The Missing Baseball

by Mike Lupica

  Zach thought of something his mom liked to say: this was more fun than fun.

  Zach was playing center midfielder. It was the same position he played on his travel team in the fall. He loved being a center middie because he always found himself right in the middle of the action. Sometimes he’d even go from defense to offense on the same play.

  He was definitely in the middle of the action now, moving past midfield with the ball. His teammate Mateo was on his right. Zach had some open field in front of him. They both did. He began picking up speed, pushing the ball with his right foot, then his left.

  He felt like he was flying.

  In moments like this, his mom said he turned himself into a streak of light.

  He gave a quick fake to his left and moved past Lily, who was playing defense for the White team. Then Zach spotted Mateo in the corner of his eye. He knew by now that Mateo wasn’t really very good at soccer, or very fast. Though no one in the game was trying harder than he was.

  So Zach slowed down just enough to let Mateo catch up with him. They were closing in on the White team’s goalkeeper, Kari Stuart. Everyone knew she was the best goalie their age in town.

  The only defender between them was Alex Rather, one of Zach’s teammates in travel soccer. Zach and Alex had been playing soccer together since first grade. After all that time, Alex knew Zach’s moves inside and out. And he knew Zach loved making a good pass just as much as he loved scoring himself.

  So Alex moved just a little bit in Mateo’s direction, ready to cut off a pass. It was almost like he was daring Zach to take the shot himself.

  In the very next moment, Zach put on one more burst of speed. He angled to his left as if he were going to shoot the ball and try to win the game.

  But Zach wanted Mateo to score the game-winning goal.

  He could take the shot himself, but Zach knew how great it would be for the new kid to score instead. Maybe it would even help Mateo forget that some kids had accused him of taking Zach’s ball. Though they hadn’t thought that for very long.

  Zach made sure to keep his eyes on Kari the whole time. But that was just another fake. As soon as Mateo was wide open, Zach pushed the ball over to him with his right foot. Mateo didn’t hesitate or break stride. Kari was out of position because Zach’s fake had convinced her he was going to shoot. Mateo had so much wide-open net, he couldn’t miss. He kicked the ball and . . .

  GOAL!

  Blue team 5, White team 4.

  Everyone on the Blue team ran toward Mateo, cheering. But Mateo ran straight for Zach as soon as the ball was in the goal.

  “You didn’t have to pass me the ball,” he said. “You could have scored the goal yourself.”

  Zach shook his head. “Nope,” he said. “I had to pass it to you.”

  “Why?” Mateo asked.

  “For the best reason in the world,” Zach said. “It was the right play.”

  They jumped into each other and bumped chests.

  NINE

  At dinner on Thursday night, Zach and Zoe updated their parents on the Spirit Week scores. The Blue team had five points, and so did the White. All that was left was the baseball game on Friday afternoon.

  The winner of the game would win Spirit Week for the third grade this year.

  But the number one thing on Zach and Zoe’s mind was still the missing Will Hanley baseball.

  “I was positive we were going to find it in Mr. Parker’s shed,” Zach said.

  Zoe turned to her brother. “What if we don’t find it at all. How sad will you be?”

  “Very,” Zach said. “Not gonna lie. Think about it: what are the odds I’ll ever catch another home run ball hit by my favorite baseball player?”

  “But you’ll still have the memory of that ball ending up in the pocket of your glove,” his dad said. “No one can take that away from you.”

  “But I want both, Dad,” Zach said. “The ball and the memory. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense,” his dad said.

  “Just don’t ever forget how hard your sister looked for a ball that didn’t even belong to her,” their mom said.

  “Still looking,” Zoe reminded her mom. “I’m not giving up.”

  “That attitude kind of runs in this family,” Tess said.

  After they helped clear the table, Zach and Zoe decided to go for one of their evening walks. It was the time of day when Zach and Zoe did their best talking, and their best thinking. They were only allowed to walk to the corner and back, so their mom could watch them as she sat on the front porch. But it didn’t matter how far they went. Just walking together would stir up some of their best ideas.

  “That ball is still at school somewhere, I just know it,” Zoe said, as they started off down the block.

  “If it is, you’ll find it,” Zach assured her.

  Zoe gave him a gentle poke with her elbow. “And if I find it . . . I mean, when I find it . . . can I keep it? Sort of like a reward?”

  “Absolutely, totally, one hundred percent . . . no!” he said.

  They laughed.

  “But when I do find it, it’s going to feel like winning a trophy,” Zoe said.

