This choice: The game's going, but Jordan looks pumped...to play against pros! • Go Back...Chapter #3The game's going, but Jordan looks pumped..... by: Solan   Of course something was off! Why on Earth was he waking up at six A.M. on a Sunday?!? In his excitement over Jordan's game yesterday morning he must've forgotten to switch off the alarm for today.
With a sigh of exasperation Lucas closed his eyes again and drew his blankets more tightly around him. He'd get in a few more hours sleep before getting up.
Or that was what he intended to do anyway, but before he could drop off someone banged hard on his door. "Come on, bro, rise and shine!" Jordan's voice sang out.
What the heck?!? He wouldn't expect his brother to be in a good mood today, much less up for playing practical jokes. For that matter, why was he even up at all? He enjoyed sleeping in on Sundays as much as Lucas did!
"Go away!" he shouted irritably.
"No can do, Lucas. Mom made us both a big breakfast and if you don't get down here soon you won't have time to eat it. She says we gotta leave by 6:30 at the latest for the game."
Game? Did he mean another baseball game? But the season was over!
"What are you talking about?"
Jordan opened his door and stepped across the threshold, his facial expression conveying both excitement and impatience. He was wearing his Little League uniform, but all the grass stains and dirt smudges it had picked up from the game yesterday were gone. Huh. Mom must have washed it last night, but why was Jordan wearing it now?
"If we don't get there soon we won't get a parking space anywhere near the field and I'm not going to walk to it today! I need to be in top shape for this game!"
"Jordan, you already played the championship game yesterday, remember? You lost."
"No, we didn't!" Jordan insisted, looking at Lucas as if his older brother had suddenly grown an extra head. "We won the championship last week. This is our reward, the game against the New York Yankees!"
WHAT?!?!
Now fully awake the teenager sat bolt upright in bed, staring at his younger sibling.
"Jordan, stop kidding around," he ordered uneasily.
"I'm not! This is what we've been working toward all season, ever since they announced it. Now come on!"
Jordan turned and disappeared from the doorway and a few seconds later Lucas heard his brother thundering down the stairs.
Now seriously worried about his brother's sanity Lucas threw on some clothes and headed for Mom's room. If Jordan really was cracking up over the loss yesterday, she'd know what to do. Except she wasn't sleeping in her bed.
More and more confused Lucas headed down stairs, only to find Jordan eagerly digging in to a plate heaped high with eggs, sausage and bacon, while Mom sat at the table finishing up the newspaper.
"There you are! Hurry up and eat, Lucas. We have to leave in ten minutes."
"To go where?" Lucas asked in utter bewilderment.
"To your brother's game, of course!" Mom responded, looking genuinely shocked.
Feeling numb Lucas sank into his chair, his plate already sitting at his place and prepared for him. Was Mom humoring Jordan? That had to be it! When she had realized her son had become delusional she had decided to humor him until they could get him in for treatment. In which case it was his job to play along until they could get Jordan the help he needed.
The same breakfast which had tasted so good yesterday might as well have been soggy cardboard for all Lucas noticed now. His mind was consumed with his brother's plight. Poor Jordan! Jord had always been fiercely competitive, but Lucas never would have dreamed that this would lead to insanity!
They finished up breakfast and headed out to the car.
"Shotgun!" Jordan shouted, leaping into the front seat.
That wasn't good. When Mom drove toward the hospital instead of the ball park who knew what Jordan might do? He could try to grab the wheel and get them all killed! Better to have him in back where Lucas could try to restrain him if he started to get violent.
"Hey, Jordan, why don't you sit in back with me?"
"Lucas, this is your brother's special day. Let him sit up front if he wants to," Mom admonished him.
Lucas reluctantly got in back, making sure to slide in behind the passenger seat. Jordan was brimming over with excitement now, talking a mile a minute about what it would be like to take on the pros, and it was so sad that Lucas could barely keep from crying. He didn't know how his mother was able to put on such a brave and convincing face, but he had to hand it to her; she was handling this crisis a lot better than he was.
