
Not wanting to stay around any longer, Libby left the field with her mom, leaving Molly to contemplate what just happened. She sat down at the stands before Scratch joined her shortly afterwards.
"So, that just happened!" Scratch spoke up.
"Uh, I'm sure it was nothing! Libby must have just gotten a little too excited about winning the game, that's all!"
As Molly tried to find a logical explanation for what happened, Tammy walked up to her, still sore from losing.
"Hey, McGee! Libby might have won today, but she will always be pathetic!" Tammy mocked, earning an angry glare from Molly.
Even though Tammy couldn't see him, Scratch felt angry with her too. As Tammy walked away laughing, Scratch thought of an idea.
"Oh, hey! That reminds me! I'll be right back!" Scratch floated over to Tammy and let out a terrifying roar, causing her to scream in fear. The ghost returned, now with his scare report in his hands. "Now, is that Tammy with a Y or an I?"
Molly didn't bother replying as she couldn't help but think back to what happened between her and Libby. She placed a hand where Libby kissed her at, and gave a slight smile, thinking that the kiss felt kind of nice.