SATURDAY
Mr. Springer woke Roger up early the next morning and told him that he was to mow the lawn right after breakfast. Roger hated the smell of cut grass, but was in no position to argue. When he was done with that, he had to clean out the garage. That took him until lunch and then it was back to the books. Around four O'clock his father came up to his room with the razor strop in his hand. Seeing it, Roger panicked.
"No, Dad, please!" he said, "I did everything you wanted! Please don't spank me again."
"No, I'm not planning to spank you again, Roger," Mr. Springer said. "I'm pleased with your work today. I kept this just in case I needed it again this weekend, but now I don't think I will. I want you to return it to Mr. Shaw."
"Please, Dad, can't you take it back yourself?" Roger asked. It seemed an awfully embarrassing thing to have to do. Mr. Springer's eyes hardened.
"Roger, when I tell you to do something, I don't want a debate. If you aren't ready to take this back to Mr. Shaw, it must mean you're ready for me to use it on you again. Is that it?"
"No, Dad, please don't. I'll take it back!"
"Wise decision. Make sure you thank Mr. Shaw for loaning it to us and then come right back."
Roger didn't really appreciate the irony of having to thank Mr. Shaw, but figured he'd better do it. His dad gave him the address and he started to walk over there. He his the strop under his shirt just in case anybody he knew saw him and asked what it was about. Following his father's instructions, he covered the distance and made it to the Shaw house. Roger noted the number on the mailbox and walked up to the door. With some hesitation, he rang the doorbell. He heard footsteps and then the door opened. He saw a boy his own age standing in front of him. Now that he saw him, he recognized Mike as one of the newer kids in school.
"Hi, I'm Roger Springer" he said awkwardly.
"I'm Mike Shaw" the other boy replied just as awkwardly.
"I'm supposed to return this to your father" Roger continued, holding out the dreaded razor strop.
"My folks aren't home" Mike announced as he gingerly took the thing and tossed it on a small table. There was an uncomfortably long pause. Roger had been told to return the strop to Mr. Shaw himself, and didn't want to get into further trouble.
"Look, do you want to come in?" Mike asked him to break the silence.
"Um, sure" Roger said. He was glad not to be standing in the doorway like a dummy. He stepped inside and Mike closed the door behind him.
"Do you want a soda or something?" Mike asked his guest as he went to the kitchen.
"I guess a Root Beer if you have it. Or else a Coke, please" Roger responded.
"We have Root Beer" Mike said as he took two cans out of the fridge. "It's my favorite." He handed Roger one of the sodas and gave him a shy grin.
"Mine too" Roger answered returning the smile with one of his own.
"You want to go up to my room?" Mike invited as he popped open the soda.
"O. K." Roger said as he turned to follow the other boy. They made their way up the stairs to Mike's room and went inside. As Mike closed the door, Roger noticed a large poster of Ken Griffey, Jr. on the back of it.
"You like baseball?" he asked pointing at the poster.
"Yea, the White Sox are actually my favorite team, but I have the Griffey poster up because I think he's so cool."
Finding a common interest, Roger began to relax. "I like the Marlins myself, but I think Griffey's cool, too."
The two boys spent the next few minutes discussing the current fortunes of their favorite teams and sharing opinions of different players. After a while, Roger told Mike that he played Little League.
"Yea, I know" Mike replied. Roger blushed when he realized the source of Mike's knowledge, but he made no comment.
"I used to play Little League back in Chicago, but I didn't sign up this year because I knew that we had to move soon" Mike said to keep the conversation going.
"Oh? What position did you play?" Roger asked, grateful for the other boy's tact.
"Third Base." Mike answered "I really liked it, too."
"You know Mike, our third baseman is kind of lousy. I'm sure if you wanted to, you could join our team. The coach wouldn't start you right away, but if you're any good at all, you'd get some playing time."
"I don't know, Roger." Mike said wistfully "I don't even have a glove or cleats right now, and there's no way my Dad will buy me some at the moment. I'd like to do it, but I don't see how."
"This is not a problem, Mike. First of all, I've got a spare glove. And stick out your foot."
Mike did so and Roger put out his foot and compared sizes.