Lucas readied himself when they reached the turn which would show they were going to the hospital instead of the baseball diamond, but Mom didn't make it! Instead she continued straight ahead.
"Uh, Mom, I think you missed a turn," Lucas tried to point out subtly.
"Lucas, are you still asleep, or have you really forgotten the way to the ball field?" his Mom asked in an amused tone.
What was she doing? And how would Jordan react when they got to the baseball diamond and it was deserted? Would his delusion break down?
Except it WASN'T deserted! In fact there were more people milling around the field than Lucas had ever seen there before in his life! At the direction of the police officer who was controlling traffic they turned into the parking lot, managing to get one of the last spaces left. Lucas spotted no less than four T.V. news vans parked there and as Jordan ran ahead to the dugout he spotted the crews setting up their cameras on the edge of the field.
Lucas slowly shifted his gaze to the other dugout and saw exactly what he had feared: the New York Yankees! There were Dave Phelps, Adam Warren, Chris Stewart, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixiera and Chris Stewart! One of the best pro teams in the sport was here to take on his brother's Little League team!
Jordan wasn't the crazy one; HE was!
Lucas didn't know what he might have done next if Coach Hamilton hadn't called him over. He'd just finished his pep talk to the team and now he smiled at his teenage Assistant Coach. "Lucas! So the big day is finally here! Are you up for it?"
"Y-Yeah, Coach," he stuttered, lying through his teeth.
"You know, this team is the best one I've ever had the privilege of coaching. I'm glad this is the year the Yankees decided to make this offer. These kids deserve it."
Lucas nodded mechanically and the Coach slapped him on the shoulder. "Get out to your position, Lucas. After all, we're here to win!"
He raised his voice to a shout on the last four words and Jordan and the others kids cheered in response.
Head spinning Lucas took his place in the third base coaching box. Fortunately he had very little to do; by the seventh inning only two of the boys had made it to third base. Against the New York Yankees even the best Little League team in the country didn't stand a ghost of a chance, though the pros were quite obviously taking it easy on the children.
That changed after Jordan's eight inning at bat. After one ball and two strikes, Jordan manages to blast David Robertson's fastball over the fences for a home run, brining the score up to 4-14, Yankee's favor. Lucas caught a sour look on Robertson's face as Jordan races around the bases, yelling and pumping his fists in the air.
That's the last time Jordan's team scores, or even manages to get on base. The game ends with a score of 4-24.
Afterwards Mom drove them to Pizza Palace for a celebratory lunch with the rest of the team. Most of the players are laughing and happy, but Jordan just picks at his pizza with a sour expression on his face. Considering he was pretty much the star of this game Lucas is surprised to see him looking so gloomy.
Of course the older teen had problems of his own. Lucas would have staked his life on the fact that Jordan's team lost the championship game yesterday! And he certainly didn't remember the announcement at the beginning of the season that this year's Little League world champions would get to face the New York Yankees in a game for charity!
Yet they had. All he had to do was get online with his cell phone to confirm that. It had been on the internet for months, at the Yankee's website and on the news sites Lucas frequented. How he possibly have forgotten it? What was wrong with him?
Still, in spite of his concern for himself, Lucas managed to find time for his brother. Slipping into the vacated chair beside Jordan he asked him, "Why are you looking down, champ?"
"Because I'm not a champ!" Jordan snaps back.
What does he mean?
"I though you won the championship," Lucas asks hesitantly, afraid of again finding that reality doesn't match up with his memories.
"But we lost this one!" Jordan insists bitterly.
He actually wanted to win against the New York Yankees! Now that's Jordan through and through!
The rest of the day passed quickly and Lucas turned in early, still wrestling with himself over whether or not to tell Mom about the mental lapse he seems to have had.
Was it just a one-time thing? In that case he'd be better off keeping quiet. If this wasn't a one-off, though, then he needed serious mental help, and fast! Unable to reach a decision Lucas finallly drifted off. His last errant thought was that things would undoubtedly look clearer in the morning.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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