Read Online Rachel's Hope by Shelly Sanders - Free Book Online

a creek meandered from the trees to the south end of the park. She squinted and saw something move on the other side of the creek. Stepping closer, she heard vigorous shouting of boisterous boys. Following these sounds, she walked over a bridge that led to a makeshift baseball field.
    One team of boys, scattered in the field, had taken off their shirts. The other team, sitting on the ground in a row, wore shirts that had come untucked from their knickers. Marty, sitting cross-legged on the ground, looked a lot smaller than the other boys. His gaze was fixed on a copper-haired boy, wearing a shirt, who stood holding a long dowel-shaped piece of wood. Rachel thought it looked almost like an oversized rolling pin. A shirtless boy threw the ball and the copper-haired boy swung the wood. There was a cracking sound as the wood and ball met. The copper-haired boy took off, running toward a red shirt on the ground. The ball soared through the air. A shirtless boy caught it and whooped with glee. The copper-haired boy stopped running and scowled.
    Marty picked up the wood and stood facing the shirtless boy holding the ball. Forgetting all about Nucia and Jacob waiting back at home, Rachel sat on a grassy spot and watched. Marty swung at the ball and missed. A boy kneeling behind him caught the ball and threw it back to the boy who’d thrown it. The boy threw it at Marty again. Again he missed. Seconds later, Marty missed the ball for the third time. “Strike three, you’re out!” yelled the boy crouching behind him.
    â€œCome on, Marty, you can do better than that!” snarled a boy on his team.
    Marty dropped the bat. He returned his spot on the ground, a defeated expression on his face, and started coughing uncontrollably. Since they’d come to San Francisco, he’d been prone to coughing fits that started unexpectedly and wore him out. But unlike Rachel’s mother, who’d coughed and grown sicker by the day, Marty seemed healthy otherwise.
    â€œMarty!” called out Rachel, as his cough abated.
    He looked in her direction and gave her a feeble wave.
    Rachel continued watching, trying to decipher the rules of the game. Now she wished she’d listened more closely when Marty had explained baseball to her. The boys changed places, with the shirtless ones moving to the ground and Marty’s group taking the field. Three boys stood at piles of clothing and the other ones, including Marty, spread out over the grass. One brawny boy clenched the wood and swung, hitting the ball past the boys in the field. Cheers erupted from his teammates. He ran to all the clothing on the ground and waved his arms above his head when he returned to where he’d started.
    Ten minutes later, the game ended, with the boys dispersing in various directions. Marty, his shoulders slumped, made his way to Rachel.
    â€œI don’t like baseball,” he said. Dirt and perspiration were smeared on his forehead.
    â€œWhy not?” she asked as they started for home.
    â€œI’m no good at it.”
    â€œYou’ll get better.”
    â€œHow do you know?” he asked. “I’ve been playing every day and still can’t hit the ball.”
    Rachel bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t think of anything to say to make Marty feel better. She couldn’t give him advice, since she didn’t even understand the game. She couldn’t promise he would improve. Unlike his growing command of English, baseball seemed to be a problem he couldn’t overcome.
    â€œWhy don’t you ask Jacob for help?” she said.
    â€œHe’s too busy and he doesn’t know the first thing about baseball.”
    â€œCan’t you play another game?”
    Marty shook his head. “Baseball’s the only thing boys here talk about.”
    Rachel stopped before going into their flat. “I know from reading the newspaper that baseball is not the only sport for boys. You need to try different games