"Your foot looks just a bit smaller than mine. I've got a pair of cleats that I just grew out of, but they should fit you. And I know the coach has spare uniforms, so you'd be set!" Roger was getting excited about this now. He'd wanted to do something to make up for stealing the other boy's bike, and this looked like it might be it.
Mike was also getting excited. It seemed as if he might be finally making a friend, and if he got into Little League, he'd make more. He knew there was no way his Dad could afford to buy him new equipment this year, but if Roger loaned it to him, he'd be straight.
"You think your coach will really let me on the team half way through the season?" Mike asked
"Sure! Coach Browning is a nice guy and doesn't take things too seriously. He just wants everyone to have fun; he wont care if you start late."
"Well, great! I'd love to try and join. What should I do?"
"I'll bring my extra glove and cleats to school tomorrow and you can make sure they fit. Then we go to practice a few minutes early and talk to Coach."
"I have to do my homework after class, though. Will there be enough time?"
"Oh. I guess I do to" said Roger suddenly remembering. He blushed again. "Well, if we do some during lunch and between periods, we should be able to get it done."
"Yea, I guess we can. That'll be fine then."
"Look. Mike, it's been fun, but I have to leave. My Dad told me to come straight home" Roger said as he stood up.
"All right, I'll walk you out"
The boys went back downstairs and Roger opened the front door. Mike grabbed his arm as he went to leave.
"Roger, um, thanks for asking me to join your team. I haven't had anybody to hang out with since we moved."
Roger blushed and looked at the ground. "It's the least I could do, Mike. I mean, I did kind of pinch your bike and all...." he said as his voice trailed off. There was another long pause.
"Well, thanks anyway. I'll see you tomorrow." Mike said.
"Yea, tomorrow" Roger said as he turned and walked down to the sidewalk.
Roger looked at his watch and realized that it had been more than an hour since he had left home. And his dad had told him to come right back! He sprinted the five blocks and was out of breath when he reached his house. No sooner was he in the door when his father stopped him.
"I told you to come right home, young man! Where have you been for the past hour?" Mr. Springer demanded.
"You told me to give the strap back to Mr. Shaw, but he wasn't there" Roger said in his defense. "I waited with Mike to see if he came back, but when he didn't, I figured I should just leave it and come home."
Mr. Springer glared at his son, who cast his eyes downward and hoped that this was a reasonable excuse. After a long moment, his dad spoke again.
"Well you should have called. Now get back up to your room. I still need to see two history assignments and one book report from you."
Roger released the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and dashed up the steps to his room. Mr. Springer went back to his study and reflected on how quickly his son had jumped to his command. That was a marked improvement.
MONDAY
Roger got to school half an hour early. He had a speech to give to his teachers, and he would just as soon give it before other students got there. He went and found Mr. Ryan and gave him his overdue homework.
"Mr. Ryan, I'm sorry I've been a problem in class" he recited. "My dad wanted you to know that he spanked me for it. Here's all the assignments I missed."
Mr. Ryan was kind enough to take the papers and not give Roger too much of a lecture. Then Roger hurried to his next teacher to repeat the process. By the time he was done, other students were beginning to arrive, but Roger was glad none of them had overheard him. He went to his locker to get out his first period textbooks.
"Hey, Roger!" he heard somebody shout and he turned and saw Mike striding towards him.
"Oh, hi Mike" he said as the other boy reached him. "Here's the glove and cleats. Why don't you try them on to make sure they fit?"
Mike took the equipment and kicked off his shoes. The glove was no problem of course, and the cleats fit just right.
"Great!" Roger said. "You're all set, then." The boys compared their schedules and realized that they had two classes together, but first period was not one of them, so they split up and went their separate ways.
At lunch time they met up and went to an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria. They wolfed down their food and then broke out their books. Before too long, a lanky redheaded boy came and sat next to Roger.
"Springer! Where have you been? You weren't there on Saturday and we got our butts kicked" the boy said.
"Hello, Ace" Roger said to him. "This is Mike Shaw. Mike this is Charles O'Malley, but the few of us who pretend to like him call him Ace." Mike shook hands with the boy.
"So what's the deal with the books, Springer?" Ace asked him with a wave of his hand.
