“Aright Kelvin, let’s start all over again,” The school counsellor began as she went behind the desk to her seat.
Kelvin looked at her, not knowing what to say.
“I should start again?” He asked
“Yes, again.” Came the reply. They had just returned from the headmaster’s office where Kelvin had narrated part of his story.
Kelvin gulped and adjusted himself in the big chair. “Okay.” The counsellor brought out a pad and a pen.
“Let’s hear it, Kelvin.” She prodded.
“Aright. I woke up that morning to realise we have been colonised. No, not colonised.”
“Invaded.”
“Yes, invaded. There were aliens every where. They had locked down the sheriff’s office and were turning everyone to ice.”
“Everyone but you?” came the inquiringly question.
“Yes. Actually they wanted to ice me but I said no. I told them to pick on someone their own size. They tried to bully me but I didn’t give in. I knew the marines were coming. I told them that too. That was when they said they were better than us in everything. I said ‘No way! We’re are the best in baseball.’ So they said they were going to test us. The big one said if we won, they would leave us alone and return to their planet.”
“Us? I thought you said you were the only one?”
“Uhm.. yes. I was the only one at first. But I later realised that they had Coach Josh, Daniel, Musa, Jameson, Ali…”
“Your entire baseball team, right?” She cut in to save time.
“Yes, everyone of us. Jameson was scared, you know. The aliens threatened to eat us if we lost. But I wasn’t. I stood up to them.”
“Hmm,” the school counsellor looked hard at Kelvin and wondered if she should continue with his story. It seemed like the normal everyday children fantasy. Except everyday children didn’t come late to school everyday and demand to star in every game because the President said they could do so.
“Aright, continue. What happened next?”
“I told you. Coach Josh decided that we were going to play against them but I won’t be among the team. The same thing he’s doing now. I protested. He always treat me that way, you know. He says I swing the bat too fast and my legs are too small. He never sees anything good in me. In fact, last term…”
“Kelvin, could you continue with the er… story?”
“Oh! Sorry ma. So the game began with everyone watching. I was…”
“Everyone?”
“Yes. Everyone was there. Even President Trump was there. They called it earth’s greatest game. We were just a local school team and we were the planet’s last hope. Mother, father, even sweet Clara was there.”
“The story, Kelvin. I want to hear the story.”
“Yes, the story. So the game began after we sang the national anthem and the aliens sang theirs. They tried to make us sing their anthem with them but we refused. After that, the game began. Coach stared Daniel as the batter. He was out almost as soon as the game began. Then it was our turn. I watched as Coach used Daniel and Jameson, the two worst guys on the team. I told Ali… You know Ali right? My best friend. I told Ali that we were going to be in big trouble. Already, I was planning my escape route.”
“Where were you going to escape to?”
“Gotham city!” came the excited reply. “Batman would be there. He would know what to do.”
“Aright, continue the story.”
“By the eight innings, it was a draw. And that was because Ali did a homerun in the eight innings. But that was when he sprained his leg too. The aliens noticed he was the best player on the field so they pulled a nasty one on him. Unfortunately the referee was alien too so they got away with it. Everyone messed up during the ninth innings. I even thought we were going to lose. That was when Coach Josh came to me and asked me to join the others on the field.”
“Let me get this straight. You were called in after the ninth innings?” She asked as she scribbled messiah complex on her pad.
“Yes! After the last innings. The aliens had changed players too. They brought in this huge guy with long arms and an ugly face. They said he was the best. But I held my bat in my hands and refused to be scared. I told Ali, ‘I’m not scared of him. I am going to make our country proud.’”
“And that was when you did an homerun?”
“Yes! In fact, no one could believe it. The aliens were so disappointed they started to cry. But not me. I was happy. The aliens walked into their space shuttles and left the earth for good. As they left, the ice on everyone began to melt.”
“But you said everyone was in the stadium, how come the…”
“No! It was just the president, our headmaster, my fellow pupils and the people from my mother’s church. Everyone else was iced.”
“Hmm”
“So the president came to me and told me he was proud of me. He said for my efforts, I didn’t have to come early to school any more. He also said I was going to start at every game.”
“The president said that?” The counsellor asked.
“Yes, he did. Ali was there. Only that Ali doesn’t remember.”
“But you do. Why is that?”
“I don’t know”
“Aright. I’m going to tell you. None of all that happened. There was no alien invasion and the President didn’t visit our county. It was all a dream. None of it happened!”
“A dream? But Doctor Harry said…”
“Kelvin,” she rose from behind her desk and walked towards him. “I know how you feel. But it didn’t happen. If you want to start in every game, you’ll have to show some seriousness and dedication; and coming late to school isn't a good way to show any of those.”
Kelvin bowed his head as he struggled to hold the tears welling in his eyes. “Aright kelvin, come along now. Let’s go play baseball.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m willing to speak with your coach and see what I can do. But first, you have to promise me that you’ll take school more seriously. You want to make your country proud, don’t you?”
“Of course ma.”
This is my entry for the 24 hour short story contest by @mctiller
I know nothing about Baseball. Even more, the prompt was kinda though to work with. So for the last few hours, I’ve been reading on Baseball, writing and deleting drafts. One of my deleted drafts was almost 600 words long. Well, I settled for this. I hope you enjoyed reading it. There’s still a few hours so if you’re interested, feel free to join the party.
Blessings
[Image source: I edited a free to use image from max Pixel]