“All right, all right,” December grumbled. “Just because Tam’s on the other team anyway, Gerald… you might as well come over here. But that’s it. There’s no point in making a point if we mix it up anymore. Anyway, Spice…” She said and watched as the fashionista began to work out a way of politely declining. “I know you hate physical activity unless it’s for a pageant, so you can just watch and cheer us on.”

“Thanks, December! I’ll do that.”

“That means Ash, Willa, and… Millie, can finish up my team.”

“Oh, fine,” Millie muttered, but then as she walked past Jace, she whispered, “Can’t wait to crush ya.”

“Careful, guys,” Jace cautioned his friends. “Millie can be pretty intense.”

“How would you know?” Zach wondered. “Anyway, Jace, I would’a picked you, too, but I know you’ve already been beating yourself up with training stuff. Oh, yeah—Wright, you can fill in for Gerald. You’re not bad, from what I remember.”

“Four square’s more of my scene, man, but sure,” the shades-wearing Pogs-player said and rushed over. “C’mon, let’s get started already! Time’s-a-wasting.”

“Yeah, this game’s going to be short, so we gotta make it sweet, right?”

“W-wait…” Colin suddenly piped, after having fidgeted for a bit. “Um, could I actually not participate in this thing?”

“Why not?” December asked him. “Aren’t you in a little league team?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s a little different, and…”

“Still a sport. C’mon, Colin. You nervous your team is gonna lose and you’ll think it’s all your fault or something?”

“A buncha girls aren’t about to beat us,” Wright proclaimed.

“Hey, if Colin doesn’t want in, he can just cheer,” Wessy said. “But Robby and Brian don’t look interested, so that just leaves Jason, and I’m not sure if he’s up for it.”

Colin and Jace looked at one another, Jace seeing a hint of desperation in his eyes. Whatever his reason, Colin really did not want to be in some dumb boy-girl kickball game. But Jace also realized that, despite his achiness, this might be a good chance to show the others that he could be a team player, even before the big water gun game.

“I’ll do it,” he said and ran up to take Colin’s place, who seemed relieved. “Do we trust Zach to make the right calls and stuff?”

“Man, I don’t know what I’m doing,” he replied with an exasperated sigh. “Just, uh, everyone do their best when it’s your turn to kick the ball. Run the bases as fast as you can. It shouldn’t be that hard to beat them, honestly.”

Jace looked at the other team, to see Millie giving him a menacing grin, Delilah cracking her knuckles, and their intelligent, athletic captain doing pre-game stretches.

He remembered all the many things his mom had pressed into him over the years about equality and respect, and the social movements from his time, and wondered if he should insert just a little bit of those emerging new norms into a few 90s kids.

“I… wouldn’t underestimate them,” he cautioned. “If you want to win, I mean.”

“What’r’ya talking about?” Jared asked, trying not to laugh. “Zach kinda does have a point, about boys beating girls at everything all the time without even trying.”

Zach sighed again. “That isn’t even remotely close to what I—”

“Watch it, Jared,” Tamatha said. “I’ll help you win so I can beat Trudy, but not if you’re like that. I don’t even care about the boys vs. girls thing. I just want to win.”

Jace continued, “Anyway, I was going to say that kickball is a lot like soccer, and the USA women’s team is pretty good… They’ll probably win the World Cup one day.”

“Already did,” Tamatha corrected. “We won the first cup in 1991. So shut your face hole, Jared, and let’s get this game started already.”

The boys all looked at her, and she looked back, unapologetic.

“Wow. Are you always that way, or just when Trudy isn’t around?” Arthur asked.

“Oh, it is so nice being away from her sometimes,” she told them.

They shrugged off the explanation, or lack of one, and headed over to the sports diamond that could be used for the soft, base, or kick varieties of ball. The kids in the class not on either team tagged along as well—and they soon attracted fifth-graders from all across the playground, interested to see the rare sight of two full-sized teams playing a game. The nature of those teams only attracted further attention.

