Bat 6

by Virginia Euwer Wolff

  Holy Jesus Lord let Thy Kingdom come on earth now

  Lord come in Your glory glory Lord now

  Down here on earth find us with Your glory Lord

  Jesus save us now

  Jesus save us now

  Jesus raise us up to Your glory glory glory

  Jesus save us now

  Sweet sweet Jesus save us now

  Hallie, right field

  All that time — years — we had been curious to see Manny get the spirit again, and some of us never even saw it the first time. Now it was not even interesting.

  What I noticed was Manny just watching everything after she was done getting the spirit. She just leaned against the backstop and watched, her face looking like she wasn’t even there.

  I wished I wasn’t there. I kept trying to pretend it didn’t happen.

  Ila Mae, pitcher

  Manny even got the spirit, which was no help at all. What was God gonna do now? Make the first baseman not be hurt? Make the last 5 minutes unhappen?

  I watched Brita Marie and Lola and Audrey as they strove to get theirselves not kicked by Shazam. Audrey was getting the worst of it.

  It was hard to pin down what my thoughts were.

  Such a hullabaloo everywhere, and Manny getting the spirit over there alongside the backstop, and Hallie up against the other end of the backstop looking like she seen a ghost, it was all too awful. I picked up my glove and put it on and walked away by myself behind the bleachers which was nearly empty by now. Down behind them, there were some children playing swords and sticks. I walked around them.

  I looked down at my glove and all of a sudden my conversation with Shazam about Billy Shimatsu way last autumn come into my mind. That was the little remembering I was having back there at first base but it wasn’t clear then. Now it come right to me with the cold air back on that November morning, even little Billy Shimatsu’s red sweater came up in my memory. She said she might quit school because we have Japanese children. The mere sight of a Japanese made her go queasy. I suddenly found out she couldn’t rise above it.

  I remembered it so clear. Billy Shimatsu racing across the playground that morning, trying to keep up with Toby. I kept seeing that little first grader dashing along in his red sweater, and he kept being a terrible clue to what happened on this ball field.

  I peeked through the bleachers at the commotion going on on the ball field.

  I was the only one that knew.

  Alva, short stop

  God was the only one I knew would get the whole picture. I asked Him.

  Dear God,

  I know it was right for the home-plate umpire and the coaches to get together and call Brita Marie’s uncle in from the outfield where he was base umpire and then all of them huddle together. It was the right thing to do, I’m not complaining.

  When they had their meeting out there at the pitcher’s box, we all knew what they were doing. And we knew they would do the right thing.

  But I wish we had gotten to finish our only Bat 6 game of our whole lives.

  Please make that Japanese first-baseman girl not be dead. Make her not even be hurt. Make her just be fainted. Make her wake up in the ambulance way long before they get down to River Bend. Please?

  I can’t figure out why this bad thing happened when it was our turn in 6th grade. It never happened before. Will You explain why?

  Thy will be done.

  Your friend,

  Alva

  Ellen, shortstop

  It was Piper’s father, the home-plate umpire, that made the speech for all to hear. He was standing out there at the pitcher’s box with the base umpire and all the coaches. He said, “It is with solemn regret we decided resulting from this tragedy on this playing field here we will not continue the game.

  “We know every soul is disappointed, but that is our decision.”

  And it sunk in all around the ballfield. There was nary a smile in all the downheartedness. There were sounds of sadness and groaning all around, amid the dogs racing back and forth barking and rustling up the dust.

  I would not get my turn at bat. Nor many others wouldn’t either.

  Piper’s father put his hand up again and he went on talking to the crowd.

  “And the Community Council is called to have a meeting in — Let’s see, it’s near 11 o’clock, the Council will meet by 11:10 A.M. in the Barlow School building, the principal says they can use his office, a decision will be made as quick as they can.” Piper’s father stopped and he looked at the other grownups around him out there at the pitcher’s box. “And we ask God’s guidance for the Community Council.”

  There was weenies forgotten on the Boy Scout fire, and there was jays getting pieces of pie from the church booths and flying off with them. And a Coke bottle that was thrown down over by third base rolled across the dust and stopped.

  Then the Barlow Gospel Reverend hollered, “And will somebody get control of them dogs?”

  Vernell

  Mrs. Porter’s face was oh so sad when we all was listening to this news, and she come right over to where I was at the visiting team bench and she said, “I’m sorry, Vernell.” And she hugged me. I do not know why she hugged me. Then she begun picking up bats and gloves. I helped her. Then she stopped and sat plunk down on the bench. I sat down too. She putted her hands both up to her face and shook her head inside her hands. Then she stood up again. And she said, “Well.” And then she sat down again. I stayed there beside her.

  Old Louella got up out of her rocking chair with people helping her. She held her cane in her veiny hand and started walking away, with people carrying her chair and her quilt and her other things she brought to the game. I could hear her, she has a loud voice for a old lady, she said, “No standards left. No standards at all.”

  I said to Mrs. Porter, “How come old Louella said that?”

  Mrs. Porter picked up three bats she just put down a minute before and she said, “I’m not exactly sure, Vernell. Not exactly.” And she looked at me so sad. We watched old Louella leave the field.