"I'm behind on my homework, you dope. My dad grounded me for the weekend over it and so I have to have it done before I practice this afternoon."
"Oh" Ace said flatly. He turned towards Mike. "You behind too?"
"No, and I don't want to be, either." Mike firmly replied.
"Mike's with me" Roger cut in. "He plays third base. I'm taking him along to practice to see if Coach will let him on the team. Mike, Ace here wants to be a pitcher, but he sucks at it, so Coach makes him play Right Field instead."
The other boy flushed at that comment, but Roger didn't honestly care. Ace could be rude to people and Roger didn't want him to bother his new friend. After a few moments of silence, Ace spoke again.
"Anyway, I'll see you guys at practice then. Nice meeting you Mike. I hope you're good, because we could use the help." With that he stood up and moved on.
"Don't worry about Ace" Roger said to Mike. "He's annoying, but after a while, you'll get to like him." Mike just nodded as both boys went back to their books. He was very glad he had met Roger, even under the circumstances, because otherwise it would have taken forever to make friends in this school.
Lunch ended and the boys went to their respective classes. After class, they met at the library. Mrs. Johnston gave Roger a funny look, but he sat down next to Mike and she left them alone. Having done more than half of their work during lunch, it only took them 20 minutes to finish. They scurried down the hallway and threw their books in their lockers. Roger followed Mike to the bike racks as the other boy unlocked his bike.
"I really need to get my bike fixed" Roger said in frustration. "I'll just trot alongside you."
"No need for that, Roger. Just hop on the seat and I'll tow you." Roger gave the bike and boy a doubtful look.
"Don't worry. It's not pretty, but it'll get us there."
With some misgivings, Roger climbed on the seat behind Mike. The other boy stood up on the pedals and kicked the bike into motion. Soon they were cruising down the street. Roger had his hands on Mike's waist for balance; he wasn't used to being towed. They reached to field intact and Roger led Mike over to Coach Browning.
"Roger, good to see you back," Coach Browning said as the two boys approached him, "We could have used you on Saturday."
"I know Coach, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, I've already forgotten about it. Taking care of things at home is more important. But I don't guess you'll be wanting to slide into any bases this week."
Roger flushed as he realized what the Coach meant. He didn't think it funny, but didn't want to be a poor sport either, so he gave the man a small grin.
"Coach, this is Mike Shaw," he said as he waved his hand towards his friend. He just moved into town. He used to play third base back in Chicago and I told him that you might be able to let him on the team."
The man looked Mike up and down and then nodded.
"All right. I can see you've got all the gear you need. I'll find a uniform in your size before next Saturday's game. You two get changed for practice, then. Great to have you on the team, Mike" He walked away making notes on his clipboard.
"Wow, that was easy," Mike said.
"Yea, Coach is casual about things like that. Told you so! Anyway, let's get changed."
They went into the locker room and switched from their school clothes to a casual set. Mike couldn't help but notice the red welts on Roger's legs as he striped down to his underwear.
"Wow, your Dad sure did a number on you," he remarked.
Roger wasn't very pleased with his friend for bringing it up, but ignoring him made him feel more uncomfortable than responding.
"Yea, I guess he did," Roger said. After a short pause he added, "Your Dad do you like that?"
"Well, not recently, but I've been keeping out of trouble lately. I mean, other than....you know. A couple of years ago I used to get it bad a lot."
"Look, Mike, I don't think I said it, but, um, I'm sorry I stole your bike and I'm sorry you got spanked for it, O. K.?"
Now it was Mike's turn to feel uncomfortable.
"It's cool Roger," he said, "Don't worry about it anymore."
Having the air cleared on this subject caused both boys to relax. They went out of the field to practice. It didn't take Roger to realize that his friend was not exaggerating his skills; Mike had lightning fast reflexes and was a good sprinter. If he had a weak point, it was throwing the ball, but that could be worked on. The other boys arrived in small groups and the coach gave them all a good workout. Roger introduced Mike to everyone, and he was careful not to leave to other boy alone among strangers too long. When practice ended, Mike was quite comfortable with the group. He offered Roger a tow home and this time the other boy accepted without hesitation.
The ride only took a few minutes and then they were in front of the Springer's garage.
