“The Centerville Badgers just got a new mascot this year,” said Marlene. “It’s a kid in a badger suit. Somebody from our school saw him walking around their practice field a couple of weeks ago and said the kid waddles a lot, probably because he’s kind of built like a badger. I bet if he tried to do a routine he’d rupture something.”
“Roger, you can fly!” said Jerry, waving his arms. “You can cheer! You can do shows and hit demonstration balls into the next county! You could actually eat their badger!”
“Easy, Martinez,” said Marlene.
“You know, it does sound kind of cool,” said Roger, realizing he actually meant it. “Well, not the badger-eating part.” He could show off without taking advantage of other teams, and nobody would get hurt. Most importantly, he’d still be out on the field, part of the team, and not watching his team miserably through a fence or from the stands. Why not give it a chance?
“Cool?” yelped Jerry. “Are you kidding? I was Roger Mantis for only ten minutes when that reporter was here, and it was the coolest thing ever!”
“Barry did make one good point back then,” said Henry. “Our team is the Falcons.”
“Don’t get technical,” said Jerry, waving at Henry dismissively. “This is show business!”
“You could work up routines and everything,” said Mark. “I bet you could even cook up something by tomorrow’s game.”
“Think of all the people that would come to our games!” said Ricky. He pointed beyond the fence. “Look over there. There’s about a dozen kids headed this way, and you can bet money it’s to watch Roger!”
“We gonna check them for cameras?” said Jerry.
Barry laughed. “I’ll keep an eye on ‘em.”
“If we ever advertised our practices ahead of time,” said Ricky, “we could probably sell popcorn and souvenirs.”
Henry started chanting quietly, “Roger. Roger. Roger.”
Roger stood in amazement, his mood rising.
Julie came in, a bit louder, “Roger! Roger! Roger!”
Then the whole team joined in. The kids who’d come to gawk started pumping their fists and shouting too.
“Roger! Roger! Roger!”
“Roger Mantis!” yelled Jerry, throwing both his arms up in the air.
Roger spread his wings, flew up into the sky, and joyfully buzzed the field. All the kids went nuts, even Barry, and Mr. Horowitz, who’d been listening the whole time, laughed out loud.
Roger landed outside the fence and walked up to Barry. The other kids outside crowded around. “That was a darn good idea, Barry,” he said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Barry. He turned and grabbed the fence, looking at the team. “You guys just go out and win tomorrow. I want to be on a championship team next year!”
“You got it, man,” said Ricky.
“He’s right,” said Roger. “You better start practice, or Centerville’s going to kick our butts. And abdomens.”
“We can go over mascot ideas after the practice,” said Marlene. “If we really work at it, we can have something ready tomorrow. We can rehearse at the vacant lot.” She turned to Barry. “You come too. This was your idea.” Barry’s face lit up. Then Marlene turned back to Roger. “So, what are you going to do right now?”
“Me?” said Roger. “Well, for starters, I have to go out there and find my bat.”
Chapter Twenty
Saturday afternoon found Roger at their home Little League field, ready for the big game against Centerville. Word had gotten around that he wouldn’t be playing in the game, but there was still quite a crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of the mantis boy. The team had been sworn to secrecy, and no one had so much as breathed a word about Roger’s surprise show. Roger stood in the back of the dugout, tucked as far out of sight as he could manage. He’d decided that it wouldn’t be right to draw attention away from his team during the game itself.
Everyone took occasional looks up at the skies. The weatherman had predicted a huge rainstorm sometime this weekend, but so far the rain seemed to be staying away. The only clouds over the ball field were big fluffy ones, and the wind hadn’t picked up much.
Roger and his team had worked out a routine for the seventh-inning stretch, a Highland Falls tradition. Everyone called it that even though it happened right after the fourth inning, since Little League games had only six innings. The Badger mascot would do a routine after Roger was done.
