The next day came, and it was time for Mikayla’s new plan. The sun bathed the baseball diamond in light and heat. The Medved siblings, Tristan, Jade, and her boyfriend Sagiv stood in the diamond. The expression on Tristan’s face was that of irritation, and he stood with his arms crossed.
“How long is this going to take?” He asked bitterly. Kveta looked at her phone.
“Mikayla should be here by now…” her voice trailed off.
Miloslav gestured to Sagiv and gave a small smile, not saying a word. Dusanka nodded her head and walked up to Sagiv.
“I appreciate you coming and playing with us.” Dusanka held out her hand, and Sagiv gave it a shake.
“Of course,” he replied happily. “Slovakia, right?”
“Yes,” Dusanka answered. Sagiv’s eyes lit up.
“Ah! Slavic, just like me!” He beamed, excited.
“You’re from Poland, correct?” Dusanka said.
“That’s right!” Sagiv nodded his head. He then waved Tristan over. The teenage boy walked over, looking upset.
“Are you ready for baseball, Tristan?” Sagiv asked gently. Tristan lowered his shoulders, not saying anything as he looked away. Sagiv and Dusanka exchanged saddened glances.
“Helloooo!”
Upon hearing the loud, feminine voice, the group looked over. In the distance, Mikayla was running up to them, dressed in a baseball outfit with a cropped top. She held a baseball glove in her hand, and she gave a wave.
“Oh man, Mikayla really went all out.” Sagiv muttered. Jade shook her head.
“It’s Mikayla, what did you expect?” She responded.
Mikayla stopped on the baseball diamond, taking deep breaths. “H-hey!” She yelled, putting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. “Who’s ready for baseball?”
“I’m not really a sports person…” Tristan whined. Sagiv put a hand on his shoulder, and Tristan looked over at him.
“Neither am I!” Sagiv agreed. “But a baseball game every once in a while can’t hurt!” He gave Tristan a wink, and Tristan nodded hesitantly.
“Don’t worry Tristan, it’ll be fun,” Dusanka reassured. Tristan shook his head and looked away.
“Alright! There’s eight of us, so four per team!” Mikayla ordered. She clung onto Sagiv and Jade. “These two are on my team!”
“I’ll join you three!” Kveta danced over to Mikayla, Sagiv and Jade, elbowing Sagiv in the ribs lightly. “We’re totally gonna kick their butts!”
“That leaves us four!” Radim gestured to Dusanka, Miloslav and Tristan. Miloslav gave Radim a thumbs up, and Dusanka gazed at the upset Tristan.
“Try to have fun, Tristan.” Dusanka told the teenage boy. He bit his lip to keep himself from saying something he might regret.
Mikayla distributed the baseball supplies, and she smiled at Dusanka. “Your team can go first!”
Dusanka’s eyes flickered over to Tristan. “You want to bat first?” Dusanka asked him.
“I guess I don’t have a choice,” Tristan grabbed his bat, going up to the first plate. He held his bat up, but unenthusiastically. Sagiv went up to pitch, and he cocked an eyebrow at Tristan. Sighing under his breath, he threw the ball.
Tristan moved the bat forward an inch, missing the ball entirely on purpose. “Woah, I missed it,” Tristan said, his tone monotonous.
Sagiv narrowed his eyes. “Well, let’s try it again.” He said. Miloslav threw the ball back to Sagiv, and Sagiv pitched the ball again.
Tristan missed the ball purposefully again. “Dang it,” he muttered sarcastically. Miloslav frowned and threw the ball back to Sagiv.
“Maybe try to hit the ball this time?” Sagiv teased. Tristan rolled his eyes, irritated.
Sagiv pitched the ball again, and Tristan hit the ball- without swinging the bat. The ball knocked against the bat and fell to the ground. Everyone stared at the ball, and Radim looked at Tristan.
“Uh… you gonna run?” He asked.
Tristan sighed and started to saunter toward first base. The others exchanged glances, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do.
Tristan made it to second base before Kveta ran up to the ball and threw it to Mikayla, who was standing at third base. She caught it, and Tristan stopped in his tracks.
“You’re out!” Mikayla shouted. Tristan shrugged his shoulders and walked back behind Dusanka. He sat on the ground and pulled out his phone, his fingers flying over the screen.
“Oookay,” Mikayla said, looking at Jade. “I guess it’s our turn?”
The rest of the game went well, without keeping score. Tristan stayed out, playing on his phone and ignoring the others. After everyone else grew tired, they ended the game.
Once the game was done, Mikayla sat down next to Tristan. “Did you have fun?” She asked uncomfortably.
“What do you think?” Tristan retorted, not looking up from his phone. Mikayla let out a heavy sigh and got back to her feet. Shaking her head, she walked back to the others.
“Thank you for the fun game, Mikayla,” Dusanka thanked her. Mikayla gave a disheartened nod. Miloslav looked al his watch, grunting, and Kveta nodded her head.
“That’s right! Dinner is soon, isn’t it?” Kveta beamed. She waved her hand, heading back to their car. “See ya later, Mikayla!”
The other Medveds followed her, wishing the others a good night. Mikayla said goodbye, then looked where Tristan was sitting.
He was gone.
Sagiv put a hand on Jade’s shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the car, okay?” He said.
“Alright, love you,” Jade responded. The two shared a kiss and Sagiv turned and headed toward his car.
That left Mikayla and Jade.
“Well,” Jade started, “how’s it going?” She already knew the answer.
Mikayla whimpered and hung her head. “Not very well,” Mikayla whined. “Tristan wants nothing to do with them!”
“I can tell,” Jade noted. She crossed her arms. “M-Mikayla, may I give a word of advice?”
“I’m all ears.” Mikayla replied. Jade averted her eyes.
“M-maybe you should fix your relationship with your dad.” Jade suggested. Her eyes grew sad. “You can see just how bad Tristan is after losing his father. You don’t want that to be you.”
Mikayla felt anger boil up inside of her. How dare Jade try to meddle in Mikayla’s relationship with her own father! Mikayla was so angry at her father, she wanted nothing to do with him.
“It’s not just about how he hurt me! It’s also about how he hurt my mom!” Mikayla snapped. “She dropped everything, left her home, all her friends and family back in Costa Rica, just to move here with my dad! And for what? So he could divorce her?!” Hot tears formed in Mikayla’s eyes. “How can I talk to him after that?!”
Jade drew circles in the ground with her foot, not knowing how to respond. “I-I…” she murmured, but Mikayla stomped her foot and threw her baseball hat on the ground.
“Can’t you see why I won’t forgive him?!” She hissed, crying in fury.
“W-well…”
Mikayla wiped her eyes on her hand, weeping. Jade stared at the ground, saddened by just how upset she made her best friend. She didn’t regret what she said- she knew Mikayla would feel guilty about it all if something happened to her father. She just hated to see her friend suffer.
“I’m going to help them,” Mikayla blubbered between sharp breaths. “I’m going to make it work.”
“Okay,” Jade whispered.
Without saying another word, Mikayla tore past Jade and toward her car. She ripped her keys from her pocket and unlocked her car, getting in and laying her head on the wheel.
“It’s gonna work,” Mikayla murmured to herself. “They’ll be one big happy family.”
She just wished she had the same.
As she cried to herself, she thought of more ideas on how to get them to bond. So far all her ideas were failing, but despite how horrible she felt, she wouldn’t give up.
Then she got it.
The only solution to their problem!
Mikayla started her car, calling Kveta through her phone. BlueTooth connected Mikayla’s phone to her car speakers, and Mikayla peeled out of the parking lot.
“Hey, Kveta?” Mikayla started. “I got it!”
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