Sliding into Home by Dori Hillestad Butler

Author:Dori Hillestad Butler [Butler, Dori Hillestad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4804-6708-8
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Published: 2003-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Joelle got to school early the next morning to put up her fliers. She posted one in the cafeteria, one on the library door, and another on the bulletin board outside the guidance counselor’s office. A small group of kids gathered around as she was taping a flier on the gym door.

“What does it say?” A girl in the back strained to see over the taller kids.

One of the boys in front read aloud, “Join the Eastern Iowa Girls’ Baseball League.” His voice cracked on the word “league.”

“A baseball league just for girls?” a boy with a buzz cut snorted. “What is this, a joke?”

“No,” Joelle said, holding tight to her stack of fliers. “The Hoover baseball team is just for boys.”

As she finished her sentence, she spotted Coach Carlyle coming out of the boys’ locker room.

Great, Joelle thought. I suppose he’ll tell me there’s some rule against putting up fliers at school, too.

But he hardly even glanced at the flier on the wall. Or at her. “Come on, people,” he said, ushering everyone down the hall. “Move along. You’re blocking traffic.”

Joelle quickly moved along with everyone else, relieved that she didn’t have to take down her fliers.

When she got to the girls’ gym, she found Ms. Fenner doing paperwork in her office.

Ms. Fenner looked up when Joelle knocked. “Hey, Joelle.” The coach rolled up the sleeves of her purple warm-up jacket. “What can I do for you?”

“I have something I want you to see.” Joelle handed Ms. Fenner a flier.

The coach glanced at it briefly. “Yes, I saw one when I was up in the office.” She shook her head. “I have to tell you, Joelle, I really admire your determination. It’s no small undertaking, trying to start a whole new league.”

“Thanks.” Joelle felt herself blush. “I know you’re really busy with softball and everything right now. But I was wondering whether you’d be interested in helping out with our league. If we get it going, I mean.”

Ms. Fenner leaned back in her chair. “Help out how?”

“Well, any way you want. We’re looking for coaches, sponsors, players, a place to play—you name it, we need it!”

“Yes, I’m sure you will,” Ms. Fenner said, chuckling. She picked up a pen and tapped it against her desk. “I’d really like to help you, Joelle, but as you pointed out, I am pretty busy with softball at the moment. Right now the team is my top priority.”

Joelle’s shoulders slumped. She wasn’t really surprised. But still … “What about when the season’s over?” Joelle asked quickly. “Would you have time to help out then?”

“Maybe,” Ms. Fenner replied. “But I’m not sure you’re going to need a league this summer. The rec center has a summer program. And I know they let girls play baseball.”

“Yeah, but they put all the girls on separate teams. What I want to do is start a whole league just for girls.”

Ms. Fenner looked sympathetic. “That’s a nice idea, Joelle. But do you think you’ll be able to find enough girls to fill an entire league?”

“We might,” Joelle said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.