Asher
April 12, 2005 4:24 AM
One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out! by Asher
Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. It was strumming along in the back of her mind like a plucked string. It thrummed steadily as Asher strolled through the entrance to the gardens. In her arms, she carried the netted bag that held the hastily thrown together bases and beater bat that she had grabbed from the Crotalus common room. It was odd how she found the bats just sitting there in a neat pile, but she wasn't about to complain. She had her glove, thoughtfully packed in her trunk by her brother Jamie. The trunk also held her favorite deck of playing cards, her father's old oboe, and her tattered copy of Jill and the Juggernaut.Her trek back through the Academy had her lost four times, until the gardens all but sprung themselves on her. She saw the entrance to the maze and made to avoid it- there'd be no wide open spaces there. She had to shuffle around a few corners before she finally stumbled upon a large diamond shaped stretch of crisp green lawn just perfect for a practise field. She dropped her sack of baseball goodies in the center and started to walk the baseline. Toe to heel, she counted the paces off aloud.
"One, two, three, four, don't know what we're gonna use for gloves, five, maybe Laura has an extra one, six, wish I knew a spell for duplicating, seven, maybe Gwen knows, eight, or maybe there's second year around here somewhere, nine-" Asher stopped after her twentieth step and marked the ground with a quick scuffing of her heel.
Still considering her options, she cut directly across from the first base to the bag and retrieved the frisbee that would mark the base for now. She stepped down firmly on the frisbee until its edges sank into the ground and she was certain it would bounce free. Her brothers' frisbees had the odd habit of gaining certain abilities, elasticity one of many.
After she was finished marking off the two other bases and homeplate, she once again considered how to solve the problem of the gloves. They really would need at least three, but if she got someone to help, then maybe there could be even more people involved, and they could have a skirmish of sorts.
Decided, Asher cupped her hands over her mouth, and yelled out in a clear voice: "Hey! Any second years nearby? I need your help with something!"\n\n
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Asher
One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out!
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Asher
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Laura Keaton
April 12, 2005 2:20 PM
*sings horribly* Take Me Out to the Ballgame! by Laura Keaton
Laura wandered lost through the gardens. She had been the first to leave Cascade Hall, in hopes of fining them a suitable place to set up a pick up game of baseball, but so far she had done nothing more than get lost among the plants. Not that she really minded, since she wasn’t lost in the labyrinth; she had avoided that straight off since it reminded her too much of being lost in a cornfield. She didn’t think the Headmistress would appreciate her getting lost in one of their lovely gardens, freaking out, and then accidentally blowing a hole in the shrubbery to escape.Lifting her face toward the heavens, Laura drank in the warm sunshine. There was nothing like being outside on a nice day, especially when it was going to lead to a game of baseball. Asher had run back to the common room to try and find a beater’s bat, as well as her own glove. Laura wasn’t sure what Gwen and Juliet would use for gloves; maybe they could just switch, two batting while two played on the field. On second thought, though, these plants seemed magical enough; maybe they could fill in the empty spaces. Laura shook her head at the ridiculous thought as she imagined a tentacled plant swinging a bat at a baseball, lofting it airborne into the outfield. No, they were just going to have to find more students or make due with what they had.
Laura stopped when she heard a shout from nearby, "Hey! Any second years nearby? I need your help with something!"
Recognizing Asher’s voice, Laura started walking toward the source of the yell, fighting the urge to yell out, Marco! She finally stumbled into a grassy plot of garden that seemed to be perfect for a game of baseball. Asher had already marked out the bases, at what looked like appropriate places, and had indeed managed to borrow a beater’s bat from somewhere. Laura couldn’t help but chuckle appreciatively at the other girl’s clear enthusiasm to be playing ball. Laura herself was finding it hard not to belt out a rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
“Are second years better a baseball?” she said jokingly to Asher, while wondering what she really wanted a second year for.
OOC: I'm going to post something in the OOC area, inviting others to come join our little game.