Julie had suggested that Roger use a couple of big, fluffy pom-poms to lead cheers from the sidelines during the game. Roger immediately squashed that idea, horrified at the amount of support it got from a few team members. Even Jerry and Marlene had been for it! Jeez!
Roger watched comfortably from the dugout as the game started. Centerville pulled ahead quickly and had two runs to nothing by the end of the first inning. The Falcons came right back when Gary Miller smacked a home run in the second with Chris on first and Marlene at third, after stealing the base moments before.
In the third inning, Eric, the Centerville kid who had complained to Roger at the carnival, smacked a home run that cleared the chain link fence by twenty feet. Fortunately for Roger’s team, there hadn’t been anyone else on base, so the game was only tied. Eric had talked with Roger a bit before the game and told Roger his willingness to bow out of the official games had impressed the Centerville team. Their opinion of him had improved a lot.
Gary’s pitching wasn’t quite on par with his hitting on this particular day, so the Badgers were connecting with a lot of pitches. Still, the Falcons were doing some of the best fielding of the season. Even Jerry hadn’t missed a single fly to right field, and Julie made a spectacular jump by the fence that turned a potential home run into an out. Unfortunately, the Badgers weren’t making any errors either, so the score remained tied at the end of the fourth inning.
When the seventh-inning stretch arrived, there was a general shuffling as people stood up to walk around a bit, but a lot of the spectators stayed in their seats, intently watching the dugout where Roger stood. Apparently some of Roger’s teammates had spread the word about Roger’s act after all.
Roger’s sharp eyes scanned the bleachers. His parents were here, along with most everyone else’s. Parents might not come to practices, but most were religious about attending actual games. He spotted Mrs. Wilson and Barry. Mrs. Wilson’s expression was hard to describe, but she didn’t look happy. Barry was grinning. He’d contributed a couple of good ideas for Roger’s routine.
Roger also saw Mr. Auburn and Becky. Mr. Auburn looked a bit tired—he was staying in town to sort out repairs—but the little girl was having the time of her life.
Roger’s teammates piled into the dugout, and Roger had to squeeze out or get stuck in the corner. Then he carefully adjusted his trademark baseball cap as the audience broke into applause. Marlene had fitted it with a little elastic strap under his triangular head to keep the hat from flying off during his routine. Then Roger walked slowly out to home plate. Gary headed for the pitcher’s mound with a small bucket of baseballs.
His team started the chant: “Roger! Roger! Roger!”
The people in the bleachers picked it up almost immediately, and soon the whole field was yelling, “Roger! Roger! Roger!”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” called out Mr. Horowitz, “our amazing mascot, Roger Mantis!” If he hadn’t had an electric bullhorn, nobody would have heard him over the crowd.
Roger picked up a tape-wrapped aluminum bat in his right claw. He had finally busted his old bat practicing yesterday, followed by another one before everyone decided that wooden bats just weren’t going to work for Roger. Roger swung the bat around a few times and cheers erupted from the bleachers. Roger looked at Gary and focused.
Gary fired a fastball right across the plate. He could have thrown a curveball, a slider, or even a spitball, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Roger’s skills and vision were improving every day, and in al
l the rehearsals last night and this morning, Roger had never missed a ball that was anywhere in reach of his bat. There was a loud crack, and the ball sailed over the fence, into the grass and weeds far beyond. Cheers and applause rose from the bleachers. Roger watched a bunch of kids already waiting out in the grass as they ran to collect the ball as a souvenir. Had his teammates told everyone about his routine?
Roger caught a glimpse of the Centerville team in their dugout, grinning and cheering along with the rest. Even the kid in the Badger costume was clapping. Roger imagined how they would’ve felt if he had been hitting these home runs for real, one right after the other. More than ever, Roger felt like he had done the right thing.
Roger hit several more balls over the fence and then put down the bat. Jerry tossed a long two-by-four from the sidelines, and Roger snagged it out of the air. Making a big show of it being difficult, Roger snapped the board in half. Then he put the two halves on top of each other to double the thickness, and easily snapped the stack of boards again.
