The Worst One

Underneath a graying sky on the first official day of Spring 18 boys gathered on a grassy hill to play baseball in the park. An assortment of friends and parents sat watching them and cheering them on. The Chase sisters also watched the game but from a much greater distance. They sat on a bench well behind the center fielder but they could make out the action well enough. They had only sat there to rest after a long walk through the park on the overcast Sunday afternoon. They had wandered into the park after a lovely brunch together and each girl was gearing up for the week ahead in their own way. Beverly, the oldest, was trying to squeeze out every last ounce of stress left from the previous week. This included drinking 2 mimosas with breakfast much to Judy's chagrin. Judy was the youngest sister and therefore the most naive. She was only 13 years old and didn't understand why anybody in the world would need chemicals or alcohol or nicotine or pills or any such sorted things. She herself was able to deal with her life without the aide of such business and so others should as well. Anne, the middle sister and the one with the most level head, politely understood both sides of the debate and dealt with both sisters admirably.

After a long bout of silence Judy broke it with "I feel like a lemonade. Pink lemonade. Doesn't that sound delightful, Anne?"

Beverly chimed in saying "You know, sugar is no different than alcohol".

"Yes, it is! Sugar doesn't make you slur your words and act all funny and people don't go to meetings to give it up!"

"It makes you bounce off the walls. It still affects your brain, dingus. Just in a different way"

"Oh! Shut up, Beverly. You're drunk!"

Beverly laughed at this and replied with "I am NOT!"

Anne had to giggle too.

"Your sister is fine, Judy. Don't be ridiculous"

Judy huffed and folded her arms dramatically. After a few seconds she sighed and said in a radically disinterested tone, "Well, I still feel like a lemonade".

All the girls shared a laugh after this and returned their attention back to the game.

Anne said, "Oh, now I've lost track of the score. Who is winning now?"

Beverly plainly replied with a simple "the ones in the uniforms".

It was true that only one team had real, true uniforms. The other team simply wore red t-shirts and blue jeans. One poor child couldn't even muster the resources to comply with this simple request and wore a white t-shirt. It made him stick out like a sore thumb. He wasn't the worst player though, at least not in the sisters' eyes. In fact, Judy was quite taken with the young man. This simultaneously delighted Anne and annoyed Beverly. Beverly thought the boy looked simple and stupid and that her charming little sister, however misguided, was way out of his league. She envisioned them going on dates together. She pictured him arriving to pick her up, sweating and stammering, for a night at the movies or dinner wearing a mismatched suit (assuming he could even acquire a suit of any sort) and bringing her the shabbiest daffodils in the history of daffodils. She kept all this to herself, of course. She smiled and patted her sister on the head as she sat and swooned over the boy. She thought "he's cute enough, I suppose and he's no worse than that poor boy at second base". "That poor boy" was the one Anne dubbed "the worst one". The player which thoroughly frustrated not only his teammates but even the most empathetic of spectators. His wild throws, missed catches, improper knowledge of the rules and general laziness aggravated everyone within a 1/2 mile radius of the field. Anne's heart went out to the poor child even as part of her was annoyed by the lag in game play his behavior caused. Her attitude was decidedly more positive than her sisters' though. They hated the boy. They didn't go so far as to say it outloud but it was clear as day through their body language and facial expressions.

"Come on. Let's go home", said Beverly without a hint of it being a question.
"Why?"
"It's getting late and it looks like it might rain soon. And I want to take a nap before this god awful weekend is over".
"Oh, alright"

They rose slowly but surely and wandered down a path. Anne turned her head around one last time to take in one last look at the game. She took a deep breath and thought about the "worst one" and how his parents must have felt. She wondered if she would support a child like that someday and looked down at her younger sister. She smiled and grabbed her hand as they left the park and started for home.