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Laura Keaton
*sings horribly* Take Me Out to the Ballgame!
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Laura Keaton
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Juliet Lee
April 12, 2005 6:53 PM
Anyone want to play baseball? by Juliet Lee
It was official. Juliet was undoutedly, indutibitably, one-hundred percent lost. She now understood why the caretakers of the school had so creatively named the twisting foliage: "Labyrinth Gardens". Cursing at herself fluently and vehemently, she continued to wander down the winding paths, hoping to catch a glimpse of a clearing or at least an exit.She couldn't believe that she so irresponsible and scatterbrained that she would forget to ask for directions. There were older students and teachers practically swarming the stone hallways of the academy and she hadn't even stopped to ask a simple inquiry. Wanting to bash her head on a concrete surface, she settled for calling herself every single name she could think of.
"Hey! Any second years nearby? I need your help with something!"
Only one person had that loud and slightly dry tone to their voice, and that was Asher Tallow, the witty and sarcastic Crotalus first year. Racing as fast as she could toward the source of Asher's exclamation, Juliet suddenly stumbled upon a clearing that was conveniently shaped for playing baseball.
Her charcoal eyes scanned the area and spotted Asher, along with the champagne-haired Laura Keaton standing not fair from her. Practically collapsing from relief, Juliet skipped over to her two friends.
"Hey guys! I'm so glad I found you. I think I was developing a mild case of claustraphobia in there."
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Juliet Lee
Anyone want to play baseball?
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Juliet Lee
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Gwenhwyfar Carey
April 12, 2005 9:21 PM
The Great American Sport, Sonora Style by Gwenhwyfar Carey
Gwen stared around at the high hedges, arms folded and face about as pleasant as a judge about to say off with his head. A wrong turn had landed her in the labyrinth the Labyrinth Gardens derived their name from. She had played mazes on paper when she was younger, but she couldn't remember the trick of it for the life of her."If this don't beat all!" she said to no one in particular. "The one time in my life one of my useless talents would be useful, I can't remember it."
She had a feeling that this baseball game wasn't something that would be played in the depths of a maze, so the first step was to get out of the maze somehow. Slipping off one of her shoes, she span it around in a circle. The toe pointed right, so, with a shrug, she put her shoe back on went right. It was as good a direction as any.
Her choice was soon proven right. She could hear Asher yelling for second years, then Laura and Juliet chiming in after a moment. It was simply a matter of following their voices, she supposed. Two dead ends and three left turns later, she made her way out of the labyrinth and onto the open area where the others were.
"Dag-blame," she said, borrowing one of her Grandma Vaughn's favorite expressions. "It's certainly hard enough to figure out how to get anywhere here." She looked around the field, taking in everything with interest. There was a bat, some gloves and balls, and marks around the little space. She was starting to draw some conclusions about what she thought baseball might entail, but she wasn't going to let herself believe them, not quite yet. "Well, this should be interesting," she said.\n\n
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Gwenhwyfar Carey
The Great American Sport, Sonora Style
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Gwenhwyfar Carey
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Asher Tallow
April 12, 2005 10:17 PM
Second years! I'll give you peanuts and cracker jacks! by Asher Tallow
Asher shrugged in response to Laura's question, and pointed to her ragged glove. "I was hoping to bribe a second year to make us some more gloves. Unfortunately somewhere between teaching me to cook and garden, my dad forgot to mention duplicating spells. The grouser," she added affectionately.She squinted back at her marked bases and pointed to them. "What do you think? Will this work for a field? I thought about maybe switching to the Quidditch Pitch, but figured there'd be flyers there ready to beat us off the ground. Not to mention it might get complicated trying to duck the bludgers."
She saw first Juliet pop around the corner and then Gwen soon followed after, muttering the strangest curse about the maze. Asher couldn't help the bubble of laughter that sprung out of her.