“Tam aside, I guess it is pretty important that we win this game,” Zach said as they reached the field and December grabbed a kickball. “I didn’t really want to do any of this, but we might as well kick some butt out there.”

“Why’s it important?” Jace questioned.

“What do you mean why? We can’t lose to a girls’ team. Our pride is on the line.”

Jace muttered to himself, “Give me a break… As if it’s going to prove anything.”

“Talking like that got you here in the first place, dope,” Tamatha chided Zach.

“Okay!” December shouted once the teams were in place and the audience grew even more. “We should have time for three quick innings. Nothing special on the rules. Let’s have a clean game. And Millie and Sadie…” She looked over at them, both raring to go. “Keep the trash talk to a minimum. It… eats up too much time.”

“No promises!” Millie replied.

December pulled out a whistle, blew it, and the boys took up position around the field to let the girls kick first. Park, near the class’s cheer squad, read the crowd and saw an opportunity. He zipped up his hoodie, took out a notepad, and did his thing.

“Place a bet?” he asked one kid after the next. “Quarter, two quarters? Whoa, a whole buck for the boys? You got it, good sir. And you ma’am? That’s not a surprise…”

“Does December always carry a whistle around?” Carson wondered.

“I have a feeling she came to school with all this already planned,” Zach replied, and then shouted to the others. “All right, team, here we go! Eyes open, feet ready!”

December took out some gum and promised Zach, “You’re goin’ down.”

Willa was the first kicker up, and she garnered a few snickers from several of the boys who didn’t expect anything from her. But, following two fast balls from Carson, she surprised both teams when she launched the ball into the air, sending it above Carson’s head and towards Arthur’s position in the outfield.

“Cat speeeed!” Willa exclaimed as she rushed around the bases.

“Willa, stop!” December yelled out. “Don’t go for it!”

She didn’t listen, and squandered her good kick by being tagged out on third base by Wright, a second after Arthur delivered the ball to him. From across the field, Zach winked at December as Willa let out a disappointed sigh and returned to the dugout.

“It was a good hit,” December told the cat girl. “You’ll get a second chance.”

“Hey, December!” Zach called out. “No shame in forfeiting!”

“Yeah, just wait…” She bit off a few inches of gum from her Bubble Tape roll to chew on aggressively. “Felicity, you’re up. Maybe try bunting,” she said with a wry grin.

Jace, guarding first base, turned to Zach and said quietly, “Hey, if you want to win, you need to take this seriously. That was a good kick, and it was from Willa.”

“Eh, don’t worry.” He pushed his shades up and grinned. “We got this. Totally.”

Felicity stepped up to home plate, her athletic skill unknown—to most kids, at least. Carson took her lightly after she didn’t even attempt to kick the first pitch, and put minimum effort into his next toss. Just about everyone was surprised, again, when she ended up walloping the ball, sending it rocketing to the fences. The girls on the team and in the audience erupted into a cheer as Felicity walked the bases.

“H-how?!” Jared, on second base, exclaimed as a sneering Felicity passed him.

“My parents sent me to an expensive summer camp last year,” she explained. “Me and December played some serious kickball there. Buh-bye!”

“Ugh…” Zach groaned. “But I’ve got a secret weapon, too.”

“You must mean Tamatha,” December teased him.

Following a no-hitter with Ash—who looked disappointed in herself—the bottom of the first inning commenced with Delilah taking the pitcher’s mound. Jared came to the plate first, looking for his chance to shine.

After whiffing two of Delilah’s powerful fast balls, he landed a messy hit that nevertheless got him to first base, which Millie was guarding.

“Psst. Reiner. Hey. Heeey,” she scoffed when he got near. “You ready to lose?”

“Shut up, Millie.”

“Oo-hoo-hoo… The files I have on you… I know stuff about you that you don’t even know. I know you let someone steal a base last little league season, too…”

Jared turned to her, taking his eyes off the current kicker, Tamatha. “Did not!”

