Chapter Nine: My First Game

Chapter Nine: My First Game


Today is the day that I have always dreamed of; I am going to be the starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. I have been practicing for two months and today Coach said that I was ready. Unfortunately, we are playing my favorite team, which you know is the Yankees. At least we are home. I picked the number twenty-two for my jersey because that is how old Matt was when he died. Luckily, I have heard that I am pretty popular all over the USA, especially with Cubs fans. I heard that about twenty thousand people have already bought my jersey. I woke up extra early today to go to the stadium. I called up one of our catchers, Koyie Hill, and told him to come to the stadium with me. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, he also was nice to me after a couple practices; I guess Carlos’s advice about proving I just made a mistake worked. We met at the stadium and I practiced pitching for about twenty-five minutes. I would’ve practiced longer, but I didn’t want to wear out my arm. We both went back to our apartments and we waited anxiously for 6:30.
At 4:30 P.M., our whole team came to the stadium so we had time to have a little speech, practice, have another speech, and then… as the umpire says: “Play Ball!” When I walked out of the tunnel and onto the diamond after our speech, the whole crowd started to chant.
“Danny! Danny! Danny!”
It was the greatest feeling ever. A huge chunk of guilt fell out of my stomach. At least my fans didn’t hate me. We practiced for a little, and I have to admit, I was doing great. We headed back into the locker room and all sat down on the benches. Coach stood in front of all of us ready to speak.
“Okay, guys,” he said. “Today is Dan’s first game. We are in first place in our division by a lot of games. So really, this isn’t a big game, right?”
“Right!” we all chanted.
“Wrong! It is a big game for Daniel. It is very emotional for him, and to win his first game for his friend, will be a great honor for him…for all of us. We are playing for Matt tonight, gentlemen.”
Coach stared around the room looking at us.
“Hands in,” he said.
We all put our hands in on top of one another and coach yelled: “Matt on three!”
“One, two, three, Matt!” we all chanted at the same time.
We ran out of the tunnel all pumped up and again, the crowd cheered my name. Since we are home, we are in the field first. I walked onto the mound and threw my warm up pitches to Koyie and before I knew it, the umpire yelled, “Play Ball!”
The first batter, Derek Jeter, my favorite player on the Yankees, stood up to the plate; he did a couple of warm up swings and then posed in his stance. I saw the signal from Koyie… fastball. He reached his arm out to the outside corner so I would throw it there. Sweat dripped down my face, I was thinking about Matt. I could hear him screaming, telling me to slow down. I threw the pitch. I threw it right down the middle of the plate. Wham! The batter hit the ball on the sweet spot of his bat. Zoom! Right over my head I had to duck. The ball bounced right before the center fielder’s feet and he scooped it up. I looked over at first base and saw the batter standing happily on the base. He led off of the base about five feet. The first baseman had his one foot on first, and had his glove sticking out ready for me to throw it so we could pick the runner off. Matt’s name rung in my head like really loud bells. The next batter came up to the plate. He was in his batting stance, ready to nail the ball. I looked at Koyie, he gave me the sign, curveball. I looked at the batter, then the base runner, then the batter. Matt was still ringing in my head. I could still hear his voice.
“Daniel! Kid!”
I closed my eyes; I threw the ball at first base intending to hit my player’s glove. Unfortunately, the ball sailed right over his head. The runner took off. Our right fielder, who was behind first base, sprinted towards the ball. The runner rounded second and headed to third. Our fielder chucked it to third base but it was too late. Derek easily slid into third and was safe. I got the ball back and Coach already approached the mound to talk to me.
“Please don’t take me out coach. I can improve.”
“I’m not going to, Dan,” he said. “I know you’re thinking about Matt. Just don’t worry about him. Play like you would in college.”
He walked back to the dugout. I got into my pitching stance and was ready to face Curtis Granderson. Koy gave me the curveball signal again. Coach’s advice didn’t work, I thought about how he helped me in math. I remember everything he said, word for word as a tutor. I threw the pitch. The pitch went up out of the strike zone and had no curve to it.
“Ball,” the ump said.
The next sign was a sinker, I threw the ball and it sunk beautifully out of the strike zone. Curtis swung and missed.
“Strike!” the ump said.
Sorry, Curtis, I thought to myself.
The next sign, slider; I started to think about Matt again. I threw the slider and it went right down the middle. Boom! Curtis Granderson hit the ball. It sailed into the air. The ball went back and back and then, it flew over the fence. Curtis Granderson, one of my biggest heroes, just hit a two-run homerun off me. I managed to strike out the next batter, Mark Teixeira. The batter after that, Alex Rodriguez, flew out. Next, Jorge Posada grounded out. We ran back to the dugout because we got three outs, and now, it was our turn to hit. I sat down next to Carlos and Koyie as we watched our batters hit.
“It’s only two runs, Daniel, you’ll get ‘em back,” Carlos said.
He was right; we managed to score three runs, before we had to go back on the diamond. We were winning three to two. That inning, they scored three runs off of me and then we pulled off three outs. The score is now five to three Yankees are up.
It’s now the top half of the sixth and the score is eight to seven, we’re losing. I came up to the mound for the sixth time. Surprisingly, Coach didn’t take me out of the game. I let in eight runs. Like usual, Matt’s voice rang in my head. I could tell my teammates were really mad at me. I threw the ball; it was a terrible pitch right down the middle. Wham! Russell Martin hit a single. Before I knew it, the bases were loaded. Robinson Cano, unfortunately, is up. He is great at hitting the ball in situations like this.
“Danny! Danny! Danny! Danny!”
That was the first time in forever the crowd chanted my name. I threw a fastball down and away. I caught Cano looking.
“Strike!” the ump yelled.
The next pitch was a beautiful slider; swing and a miss!
“Strike two!”
Next thing I knew.
“Strike three!”
I struck out the next two batters and I left the bases loaded. I managed to let no runs in, so the score is still eight to seven, we’re losing.
It’s now the top of the ninth. I held their score at eight, and we pulled ahead at nine. Everybody headed out onto the field and I was about to follow after them but Coach grabbed my arm.
“Daniel,” he said. “This is the last inning. We are winning, so you just need to do what you’ve been doing. Strike out the side, and you’ll have your first win; for Matt!”
I ran out onto the field with the crowd cheering my name. I stepped on the mound. The crowd was roaring. They were screaming and screaming. They weren’t cheering my name, but it still helped my confidence. I struck out the first two batters which gave me two outs. Next, Curtis Granderson stepped up to the plate. He hit a homerun in the first inning. If he does it again, he’ll tie the score. I closed my eyes. I opened them and threw my pitch.
“Strike!”
I closed my eyes again, Zoom! Swing and a miss!
“Strike two!”
Koyie gave me the curveball sign. If I get this strike, I win my game for Matt. I pitched the ball at the bottom of the strike zone so it would curve down and out of the strike zone so Curtis would chase it.
“Ball!” the ump said.
My plan didn’t work.
“Ball two!” the ump said again.
“Ball three!”
Now the count is full, if I throw a ball, he gets a free base to first. If I throw a strike, I win. Koy gave me the fastball sign. I closed my eyes and saw Matt’s face.
You can do it, buddy, he said in my head. I opened my eyes. Curtis stared at me with intense eyes. He’s shaking way more than I am. I threw the ball. It seemed as if it were in slow motion. The ball hit the bottom left corner of the strike zone. Curtis didn’t swing. The umpire stared for about two seconds trying to make up his mind.
“Strike!” he yelled.
The crowd roared with excitement. I did it; I came back and won it for Matt. I fell on my knees and watched Granderson slowly walk back to his dugout upset. Tears spilled down my face. I knew Mom and Dad are watching on the television right now. I covered my face with my hands in shock. My whole team ran to the mound, coaches and players. They were cheering as well. They piled on top of me yelling stuff like,“You did it, Dan! You won!”
I guess everyone liked me now. When I climbed out of the pile, my name was on the screen. It said “Danny”. The crowd was chanting my name as usual. I won this game, I won it for Matt. We all walked back to the tunnel except for me. I luckily was carried on everyone shoulders. I achieved three things today. One, I won my first MLB game. Two, I won this game in memorial for Matt. Three, I was forgiven, for what I’ve done!