"Sorry, Gwen. I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs or a spool of thread." She pointed to the makeshift bases and quickly veered the conversation to right waters. "Okay then, I guess first we should go over the rules."
Asher eyed the gloves again and the meager clump of four girls. "Actually though, we really need some more people. Plug your ears for a second, okay?"
Cupping her mouth again, she yelled out for a second time. "Free candy! Loads of it! To the first second year here!"
There, she thought satisfied, that should do it. Who could resist that sort of bribe? No kid worth their mettle at least.
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Asher Tallow
Second years! I'll give you peanuts and cracker jacks!
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Asher Tallow
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Asher Tallow
April 16, 2005 7:20 AM
Forget them. Let's get started! by Asher Tallow
Asher admitted to being annoyed, but since there was nothing to be done about it, she let the emotion slide off her shoulders and make a puddle somewhere about her feet. Four people was more than enough to explain and demonstrate the rudiments of baseball. She and her four brothers had pulled it off numerous times: one person pitching, another batting, another catching, an in-fielder and the fifth out-fielding. The batter would hit, and then they'd change up for a bit. Of course, the Tallow method was short one person, but Asher was confident the abbreviated Sonora method would work just as well. And if she couldn't think of something, well, there were three other girls here. If four minds couldn't handle this pickle, then, well, running around and hitting things couldn't be too horrible, even without structure.The only real problem would be the position of catcher. She supposed the batter could just pick up the ball and throw it back if it wasn't hit, but really, that meant digging around in the bushes for wherever the ball rolled off to. What they needed was a box or basket of sorts to aim at and serve as a backboard so that half their time wasn't spent rummaging around. But what could she possibly use from the gardens? A topiary, not matter how thickly criss-crossing with branches and leaves, would not be particularly convenient, considering she'd have to uproot the darn thing. But other than the hedges, bushes, trees, and flowers, what else did the gardens have to offer? There were only some decorative stones and those statues-
Bingo!
Asher snapped her fingers and ignored what would have to be rather curious looks from her friends as she dashed over to a somewhat haphazardly assembled statue of an African tribesman. There wasn't much of interest about the statue, other than that it held a spear and a rather large, pointed shield. She peered around the inside of the shield and grinned her thanks to the anonymous sculptor who had decided in his making of the statue to create the accessories as separate pieces. She tugged on the shield twice, hard, and reared back as it came off fairly smoothly into her hands. Those prairie elves she'd been hearing about must really clean everything if even the garden statues are kept so well.
With the heavy shield in her hands, its size nearly half her own, she clomped on back to the three girls waiting for her. Knowing that they must think her completely off her rocker, she wasted no time in explaining.
"Obviously, no one's coming, so, to make up for the lack of people and gloves, I've made us a catcher." Proudly, Asher stood back from where she had managed to wedge the shield far enough into the ground so that it stood upright securely behind the shoebox cover marking homeplate.
"So, now that we have a catcher, what do you say to getting this game on the road? Who wants to bat first?" Turning to Laura, she added in an undertone. "I hope you can pitch, because I'm horrible at it. I end up either hitting the batter or banging myself in the leg."\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Asher Tallow
Forget them. Let's get started!
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Asher Tallow
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Laura Keaton
April 16, 2005 11:11 AM
Swing, batter batter batter, swing! by Laura Keaton
Laura was still wondering how they were only going to play with four people, since Asher’s shouts had seemed to go unheeded, but Asher herself got Laura’s attention. The black haired girl walked purposively over to a large, Africa statue, which was pointing a menacing spear at the onlookers as well as a shield. Laura was slightly taken aback as she watched her friend wench the shield from the statue and struggle back to home plate with it. Asher had never struck Laura as the type of person who enjoyed vandalism. However, the light bulb in Laura’s mind, which often remained dark when it came to common sense matters, suddenly flared. Asher had created a backstop brilliantly, alleviating their need for a catcher. A split second later, Asher confirmed it to the others."So, now that we have a catcher, what do you say to getting this game on the road? Who wants to bat first? I hope you can pitch, because I'm horrible at it. I end up either hitting the batter or banging myself in the leg."
