Darkness Before Dawn Read Free Page B

they could have been in math class. Angel was thin, pale, and almost ghostlike, while Joyelle was round, brown, and solid. Angel was tall; Joyelle was short. But they fit together like coffee and cream. Both of them had started paying more attention to the high school boys playing on the next field than to their own game. They giggled as they watched Gerald miss a hit and Tyrone miss a catch. I just smiled as I watched the boys try to cover their mistakes with loud, macho grunts and roars.
    â€œI can play better than that,” Monty boasted as he walked to the fence.
    â€œGo for it, Monty!” I challenged. “I bet you can, too!”
    â€œWhy don’t you go on out there and show them!” Angel told him with a laugh.
    Joyelle laughed, too, as Monty sauntered over to the field. He picked up a bat and stepped in front of the next batter. “Play ball!” he yelled.
    The boys on the field, mostly juniors and seniors, cracked up as the seven-year-old spit in the dirt. “Throw him your fast ball, Gerald!” Leon yelled from the outfield. Leon could always get a laugh from kids as well as teachers. When the biology teacher brought in small minnows to feed the bass in the classroom tank, Leon grabbed a minnow and swallowed it whole. The girls squealed, the boys hooted, and the teacher chuckled and told Leon to stop now or eat all three dozen minnows. Leon laughed and said he’d had enough, but he pretended to breathe like a fish with gills for the rest of the class. He, too, had been with most of them since kindergarten, but somehow he had never been part of their close group of friends.
    Gerald wound up his pitch, and threw it with full force at the little boy who stood in front of him—knees bent, bat ready, determination in his eye. Monty watched the ball approach, waited for the right moment, then swung with so much power he almost twisted completely around. The ball connected with a resounding wallop and Monty took off around the bases on his short, sturdy legs. He rounded first base with ease. The older boys, who at first had been laughing, were now cheering him on as the outfieldfumbled to get the ball. Monty approached second base just as the ball was thrown, but Tyrone, the second base man, missed because he was laughing so hard, so Monty continued, full speed, to third. He passed third base seconds before the ball did, and he slid into home like the professionals he watched on TV.
    Both teams exploded in cheers for him, as well as the girls from the junior high softball teams. Even though the game wasn’t over, they put Monty up on their shoulders and marched him all the way back to the food area, where they all got hamburgers and soda.
    Leon grabbed a burger from Mr. Hathaway’s grill and fixed it with onions, potato chips, and baked beans stuffed under the bun, which Monty gobbled with glee. Leon then took a watermelon and cracked it open by bringing it down with full force on the corner of the picnic table with a loud sploosh. “I’ve always wanted to do that!” he said with satisfaction.
    â€œTastes better when it’s ragged!” Monty agreed, grabbing a handful of watermelon with his bare, dirty hands. Leon joined him and the two of them gobbled the sweet, red, juicy hunks of watermelon, gleefully ignoring the disgusted looks they got from some of the girls.
    I got a small plate of potato salad and corn chips and sat across from them. I just shook my head at Leon and Monty.
    â€œWant some, Keisha?” Monty asked with a grin. “Not a chance!” I told him.
    â€œYou don’t know what a good thing you’re missing!”Leon said, smiling shyly. He hardly ever spoke to me at school.
    I looked directly at him, which made him glance away and pretend to swat insects from the watermelon. “Something about dirty hands and watermelon juice just doesn’t turn me on,” I said, smiling back. Leon just laughed and dug out another