"Look, Roger, if the only thing wrong with your bike is a flat, I can help you fix it," Mike offered.
"Really? That'd be great. I guess I should have learned how to do it myself, but it just seemed easier taking it to the repair shop."
"I have a repair kit at home. If you don't mind getting up a bit early, I'll come over tomorrow morning before school."
"All right, see you then," Roger said as he turned to go inside. As he got inside and closed the door, his first instinct was to plunk himself down in front of the TV, but his father had other plans. He presented him with a list of chores he wanted done and told him that they must be done before supper. Roger suppressed a groan and got to work.
TUSEDAY
The next morning, Roger was at the breakfast table when Mike came to the door. Roger was not an early riser, more often than not, his parents had to drag him out of bed, but he had made a point to be up on time. He was hoping to score some much needed points with his Dad and this seemed like a good way.
Mike declined Mrs. Springer's offer of breakfast and Roger joined him outside, munching on a piece of toast. Mike told him what tools he needed and Roger provided them from his Dad's tool set after (at Mike's suggestion) asking permission. In no time, Mike had the rear wheel off and removed the inner tube. He showed Roger how to look for a leak and then patched it. Roger has a bit surprised at how easy it was. In no time at all his bike was fixed and ready to go.
"Thanks a lot Mike," he said with a cheerful grin as he tried it out, "This makes my life easier."
"No problem," Mike replied. He was pleased to be of service to his friend. It kind of amazed him that a boy wouldn't know how to fix a flat on his own bike, but made no comment. He was also impressed by Mr. Springer's collection of tools and told Roger so.
"He doesn't use them very much," Roger told him, "But he likes to have every tool known to man just in case he needs something."
"Boy, I could fix up my bike good with all this stuff," Mike observed.
"Well, if you want, you can come by Thursday afternoon. We don't have practice that day and I'm sure my Dad won't mind."
The two boys peddled off the school and just managed to beat the bell. During the week they became even closer. Mike was happy to have any friend at all and even though Roger's rather undisciplined attitude surprised him sometimes, he found he liked the golden haired boy very much. Roger in turn was used to superficial friendships; he'd never met someone as sincere as Mike and found himself sharing things he'd never said to anybody. They spent Thursday afternoon working on Mike's bike. Roger loaned him a few bucks to buy some spray paint, and so when they were done it looked as good as new. Saturday there was a baseball game scheduled and even thought Mike wasn't starting yet, he was sure to get plenty of playing time.
SATURDAY
The day was perfect for baseball. The sun was out, but there was still enough cool air in the Florida spring that it wasn't too hot. Both the Springers and the Shaws were there to watch their sons play. It was sure to be a good game; the team they were playing, the Orange Crush, were one of their main rivals. Roger started at center field and played well through the scoreless first three innings and then Mike came in to relieve the third baseman. It wasn't until the sixth inning that there was a score; Roger drove both Ace and Mike home when he hit a double. After that the game started to turn nasty. The Orange Crush had a reputation for playing a very physical game and it started to show. Twice their pitcher nailed batters with the ball and a runner spiked the second baseman while sliding into the base. But the score held and they reached the bottom of the ninth inning with their opponents trying desperately to score. They got a man on first and second, but they had two outs. When the batter a grounder towards the left field, Mike easily scooped it up and threw it to the second baseman to end the game. However, the runner at second was not happy about the way the game had turned out. He continued charging toward third, and in clear view of everybody, deliberately ran Mike down.
There was a roar of disapproval from the stands and the rest of the team and Coach Browning ran toward where Mike was laying on the ground, writhing in pain. He was trying very hard not to cry, but it was an uphill struggle. Coach made sure there was nothing broken and then helped him up. The other team left the field; not surprisingly there was no shaking of hands at the end of this game. The umpire made a point to warn the other coach about his teams' conduct, but that was all. Roger and Mike joined their parents who congratulated them on a game well played. After that, the whole team went to Pizza Hut for an after game meal.
Over pizza, Roger's mind began to brew. He was not the sort of boy to let things slide. The other team's play had pissed him off, and that big lout running down Mike had been the final straw. He wanted revenge and wouldn't be happy until he got it. He asked Mike to come over to his house tomorrow morning and the other boy agreed.