drive a yellow 1989 Toyota 4x4 pickup truck. I know that 1989 sounds really old, but I love my rig. Itâs a short-bed SR5 with big oversize tires for off-road driving (which I never actually do). I keep it in pretty nice shape: great chrome wheels, a decent sound system, sheepskin seat covers, and a heavy-duty storage box bolted onto the pickup bed, just behind the cab. Yeah, I love my truck; I even tried to get my dad and mom, separately or together, to go in on personalized license plates for me. I checked with the department of licensing and both âHotcornerâ and âBaseball23â (my uniform number) were still available, but my parents said no. I guess that really would have been sort of show-offy.
But because my truck is bright yellow, I think a lot of kids know itâs mine, and as I pull up and park, I see a couple of ninth-grade girls I recognize from school watch me get out and walk into the store.
Iâm standing at the chips rack, trying to decide between Cheetos and Doritos, when the two girls approach me. I donât even notice them until theyâre right next to me. Theyâre only frosh and real young-looking.
The taller of the two, a blond girl, asks, âArenât you on Thompsonâs team?â
I say, âYeah, the baseball team.â
The other girl says, âLike thereâre any others....â
I smile and say, âDonât let the tennis, golf, or track-and-field guys hear you say that.â
They both laugh, and the blonde says, âWe read about you in the paper this morning.â
I say, âOh yeah?â
âYeah,â they both answer at once.
The shorter girl says, âYou guys are awesome; you play third base, huh?â
I smile again. âYeah, I do. Have you guys been coming out to our games?â Kind of a stupid question, but I canât really think of anything else to say.
âYeah,â they both say again, nodding their heads at the same time.
They look so incredibly young to me, more like sixth graders than high school girls. But theyâre cute, and someday theyâll be the kind of girls who would refuse to even glance at me at a dance or something. Right now, though, they look all starry-eyed and happy.
I make my junk food decision and reach for the Doritos, a medium-size bag, when the blonde suddenly asks, âCan we have your autograph?â
I look at them closely to be sure theyâre not kidding. Nobody has ever asked me for an autograph before, and it seems ridiculous, but they look sincere.
I say, âCome on, why would you want my autograph? I mean, we go to the same school, right?â
The shorter girl speaks right up. âYouâre gonna be famous someday.â
I laugh and say, âNot too likely.â
The blonde says, âYouâre already famous! Your name is in the paper today.â
I say, âYeah, itâs in the box scores every day too, butââ
âNo,â the blonde interrupts, âit was in the article about Thompson. Youâre Scott Latimer, and it said youâre one of the best players on the team.â
I feel myself blush. âWeâve got a lot of good playersâIâm just one of the guys.â
The short girl says, âYouâre a senior.â
I say, âYeah.â
âNext year youâll be a big league playerâyouâll get like five million dollars a year or something.â
I keep myself from laughing and say, âThe stars get that. Not regular playersââ
The short girl interrupts me. âNo,â she says. âThe stars, like A-Rod of the Yankees, get twenty-five million dollars a yearâbut some pitchers, even guys with ERAâs over five, still make millions.â
I laugh, surprised that sheâs so smart about baseball. I say, âThatâs true, but anyway, thereâs no guarantee that Iâll even make the pros.â
âYou will,â the blond girl
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