Laura shrugged in response to the question. “I can pitch alright, nothing spectacular, but I don’t think Gwen or Juliet would appreciate at 70 mph fastball anyway.” She grinned at the other two girls, wondering how they felt when they heard Asher say she often hit the batters. She could also pitch softball style, since her parents thought it was a brilliant idea to first put her in softball. However, as soon as Laura saw the prissy no talent girls she was supposed to play with, she politely asked, or possibly ordered, her parents to move her to little league baseball. Like every little leaguer, she wanted to pitch; the whole team wanted to pitch, so they all learned. However, once they started moving up the little league ranks, the team started to find there were other positions just as important and fun a pitcher, so Laura moved to outfield. Not because she stunk, and that’s where you put the kids who can’t play, but because she was quick, and could cover not only right field, but center as well. Plus, her parents thought that if accidental magic suddenly kicked in, it would be less obvious in the outfield.
“So, do you want to show them the basics, or should I?” she asked Asher.
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Laura Keaton
Swing, batter batter batter, swing!
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Laura Keaton
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Marcus Sampson
April 17, 2005 3:12 PM
Can I have my ball back? by Marcus Sampson
Since indoors wasn't really the appropriate place to play football, Marcus had taken his ball outside with him. He also stood a better chance of finding someone who wanted to throw the ball around with him outside than inside. The other guys in his dorm room seemed pretty cool, but none of them had been around and he couldn't be bothered to go and find anyone. Playing by yourself could be just as fun. It would give him a chance to practice his kicking.Marcus walked along the paths, aimlessly throwing his football into the air and catching it. He hadn't been out in the gardens before, so didn't want to venture particularly far in case he got lost. If something had a name with the word 'Labyrinth' in it then it was undoubtedly big. After about ten minutes of walking, Marcus reached what seemed to him to be a suitable spot. There was enough room for him to kick the ball a considerable distance, the way back was obvious, and the trees were nice and high. The only slightly weird thing was the occasional shout that he heard from somewhere nearby. Apparently there was a girl who wanted to meet some second years and was prepared to bribe them to come and talk to her. Girls were so weird.
First he started by seeing how high he could kick the ball, sending it straight up above his head and then trying to catch it when it came falling back down. Thud went the ball as he kicked it. The first attempt sent the ball about ten feet into the air. Not bad, but he could probably do better. Thud. A little higher. Thud Higher again. Thud It was just about as high as the treeline now! Marcus grinned as he caught it for the fourth time. The fifth one would be even better- he was really getting into his stride. Thud! He had been right. The ball went sailing into the air and...oh crud. He had kicked the ball so hard that it had flown over the trees in the direction of the girls' voices.
Nervously, Marcus pushed aside some branches, pretty much following the path that his ball had taken. Except on the ground of course. It soon transpired that there were several girls, and it looked like they were playing some version of baseball. Maybe they would be okay- girly girls wouldn't risk playing baseball in case they broke a nail. Football was still better though. You couldn't go better than some head-on collisions and good kicks. Marcus cleared his throat to get the girls' attention.
"Um, sorry, I think my ball came over here..." finishing the sentence with 'can I have it back?' sounded really lame in his head, so he just left it at that.\n\n
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Marcus Sampson
Can I have my ball back?
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Marcus Sampson
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Gwenhwyfar
April 17, 2005 5:00 PM
Heads up! by Gwenhwyfar
Gwen watched, faintly amused, as Asher failed to attract any second years and improvised with a statue's shield. She was reminded of spinning her shoe earlier to decide which way to go. "That's supposed to keep the ball from rolling away?" she asked more than stated. This still made very little sense to her, but she supposed that Laura and Asher would explain it eventually. She thought she heard a faint thudding sound from somewhere else in the Gardens, but she ignored it.Quite suddenly, something landed on her head, knocking her head down and sending itself tumbling to the ground. "What the heck?" she exclaimed, surprised. Bending over, she picked it up and studied it. It was shaped like some sort of elongated egg, and she dimly remembered seeing some Muggle boys kick something like it around Wright Square once. The...ball?...was followed shortly by a boy, who, it seemed, owned the dratted thing.