  Little Peggy

  People wouldn’t leave me alone. Mothers and brothers and neighbors and people I didn’t know the names of, everybody was alongside me, asking me. I didn’t understand any of it enough to answer them.

  I kept thinking about what the Barlow coach had done when he kneeled down beside Aki, his knees down there on the baseline. He put his big old beefy hand on her arm which was spread out there, and he said, “Oh, Lordy, I’m so sorry, oh, Lordy, I’m so sorry.” And he did everything Susannah’s father told him to do, helping get Aki ready for the stretcher to slide under her so she could be lifted into the ambulance.

  People kept asking me questions: Is Aki’s jaw broken, will she be OK? Instead of answering them, I put my hands over my ears and I said, “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.” And I was crying before I even realized I was crying.

  The thing that hasn’t left my mind ever since is the sight of that girl not shaking Aki’s hand.

  Hallie

  I looked over in the stands where Darlene’s mom had her arm around Shazam’s old grandmother who was just sitting there still as a rock.

  Living out there by the gravel pit, having a problem-child granddaughter. Not even having a telephone. A pump in the kitchen. No car.

  And then something in my mind popped open and I remembered. Why didn’t I remember before? There was too much noise, that’s why. I couldn’t think in that din.

  I remembered Shazam standing in my bedroom hating the Japanese and her father completely dead at the bottom of Pearl Harbor and her looking at me that way. I didn’t get it then, I didn’t get it till she hurt their first baseman.

  I should of known. Long before. I had the whole winter and spring to figure it out.

  The girl was mental.

  Daisy

  The noise was fierce. Some people were standing right on the third-base line arguing, and a clutter of grownups near to the pitcher’s box all
conversing very loud and scuffing up the dust. And one child actually threw a hot dog over at where those 3 Barlow girls were holding that one that hurt Aki. It hit their catcher on the shoulder and splattered ketchup and mustard on her uniform.

  Brita Marie

  Audrey and I and Lola are different ever since that time when we held on for dear life and that girl’s body was throwing itself about like a crazy person. Never again we could be children after that. I could not explain it to anybody that was not there in the grip with the 3 of us, only we know how it was. It was too creepy.

  Shazam

  They attacked without no warning. They are sneaky cheats they torture people even commit suicide for their country. Last time I seen my father alive I did not know it was the last time he never said no goodbye.

  He went on the ship the Arizona they bombed his ship I never seen him again. He couldnt breathe under the bombs.

  I am glad we bombed them they killed my only father.

  Audrey

  About the time Shazam started mumbling, she kicked my shin once too many with her heel and I let have it. I tightened my arms around her ribs and yelled at her from behind, “Shazam, cut it out! You gone ruined our game, you lay off, you hear?” I felt it my bounden duty to say something to that girl that made more trouble than anybody ever suspected. I felt Coach Rayfield was busy trying to tend to the worst parts of the trouble, it was up to somebody close by, and I was close by. I am not ordinarily a high-strung person, I am a patient person. Anyone would tell you I am patient.

  And I helped her with arithmetic all that time. All that whole time.

  My heart was sick inside me.

  And then something squishy hit me on the back and I didn’t even care what it was. Our day was ruint. Our year was ruint.

  Was our lifes ruint? I did not know. It looked like they might be.

  Brita Marie

  While we were struggling to hold onto Shazam, Coach Rayfield came over, and he tried to put his hands on her shoulders but he could only keep a grip of part of her left one, she was thrashing so, and he looked her in the face and said, “Shazam, I am so ashamed.”

  I can tell you I would never want to show my face again if he said that to me in such a tone of voice, I would be disgraced. But Shazam kept on like he wasn’t even there.

  And then Dotty Rayfield came and put her hand on her father’s arm and said, “Let me try?”

  Coach turned away looking real bitter.

  Dotty Rayfield looked at Shazam in the face and she said quite calm to Audrey and Lola and me we could let go now.

  We did so, but I confess I didn’t really want to let go. Shazam stopped her wild thrashing and went with Dotty.

  Audrey

  Coach Rayfield he roamed amongst everybody. He went to the injured first baseman’s father, shaking his head and saying something to him, then he done the same to the Ridge assistant coach, and then he went to the Superintendent of Schools, then he went over to two teachers who was standing by the Gospel Church booth. He looked like he said the same thing every time. He walked heavy and sorry, you had to feel for him, such a wandering apologizing man.

  Wink

  Some 7th graders from the Consolidated tackled our boys and they fought back, Toby and the others, for heaven’s sake, Shazam wasn’t their fault. Even Kayo Riley which doesn’t fight hardly ever he had a bloody nose all over foul territory beyond third base. Some teachers was trying to get them to stop but they was not having success.

  And grownups argued all over the field, very agitated in a hubbub.

  Over in left field was a bunch of people being angry together. One of that crowd raised his voice up. “Girls don’t do that. Girls is supposed to be ladies —”

  And he got interrupted. “Could of put her eye out!”

  “— could have knocked her teeth out!”

  “— could of give her a brain concussion!”

  “Looked to me like her eye was put out.”

