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

and find which one you’re good at.”
    â€œWho would I play with, if everyone else is playing baseball?”
    â€œI’m sure there are boys at your school who play other sports,” suggested Rachel.
    â€œI only know the ones who play baseball.”
    Rachel groaned. “Stop being so difficult.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Rachel glanced at his small, dirty face, looking up at her as if she knew all the answers. “Nothing. Let’s just go home for supper before Nucia gets angry.”
    â€œThe only other sport I’ve seen is football,” said Jacob at dinner after hearing about Marty’s dilemma. “And you’re too small and too young.”
    â€œThere’s nothing else?” asked Rachel.
    Jacob opened his mouth then clamped it shut.
    â€œWhat is it?” Nucia asked him.
    Jacob straightened his shoulders. “I was just going to mention boxing but—”
    â€œBoxing!” said Rachel. “You must be joking.”
    â€œI didn’t mean Marty should take up the sport, only that it is popular in the city.”
    â€œAbsolutely not,” said Nucia.
    â€œI have to agree,” added Rachel. “Boxing is the last sport I’d want for you, Marty.”
    â€œWhat’s so bad about boxing?” he asked.
    â€œIt is dangerous, not to mention violent,” said Nucia.
    â€œI’m afraid Nucia and Rachel are right,” said Jacob. “Boxing is not a good idea.”
    â€œThen I’ll never make any friends,” said Marty. He poked at his chicken with his fork. “Not if I don’t get better at baseball.”
    â€œDon’t be so hard on yourself,” said Jacob. “You only just started, and you’re playing with boys who have grown up here. They have played baseball for years. They didn’t always know how to hit the ball.”
    â€œThat’s right,” said Rachel. “You came really close to hitting the ball today.”
    â€œYou mustn’t give up now, when you’ve already spent so much time practicing,” added Nucia.
    Marty looked dubious. “What if I never get better?”
    Rachel’s shoulders stiffened, thinking about this prospect, seeing him holding the bat and missing the ball. Every time. In front of all the other boys.
    Jacob slid his glass of tea in front of Marty. “Look at this glass,” said Jacob. “Is it half full or half empty?”
    Rachel’s lips curled up. She remembered her father using the same analogy when she was upset about a teacher who marked her writing harshly.
    â€œThe glass is half empty,” she’d mumbled to her father as she stared at her essay, mutilated with marks from her teacher.
    â€œHow can you say that?” her father had asked. He took the paper from her hands, reading the teacher’s thoughtful comments on her paper. “Can you not see the opportunities this teacher has given you? Don’t you see that he wants more from you, that he is pushing you to work harder and do better?”
    Rachel had examined the teacher’s comments more closely. “I suppose he could be right about a few things,” she acknowledged.
    â€œSo, is the glass half empty or is it half full?” her father had asked her again.
    â€œHalf full,” she’d replied.
    Now, Marty scrutinized Jacob’s glass. “It’s both,” he said. “It’s half full and it’s half empty.”
    Jacob snorted and dragged his glass back. Rachel and Nucia looked at one another and burst out laughing.
    â€œYou’re too sharp for me,” said Jacob. He finished his tea and placed his glass back on the table. “Now it’s empty,” he said.

6
    â€œY ou have to read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Then there is Nellie Bly’s Ten Days in a Madhouse,” said Anna, loading Rachel’s arms with books. “Nellie Bly