"I think it did, too," she said. "I'm especially well qualified to tell, because it hit me upside the head." She laughed so he wouldn't think she was really angry-she was a bit annoyed, but not enough to bother more with the issue, the day was just too nice to get mad at someone-and tossed his ball back in his direction. The wobbling, inaccurate throw landed several feet to his left. \n\n
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Gwenhwyfar
Heads up!
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Gwenhwyfar
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Juliet Lee
April 17, 2005 7:17 PM
Ha, I can throw much better! *points at flabby bicep* by Juliet Lee
Juliet's attention was diverted to Gwen stumbling into their little baseball sanctuary, muttering a stream of rather unorthodox obscenities. Trying desperately not to burst out in giggles at her friend's odd mumbling, she bit her lip. Gwen's dialogue made Juliet wonder where the blonde girl was from. There were times like when Gwen was threatening Ferris with her manicure that Juliet was positively sure she could detect somewhat of a Southern drawl to the first year's voice."Free candy! Loads of it! To the first second year here!"
Well, that certainly broke Juliet out of her reverie. Placing a hand over her chest to still the beating, she waited for someone to crash through the bushes and ask them what all the ruckus was about. But no one came. Apparently, Asher had realized that her offer had fallen on deaf ears, so she immediately began walking away. But wait...no...she wasn't leaving. Instead, she was appraoching a statue of a warrior, complete with shield and spear.
Not even hesitating, the Crotalus broke off the shield with a resonating CRACK! Juliet's eyes widened. Wouldn't they get in trouble for something like that? She wanted to play baseball but she also didn't want to get kicked out of Sonora so early into the school year. She didn't voice her opinions though, in fear that her friends would think she was a stick-in-the-mud.
Once again, Juliet was snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed a football sail through the air and collide with Gwen's head. She seemed to be all right though, since she merely asked a question and then bent over to pick it up. Gwen's inquiry was answered when a boy appeared from behind the foliage.
"Um, sorry, I think my ball came over here..."
Gwen explained what had happened to the ball and her head. She then attempted to return the ball to the stranger by throwing it at him but she ended up missing him by several feet. Juliet couldn't help but let out a tiny snort. She then realized how rude that must of sounded and her face turned apologetic.
"Sorry Gwen. I'd have probably done worse. With my aim, I'd end up piercing the ball on that spear over there." She stated, pointing at the warrior statue that was now shield-less. Turning back to the newcomer, she added:
"Um...we're playing a game of baseball." She wasn't completely ignorant when it came to sports. She knew that four people wasn't nearly enough to play a decent game. So no matter how weird or annoying she might come off as, Juliet had to try.
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Juliet Lee
Ha, I can throw much better! *points at flabby bicep*
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Juliet Lee
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Laura Keaton
April 18, 2005 3:30 PM
Lesson 1: How not to throw like a girl by Laura Keaton
Laura had barely asked Asher who wanted to start teaching the basics, when Gwen’s head suddenly lurched forward. Laura had gotten out a “what the..” before she noticed a football rolling around near Gwen’s feet. Looking up into the cloudless, blue sky she wondered where the heck that had come from. Perhaps the garden was enchanted to randomly drop sports equipment? “We need a baseball, not a football,” she shouted toward the sky, hoping a baseball would fall out of thin air, though this time miss Gwen’s head.Instead, she heard a guy say "Um, sorry, I think my ball came over here..."