  “One you’ll have earned,” Zach added.

  They bumped fists and turned for home. Halfway to their house, Zoe challenged Zach to race the rest of the way. It was like she was bringing Spirit Week home by adding one last competition to the day.

  They took off running, and in that moment, there were two streaks of light in the family.

  TEN

  The tie-breaking baseball game was scheduled for right after lunch on Friday. The game would decide the winning team for Spirit Week, and who would be treated to a pizza party.

  When they got to school that morning, Zach asked Ms. Moriarty if Mr. Parker, the custodian, was back from his nephew’s graduation yet. Zach was worried their team might not have its best chance to win without Mr. Parker coaching it.

  “Mr. Parker called Mr. Haggerty about an hour ago,” she said. Mr. Haggerty was the school principal. “He said he was about to get on the road, so he should be here before the game starts.”

  By the time they got down to the field, though, Mr. Parker still hadn’t shown up. Now Zach was really worried they’ve have no one to coach their team.

  Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.

  “Just in time!” Mr. Parker said to Zach.

  “I was starting to worry,” Zach said, sounding relieved. “Our team is going to need all the help it can get to win this game.”

  “I’m the one who needs help today,” Mr. Parker said. “Been one of those days where I can’t seem to keep anything straight.”

  “No way,” Zach said. “You’re the most organized person in the whole school.” He grinned. “Well, next to my sister.”

  “Not today,” he said, shaking his head. “But I did bring you something!” his voice sounded more cheerful now.

  He reached into his bag and pulled out a box with a brand-new baseball inside.

  “Like it? I thought it would be fun to have a new game ball.” Mr. Parker said.

  “Like it?” Zach said. “I love it.”

  Zach was so excited about the ball, he forgot to ask Mr. Parker why he didn’t feel as organized as he usually did.

  But he was about to find out.

  Zoe was, too.

  Zach played second base for the Blue team, and Zoe played second base for the White team. The game was scheduled to last six innings.

  By the fourth inning, the White team was ahead 8–7. Brian Koppelman and Katie Madden had switched off pitching for the Blue team during the first four innings. Mateo was scheduled to come in and pitch the last two. Lily Holmes and Sam Carns did the same for the White team, and Alex Rather took over as pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning.

  The scor
e remained 8–7 until the top of the sixth inning. The Blue team already had two outs when Zach came up to bat. Alex pitched him the ball and Zach hit it as hard and as far as he could over Lily’s head in left field. As soon as Zach saw Lily chasing after the ball, he knew it was going to be a home run. He went flying around second base, then third. His teammates cheered him on as he crossed home plate, tying the game.

  By the time the next Blue team member was up to bat, Lily still hadn’t retrieved the ball. It had not only gone past her, but rolled all the way down the hill behind the field.

  When she finally came back up the hill, she called out to the others. “We’re going to need a new game ball!” she shouted. “This one’s all covered in mud!” Lily made a face as she gripped the dirty ball between her fingers.

  Lily then tossed the muddy ball in to Zoe at second base. But instead of throwing it in to Mr. Parker, Zoe stared down at the ball in her hand.

  “Time-out!” Zoe called, and came running in from the field, even though the Blue team was still batting.

  “What’s going on?” Zach asked, as Zoe ran up to where he was standing by the Blue team’s dugout. “You want to give me my home run ball as a souvenir?”

  “Nope,” Zoe said. “I want to give you your Will Hanley ball.”

  “You sound pretty sure of yourself,” Zach said.

  “This time I am,” Zoe said.

  ELEVEN

  The next minute, Zoe ran over to Mr. Parker and asked if he’d mind opening the equipment shed.

  “Not at all. But we’ll have to use the spare key. Good thing Ms. Moriarty knew there was one under the mat. Otherwise you kids would be out of luck.”

  “What do you mean?” Zoe asked.

  “I lost my key to the shed. The one I always carry around on my keychain,” Mr. Parker said, jingling the keys on his belt. “I can’t imagine where it could have gone.”

  Zoe reached into her pocket.

  “You mean this key?” she asked, holding it up.

  He looked down at her, his eyes wide with surprise. “Where did you find that?”

  Zoe told him all about finding the key outside the window of their classroom.

  “I knew I must have lost it somewhere. I was rushing around so much the day I had to leave for my nephew’s graduation,” Mr. Parker said. “I just didn’t know where I’d lost it. It must have fallen off my chain without me noticing.”