She pressed on her cheeks to scrunch up her face and said mockingly, “Cost your team that game, didn’t ya? Word got around, that you can’t keep your eye on the ball.”

“Ugh, Millie, knock it off!”

“Speaking of!” she said just after the distinct sound of a rubber ball being punted.

Jared turned around and wasted several seconds looking for the ball, when he could’ve been running to another base. Tamatha was heading his way as Willa, in the right outfield, was chasing after the red ball.

“What are you doing?” Tamatha yelled at him. “Run, stupid!”

She ran past him, at which point he sloppily followed right behind her. Willa kicked the ball to Trudy, and it arrived in time for her to gleefully tag out her maybe-former BFF. Jared skidded to a halt half-way and double-backed to first, only to watch the ball sail over his head. Millie caught it just as he arrived, and she bopped his head with it. Aside from shame, Jared also felt a little pain; Millie was unexpectedly strong.

With two outs, Jace headed to the plate, feeling quite serious and ready to show his team how it was done despite still finding the reason for the game annoying at best.

“Come on, Jace!” Wessy shouted from the sideline. “You got this!”

He looked at the crowd watching, Park still taking bets, and Brian, Robby, and Colin cheering him on. He didn’t feel nearly as pressured as he had during the dance competition. Delilah was an intimidating pitcher, but he knew he had this.

She sent him another one of her powerful fastballs, and he stuck his foot out to bunt it, right where he wanted. It rolled past her, drifted between two bases, and was eventually grabbed by Ash, but not before he had landed on second.

Zach sent Wessy in, who after two strikes that led to some nail-biting, landed a solid hit. Jace went running and managed to get to home, scoring the boys their first point to some loud applause. Wessy went for a second run, but couldn’t make it past third, where Sadie tagged him with the ball just like Millie had to Jared—but not as hard.

The second inning was more eventful. After Carson struck out Trudy and made Felicity hit nothing but foul balls until she landed a kick that was caught, Millie got in a solid bash against the red rubber. She sped across the bases and looked quite aggressive as she did so, scaring two of the boys protecting them. Arthur, now on third, fearlessly tagged her out after catching the ball, though it was contested at first. With no referee, Millie looked ready to fight over it, until December relented and had her back down.

For the boys, Arthur got in a decent kick, but was tagged out by a gleeful Ash, who as always never wanted to be outdone by her twin. Trudy then leapt and caught Tamatha’s kick before the ball hit the ground, looking equally pleased about it. A few minutes were wasted when this resulted in another shouting match between the two that eventually both Zach and December had to step into and break up.

Following those two outs, the boys had their chance to clean up the otherwise messy inning—and to loud applause and changing bets, managed to score one decent kick after the next, and one walk, to fill the bases. With Wright on first, Jared on second, and Wessy on third, Jace stepped up to the plate where Delilah stared him down.

Confidence, he recited in his mind. Confidence…

He looked around at his classmates, all of them ready to run, and settled on Wessy for a moment, sharing third with Sadie. The two seemed pretty happy together, despite being temporary opponents. It looked like they were sharing an old inside joke. He wondered how often they had a chance to be semi-alone together, and then…

He had a different thought: a flashback, or maybe, a flashforward. Strange, he thought. This is familiar. He then grudgingly remembered. Towards the end of “his” fifth grade, when relations with his former friends were particularly tense, there was a kickball game, on this very field. Bases loaded, a chance to come back from behind. It was his turn to kick. Chad was pitching. Ugh, Chad. He was even more annoying than Austin.

He had smiled at Jace as he tossed the ball, getting in his head. Jace missed. The game was lost. Everyone blamed Jace, rightfully so. Jace went home feeling like crap.

Knowing that the moment could not repeat itself, he put all his focus on the game, didn’t let Delilah intimidate him, and used his controlled rage from a horrible memory to smash the ball to the fences. A grand slam. He scored four points, shocked looks from his team, uproarious cheers from the crowd, and even more confidence.