Driven to Distraction

It was the summer before eighth grade, and Kelsi and I had spent nearly every day together. We spent the long, sunny days swimming in her pool, and lounging in her front yard, getting tan. Our nights were spent watching our favorite movies and eating endless amounts of junk food. And somehow between those two, we’d managed to paint the door of her garage, earning fifty bucks each from her parents. Fifty bucks felt like a hundred to us.

We’d just left the local ice cream parlor when we heard yelling and shouting coming from a nearby park. As we looked over, we realized a few kids from our school were playing baseball.

“Wanna watch?” she asked.

I shrugged, licking my ice cream cone. “Sure.”

We crossed the street and took a seat on one of the bleachers. To both of our surprises, there were quite a few kids watching the game. As I looked out onto the field, I noticed that there were nothing but boys playing, and one boy, in particular, stood out to me.

He was up for batting, and even with his back turned towards me, I could make out who he was. He wore grass stained jeans, and a shirt that had to be the ugliest shade of green that I had ever seen. A black helmet protected his head, and he held the bat up, in position for hitting the ball. When the pitcher threw the ball, he hit it, sending the white object flying high in the air. He took off running, and I had to admit, he was pretty fast, reaching third base before the ball was thrown back.

“Is that John?” Kelsi asked, looking at me.

I nodded my head. “That’s him, alright.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I really don’t understand why you two hate each other so much.”

I gave a dry laugh. “There are plenty of reasons; starting with the fact that he is the biggest jerk in the world.”

“He’s nice to me …” I narrowed my eyes at her and she held her hands up, as if she were surrendering. “I’m just saying.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s an asshole, Kels. You just haven’t realized it yet.”

“Maybe,” she sighed.

After watching a few more “innings”, we finished our cones and stood up, ready to head back home.

“Anybody want to play?!” a short, chubby boy yelled, looking towards the bleachers.

Kelsi looked at me. “You like baseball.”

“I like watching baseball,” I countered.

She laughed. “But you’re good at sports, K. Go play.”

I debated the idea for a moment. “But … there’s only boys playing.”

She shrugged. “Big deal. Go show them that girls can play, too.”

I arched my brows at her. “Why don’t you play?”

“Because I just did my nails. See,” she said, holding her hands up to my face.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I see. I guess I could try …”

“I’ll be your personal cheerleader,” she winked before we began making our way towards the field.

The chubby boy’s eyes widened as he saw me approaching him. “You want to play?” he condescendingly asked.

I placed my hands on my hips, staring at him. “I do. Give me the bat.”

He laughed before placing the bat in my hands. “Good luck.”

I stepped up to the plate, and kicked my shoes into the dirt, making a nice spot for me.

“Oh, God, you can’t be serious! Morrison, get off the damn field!”

My head instantly snapped up at his voice. “This is a public park, O’Callaghan.”

“Yeah, but this game isn’t. Sorry,” he said, giving me a fake smile.

I rolled my eyes. “Will you just throw the damn ball!?”

He smirked. “Alright.” He turned around, looking at the other players. “Bring it in, boys!”

“What are you doing?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“You’re not gonna get that ball anywhere, Ketely. I’m saving you from embarrassment.”

I clenched my jaw. “And what makes you think I can’t hit that ball far, John?”

“Because you’re a girl,” he laughed.

I let my arms fall to my side. “And what does that mean?”

“Girls can’t play ball,” he stated.

I dropped the bat to my feet, infuriated at this point. “What did you just say?”

“Girls – can’t – play – ball,” he said, enunciating each word slowly.

“That’s fucking it!” I growled before taking off full speed towards him.

His eyes widened as he realized I was coming for him, but it didn’t stop me. I tackled him to the ground, and we began rolling around in the dirt, hitting each other. I could see other kids forming a large circle around us, but that didn’t stop me either.

“Ketely! Ketely, stop!” Kelsi yelled, running towards us.

I landed on top of John, and punched him square in the jaw, my ring cutting his bottom lip open. “Why can’t you ever just keep your damn mouth closed!?” I yelled before somebody pulled me off of him.

He spat on the ground before glaring up at me. “Why can’t you ever just act like a fucking girl!?”

I groaned in frustration, ready to go for him again, but Kelsi pulled me back.

“You should be embarrassed, O’Callaghan! You just got the shit beat out of you by a girl!” she yelled.

“Somebody should teach you two how to act like ladies!”

And that was all it took for Kelsi to run towards him, swinging her fists at his face. I couldn’t help myself, and I jumped in, trying to help her. It wasn’t long before I felt someone climb on top me, joining in on the fight.

What started as a fight between John and I, turned into a full out brawl, involving nearly every kid at the park. It wasn’t until we heard a few adults yelling at us, that we all broke apart, running in different directions.

Kelsi and I ran full speed back to her house, not stopping to catch our breaths until we were at her front door.

“What just happened?” she asked, once we had finally slowed our breathing.

I laughed, shaking my head. “I honestly don’t know, but your hair is so messed up.”

She smacked her lips. “Like you’re one to talk.”

I glanced at my reflection in the window and laughed even harder. There was dirt all over my jean shorts and tee shirt, and my hair was sticking up in every which way. “We both need a shower.”

She nodded her head. “I agree.” She placed her hand on the doorknob, ready to go inside.

“Hey, Kels?”

She turned around. “What’s up?”

“Thank you … for having my back,” I smiled softly.

She smiled and nodded her head. “We’re best friends; it’s in my job description.”

Kelsi never stopped being there for me.