Laura turned to see a first year guy standing at the entrance to their makeshift baseball field. Gwen threw, or gave a whole-hearted attempt to throw, the ball back to its owner. However, her dismal throw skidded into the dirt well to the boy’s left. Laura heard Juliet give a small snort of laughter, while Laura just put her head in her hands, shaking it ever so slightly. Laura knew the first lesson in baseball would be how to throw properly and accurately; they would worry about speed later.
"Would you like to join us?"
Juliet was always so polite, but in this case, she had practically stolen the words right out of Laura’s mouth. They had caught themselves a boy, a boy with a football, which made it all the more probable that he may also have baseball equipment.
“Do you have any gear of your own?” Laura interjected before the boy could even answer Juliet’s invitation. “Or do you know any other guys who might have some baseball stuff who would be willing to play, or at least let us borrow their equipment?”
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Laura Keaton
Lesson 1: How not to throw like a girl
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Laura Keaton
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Marcus Sampson
April 22, 2005 2:23 PM
Learn from the master, ladies! by Marcus Sampson
So far, things seemed to be going well. The girls seemed to be pretty cool, and he hadn't been attacked by them. Yet. He got ready to catch the ball as the girl he'd nearly knocked out with it threw it back to him, and watched as it came towards him, fell short, and bounced off to the side. Well, it was the probably the first time she had tried, and she was a girl after all. Marcus ran over and picked it up, then stood, not knowing what to do. It would probably be best if he left, and let them get on with their game.It came as some surprise that they wanted him to join in, and Marcus grinned at the girl who had invited him. Although football was his favourite sport, he was pretty clued up about baseball, and basketball too. That was what came from going to a Muggle elementary school. Actually, along with his football, Marcus had also brought his catcher's mitt, just in case.
"Uh, yeah, sure...thanks," he said, running a hand through his curly brown hair. Before he could do anything else, another girl jumped in and started firing questions at him. This was why he was edgy around girls. They lulled you into a false sense of security and then bam! You always had to be alert when you were around girls. "Well, I have a glove, but that's all...there may be some other guys with kit, but none that I know...sorry." He looked at her, desperately hoping that she wasn't going to jump him or something. \n\n
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Marcus Sampson
Learn from the master, ladies!
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Marcus Sampson
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Asher Tallow
April 22, 2005 3:22 PM
He came in swaddling, er, robes? by Asher Tallow
OOC- Marc, are you referring to soccer football or american football? Oh and sorry if my biblical allusions bother anyone- it's all meant as fun.BIC-
Asher's grin grew by a near inch when first a football smacked Gwen upside the head and careened into the bushes. Her smile only grew the more when a boy popped out from another clump of bushes, an apology falling from his lips and curly brown hair falling over his eyes. This was more like it- no sport was complete without a boy there to help it along. It was just one of the fundamental rules in sports- it's more fun when there are boys there. Perhaps she was a bit biased though, considering her chief playmates had been her four brothers.
She stepped forward boldly after Laura finished her imitation of the Spanish inquisition, minus the torture and exorcisms of course. "That's fine. All's we really need is another person. Baseball's just not baseball with only four."
Asher firmly planted her feet and placed her hands on her hips, a familiar pose for those who knew her well. It signaled the beginning of a speech. Well, maybe not a speech, but an oration of significant duration. "I'm Asher, and," a finger went in Laura's direction, "this is Laura Keaton." Another finger to the petite Asian girl, "Juliet Lee, and the girl you clobbered is Gwen Carey," a final gesture with her thumb. "Gwen's new to the game, and Juliet's never played, so this is sort of a run by trial thing. And we definitely could use another person who knows the game. So thanks, whoever you are."
She grinned at the boy and waited for what she knew would have to be an enthused response. All a girl had to mention was a bit of ignorance, a bit of helplessness, and the need of a big strong, er, boy, and like sugar to molasses, the game was in the bag. Scewed up idioms aside, Asher had a good feeling about this one. He might even manage to drag along some of his friends and they could get a real game going.
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Asher Tallow
He came in swaddling, er, robes?
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Asher Tallow
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