  “Hit the ground the way she hit, a brain concussion for sure —”

  “Coaches don’t know how to coach anymore —”

  “Gotta teach the children fair play —”

  “The adults. Adults ain’t fair. They set a bad example.”

  These chorus of grumblers went on and on and I got heavier and heavier in my stomach out there at second base. I looked around at the other girls gathered with me there and I could see nothing was making sense to them, either.

  “Our coaches do too know how to coach,” Ellen said, not loud.

  “Ours too. He coaches very good,” I said to her, also not loud.

  And then none of us said anything more, we just watched over there where bunches of people was storming around. And the ambulance gone away.

  Lorelei

  There were many adults arguing in continuation after the Community Council went inside to have their meeting. I merely listened from second base, where none of us had left yet.

  “These girls is always scalawags. But this is way beyond a scalawag. That number 7 is way far out of kilter.”

  “That sweet little Japanese gal, she’s a credit to her race, now she’s crippled for life.”

  “We don’t know that. She might be good as new.”

  “Fat chance. Her head’s probably bust.”

  One man said so loud, “That number 7 should get sent back wherever she come from. She don’t belong here.”

  And a lady in the same gathering of people said back to him, “Give that wild child to another town, and her not even learned her lesson? No, we had Community Service a long, long time. Let them give her Community Service. We don’t try, nobody wins. You understand that?”

  And some kept saying, “Her mother —” “She never —” “Remember her mother? That Floy?”

  And some in that crowd of people were calling attention to number 7’s lost soul, her not being a baptized Christian and too ignorant to know better.

  And then I was so startled to hear my father, who I didn’t notice was in that group till he spoke up. My father raised up his voice, loud and very clear for all around him to hear:

  “This is not a case of saving souls, it’s not a case of religion. In the churches there’s praying to God to help kill the enemy, isn’t there? And there’s praying to protect the munitions factories and praying for our bombs to find their targets, isn’t there? You can pray and sing, and you can preach and chant, and you can baptize till the end of time and we will still not make the world a better place till we stop all wars for all mankind.

  “Every town in America would have cheered this child in 1943. In 1944. In 1945. America has told her what to be and suddenly we are completely modern in 1949 and now we revile her.

  “Whose fault is this, I ask you. I say it is the fault of the United States of America and all countries that wage war through the march of history —”

  My mom could not wait any longer. She squeezed into the group and she got him to quieten down. My mother is proud of what my father did being a conscientious objector for his beliefs in peace, but she makes him calm down when he gets too upset with the warfulness of his fellow mankind.

  I am proud of my father’s beliefs too. I am embarrassed when he yells out like that, but this time I knew his thoughts rang a bell in my heart and I understood like I had not done before.

  Susannah stepped over and put her arm all the way around my shoulders. Daisy said very soft to the Barlow girls, Wink and Darlene, “That’s Lorelei’s father, he don’t believe in war.” They were all quiet and respectful to my father then. Or maybe they were quiet with embarrassment to have your own father talk out like that. I am used to that too. Or maybe they were quiet in respect of Aki being hurt so bad.

  Kate

  We were all standing around my base while the conniptions went on among the grownups. Amidst the shouting of one group of them, a woman said very shrill, “Just stop! Everybody stop it! Just everybody quiet down!” And they did. And she said, “We all agree it is a terrib
le thing she done and none of us would of done that. Everybody knows that. What are we gonna do is the question. What do we do now?”

  Every single voice was silent.

  The Community Council was having its meeting.

  Tootie

  I stood way off by myself and watched old Louella go home. My stomach swirled. I undid my shin guards.

  It was seeing old Louella pick up and leave that made me feel so bad. Seeing that old lady that had made it through 49 games including the one she was in. Not be able to see the 50th. Made me nearly go to pieces.

  But I did not go to pieces. Instead I prayed for Aki.

  I looked over there at her dad and brother with Mr. Porter and I wondered what would be right to say to them. I had just talked to God who is completely invisible and yet those 2 men and a boy were standing right on a ball field on earth and I merely held my equipment in my hands and didn’t say a word.

  When Susannah’s mother came out of the school and told me the Community Council wanted to see me, my knees got trembly, although I am not usually a trembly person. I took off my chest protector and carried it along with my mask and knee guards.

  Inside the school building it was cool and shady and quiet after the bright sun and the terrible happenings outside. I had never been in the Barlow School before, it smelled a trifle bit different, not exactly like ours, I could not exactly tell how. In the principal’s office all 5 other people on the Community Council were sitting on chairs in a sort of semi-circle and Susannah’s mother said who I was and she sat down in the empty chair and I had to stand amongst them holding my equipment. There were the 2 preachers and Piper’s mother and 2 other people I did not know.

  My throat went dry.

  “Tootie, you know we want to get to the bottom of this problem, don’t you?” said one of the women.

  I said yes and I nodded my head.

  “We’re wondering — Since you were in a position to know what happened in the last seconds before the incident — Did you notice anything unusual about — Oh, about the way the Barlow player approached the batter’s box, the way she held her bat, anything she might have said? Anything out of the ordinary?”