Marlene ran out with two thin poles with cloth wrapped around the ends. Roger took one in each claw, then spread his wings and took to the air. The audience gasped. Maybe some of them still hadn’t known that he could fly.
As he buzzed around the ballpark, the cloth unfurled from the poles into two long American flags. Roger held the flags high above his head and forward. He’d discovered the hard way during a practice flight that if he held them too far down, the flags flapped into his wings and messed him up good.
By the time Roger landed and Marlene took the flags, the audience sounded like Roger could have run for mayor if he’d wanted to. He even saw Zeke, Bob, and Stick, the kids who’d given him a hard time in the school bathroom, sitting in the highest row of the bleachers giving him a thumbs-up. He’d come a long way from being the freak that kids threw apples at!
Chapter Twenty-One
As Roger made his way back to the dugout, the Badgers’ mascot stepped onto the field, his face hidden by the big, furry stuffed badger head. And yes, he was built like a badger, and he certainly was waddling.
“You gotta admire anyone who would even go out there after Roger’s act,” said Gary. He sounded like he meant it.
“Nice costume though,” said Jerry. “Someone did a lot of work on that head.”
The Centerville Badger was met with applause, mostly from the Centerville side, as he stepped onto the pitcher’s mound. Then the Centerville fans started chanting softly.
“Badger … Badger … Badger … ”
With a sudden twist, the Badger flung himself off the mound headfirst, and performed a dozen forward handflips. The Badger rolled from the flips into cartwheels, going through an amazing acrobatic routine, complete with backflips. The audience applauded and cheered again, from both sides of the stands now. The chant continued, getting faster and louder.
“Badger! Badger! Badger!”
“Holy cow!” said Julie. “I can do flips like that in gymnastics, but not with a fur suit and big fake head on!”
“If this is the same kid as before,” said Marlene, her eyes wide, “he’s been working out.”
“And practicing too,” said Chris. “Look at that!” Making his way back to the pitcher’s mound, the Badger pulled five baseballs out of a pocket and started juggling them skillfully. After which he balanced three bats stacked end to end. As the crowd watched mesmerized, he tossed the balanced bats into the air and then began juggling them! The crowd went nuts, including the Falcons dugout, and the Centerville chant become one long word strung together.
“Badger!Badger!Badger!Badger!Badger!”
Finally, the Badger caught the bats once more and bowed. Laughter was sprinkled in among the cheers and applause as the acrobatic mascot waddled slowly off the field to the Centerville dugout. Roger peered closely across the field with his keen eyes. The kid took off the Badger head as his teammates patted his back and handed him a bottle of water. He did look kind of pudgy and was panting hard and sweating rivers, but he had a wide grin on his face.
The final two innings were a close, well-fought contest. The Badgers managed two more runs, but the Falcons squeaked off three runs to win the game six to five, including a home run by Henry, who hadn’t hit one over the fence since last year. Both teams ran onto the field and slapped their hands together, as those in the bleachers came out onto the field, too.
The enterprising kids who had collected souvenir balls during Roger’s show brought them to be signed. Roger was stumped for a moment until Marlene, smiling, handed him one of his pens with the tube attached. Good old Marlene! Roger’s signature wasn’t exactly legible, but he managed to sign all the balls.
A few people wanted pictures with Roger. Mr. Horowitz tried to discourage them, but some kids just ran up and stood by Roger while a parent or friend took the shot. There wasn’t much Roger could do about it.
“That sure was impressive, son,” said his father when his parents finally caught up with him.
“That was wonderful!” said his mother. “I had no idea you could do so many things. We’ll see you at home when you’re done here. Fried chicken for supper again tonight, so don’t be too late.” She hugged Roger tightly, and his parents walked off toward the gate.