  They liked to joke that they could usually hear Mr. Parker coming before they saw him because of all the keys on his chain. There were so many, Zoe could see how he could have easily dropped one without knowing it.

  “So, that’s why you weren’t feeling organized,” Zach said. “You didn’t have your key!”

  “That’s right,” Mr. Parker said. “I felt lost without it. But I was in such a rush to get on the road.”

  “But did you happen to find a brand-new signed Major League ball before you left?” Zoe asked.

  “I did pick up a ball right before I left,” he said. “But I didn’t see a Major League logo on it.”

  Zoe held up the ball Zach had just hit, the one covered in mud.

  “Because maybe it looked like this,” she said.

  She handed Mr. Parker his key. He turned it in the lock and opened the shed. One more time, Zoe emptied the bag of old balls onto the ground.

  The difference was, this time she knew what she was looking for. She quickly sat down on the grass outside the shed, and Zach sat next to her. Zoe knew they had to take more time going through the balls than the first time they tried.

  One by one, they cleaned the dirt off the balls from the bag.

  Not one was the Will Hanley ball.

  Finally, there were only two balls left. Zach turned one over, looking at it from all angles. Then he sadly shook his head.

  One ball left.

  It had dirt caked all over it. Zoe banged it slightly on the shed door to chip the dirt off. Then she rubbed it on the front of her T-shirt.

  That’s when she saw the “WH” peeking out from underneath the mud. When she turned the ball around in her hand, she spotted the “Major League Baseball” logo.

  She handed the ball to Zach.

  “Here’s your souvenir ball, big brother,” she said, as she puffed out her chest with pride.

  Behind them, they suddenly heard a huge cheer. Zach and Zoe turned and saw all their classmates crowding around them near the shed. They were happy Zach finally had his Will Hanley ball back. And in that moment, it was as if they weren’t the Blue team and the White team.

  Just one third-grade team And they were all in it together.

  But now it was time to finish the game and settle the championship of Spirit Week once and for all.

  TWELVE

  Everyone made their way back to the field.

  “Now that I think about it, it must have been Sundance who knocked the ball off the windowsill,” Ms. Moriarty said. “The wind blew the papers off my desk when I opened the window. I bent over to pick them up off the floor. He must have done it then. When I wasn’t looking.”

  “I didn’t know for sure how it fell out the window,” Zoe said. “But yesterday, when I saw Sundance push that ball of yarn off your desk, I was positive it was him.”

  “That’s why you said ‘thanks’ to Sundance,” Zach said. “For giving you another clue.”

  Zoe nodded. “When I saw the ball of yarn go over the side of the desk, I could just picture your ball going out the window. Made perfect sense.”

  “And the ball must have fallen in the mud because of the rain the day before,” said Zach.

  “That’s right!” Zoe exclaimed.

  “If I had put two and two together,” Ms. Moriarty said, “I might have figured out sooner where the missing baseball had gone.”

  “That’s okay, Ms. Moriarty,” Zoe said. “Then there wouldn’t have been a mystery to solve!”

  “And in case you couldn’t tell, Zoe loves a good mystery,” Zach said.

  “You know what I would love right now?” Ms. Moriarty said to Zoe. “Watching you find a way to win the game the way you just found your brother’s ball.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Zoe said.

  The White team had two outs in the bottom of the sixth and final inning. Zoe came up to bat with the bases loaded and the score still tied 8–8. Mateo was pitching for the Blue team.

  Zoe thought, If I can get a hit and win the game for my team, this will be an even more perfect day than it already is.

  Kari stood on third base, ready to run home. All Zoe had to do was hit the ball far enough for Kari to make the run and win the game. Mateo threw her a pitch right down the middle. Zoe hit the ball way over Mateo’s head, past Zach, and into centerfield. Zach ran after the ball, but it was too late. Kari was already nearing home plate.

  Zoe ran toward first base as she watched Kari sprint home for the winning run. The game was over, with a final score of White team 9; Blue team 8.

  Zoe’s teammates crowded around her at first base and even chanted her name. When they were finished, she saw Zach standing in front of her, a smile on his face as big as the whole field.

  He put up his left hand. Zoe put up her right. Then they spun and bumped hips and elbows, and finally gave each other high fives.

  “On to the next game,” Zach said.

  “Or the next mystery,” Zoe corrected.

  “How about both?” her brother said. It was a day when sports had made another memory for both of them.

  “Deal.”

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  r />   Mike Lupica, The Missing Baseball