The Centerville team came over, too. Eric had somehow gotten one of the balls Roger had hit, and Roger happily signed it for him. As Roger talked with a lot of kids and their parents, several people praised him for rescuing the kids at the carnival, including Mr. Auburn again. Mr. Auburn took a picture of Roger standing next to Becky, and Roger didn’t mind that particular photo at all. This much attention was overwhelming, and Roger wondered if he’d ever get used to it, and then wondered if getting used to it would be a good thing.
Roger made his way over to the Badger mascot, who had taken off his costume and was carrying it off the field. Roger saw that the head had a lot of straps to keep it from flying off during his routine, same as the strap on Roger’s hat.
“Hey, hi there, Roger!” said the kid, turning to meet him. “Name’s Hamilton, but everybody calls me Ham. So you’re the famous Highland Falls Mantis Boy. A couple of the guys on my team told me all about you. You’ve got some fantastic moves.”
“Not like yours,” said Roger. “I can only do all that stuff because I got turned into a giant bug. When I was human, I couldn’t have done any of the stunts you did in a million years. Yours was really the better routine.”
“Thanks!” said Ham, grinning. “I started learning that stuff last year so I wouldn’t just be the Fat Kid in school. The mascot gig seemed like a natural after that, and I’m everybody’s pal now.”
“You don’t really look fat,” said Roger. Ham was a bit chunky, but no worse than a lot of other kids.
“Hah!” laughed Ham. “You should have seen me before I got into acrobatics and stopped eating so much junk. That waddle out there used to be real, not just a gag. Hey, I gotta go. I really need a shower. See you again in a few weeks! Maybe we can work out some bits together.”
“I’d like that,” said Roger as Ham walked off. Not waddling at all.
Chapter Twenty-Two
On Sunday, the rain had finally moved in. It was pouring, with lightning and thunder, but Roger’s parents had decided that they’d chance bringing Roger to church. Roger was a little nervous about it, but his mother said that after the baseball game there wasn’t really any need to avoid being out in public anymore. Roger was pleased that his parents weren’t at all ashamed of their insect son.
They had planned for Roger to fly and meet them at the church since he no longer fit in the family station wagon very well. That was before the weather had changed.
Both Roger and his parents were understandably very nervous about him flying during a thunderstorm, so Roger climbed carefully into the open back of the station wagon and into the rear cargo area. By sticking his head and front half over the back seat, there was just enough room to close the gate w
ithout scrunching up his tail. It wasn’t comfortable.
Church went … okay. Roger and his family sat in the back of the church (Roger’s idea, not his parents’) with Roger standing beside the pew. Nobody looked bothered by the presence of a giant mantis in the back of the sanctuary, but Roger recognized a few who had seen the game, so his mother had probably been right. One little kid near them started wailing and had to be taken to the cry room, but Roger wasn’t sure whether the kid was scared of him or was just being fussy.
The pastor’s sermon was on accepting people as they are and looking beyond appearances. Roger thought this was either an amazing coincidence or that the pastor had prepared it for whenever Roger and his family showed up. Either way, Roger really appreciated it.
The pastor didn’t even hesitate to shake Roger’s hand along with everyone else’s as they filed out after the service. Well, the end of his claw.
“We were going to have team practice this afternoon,” grumbled Roger as the rain continued to pour on their drive home. He hadn’t heard anything, but it was obvious nobody would be practicing in this weather. A flash of lightning lit the car.
“Maybe you and your friends can do something else,” said his mother. “Why not a movie?”
“Sounds okay,” said Roger. The theater downtown didn’t get movies until about a month after they came out in the city, but it wasn’t a bad way to kill an afternoon.
When they got home, there was a message on the answering machine from Mr. Horowitz cancelling practice, as Roger had guessed. Roger checked the local newspaper and found out the movie downtown that weekend was some Airport sequel. His father said he could give Roger a ride and offered to pick up Jerry and Marlene along the way. Roger wished it wasn’t raining so he could just walk to the theater with his friends, and he wouldn’t have to stuff himself into the back of the car again.
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