The End

Daniel’s Life

Daniel played nineteen seasons and then retired. He won eleven World Series rings and married a girl named Judy Stevens. Daniel Evans was loved by his teammates and fans and died a baseball Hall of Famer legend at the age of eighty-nine.

Chapter Eight: Heading out to Chicago

Chapter Eight: Heading out to Chicago


Yesterday I was released from the hospital. I have to go to Chicago and meet Lou Piniella. I made it to the airport, then my seat, then Chicago, and then Wrigley Field. The Cubs were having a practice there. I saw a man in a Cubs jacket and a Cubs hat waiting in the parking lot. I walked out of my rental car and up to the man.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m Lou Piniella. You must be Daniel.”
“Daniel Evans,” I responded. “How’s it going?”
I reached out and shook his hand. He brought me inside the stadium and out onto the diamond. I saw a lot of Cubs players playing catch, pitching, and hitting. I knew everyone on the team in spite of the fact that I’m a Yankees fan. I love to pay attention to baseball. I could tell you any stat you want; I could tell you every player on every team (okay, maybe that’s a little exaggerated). Oh, and the fact that I’m a Yankees fan, I won’t tell them about that.
“Okay!” Lou said. “Everybody stop what you’re doing and come over to the dugout!”
The players obediently stopped and walked over to where Lou and I were. When they all arrived, Lou started to talk again.
“People, this is your new teammate, Daniel Evans. He spent two years at Harvard, graduated, and now is going to play with you as a Chicago Cub.”
The players looked at me as if I had a bomb in my hand. They seemed so disgusted with me. They must’ve heard what I did.
“Hey guys,” I said. “Waz sup?”
I had no clue what to say, I could tell in their eyes they hated me.
“So this is our new teammate,” one player said. “Out of all the people in the world, we have to have a college boy.”
“You were once in college too,” Lou butted in.
“Yea, but I knew how to drive in college.”
Lou just walked away without saying another word. One by one, the players spit at my feet and walked away. One player didn’t spit though, and he stayed.
“My name is Carlos Zambrano,” he said. “I’m also a starting pitcher, don’t worry about them.”
“Thanks,” I said. “You know what I did. Why are you sticking up for me?”
“Because no one’s perfect,” he said.
“I guess so,” I admitted.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” he said. “Just prove that you made a mistake and that you can overcome it.”
I smiled and walked away. I met my pitching coach and got to work.

Chapter Seven: Tragic News

Chapter Seven: Tragic News


I woke up in a nice cozy bed. I looked up and saw a lady hovering over me.
“Hey,” she said. “You’re okay after all.”
“What? Who are you? You’re not my mother,” I said.
“I know I’m not, but she is.”
The stranger lady pointed to the side of me and I looked. I saw my mom and dad kneeling next to me.
“Hey, Mom, hey Dad,” I said. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital,” Mom answered. “That lady is your nurse.”
“Could she leave? I want to talk to you alone.”
My dad looked at the nurse and she left.
“So you probably heard what happened,” I guessed. “I’m sorry.”
“People say that you were driving irresponsibly and crashed,” Mom said. Great! I thought to myself sarcastically. Just what I wanted them to hear.
“Where’s Matt?!” I suddenly remembered he was in the car.
“Honey, I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Mom said.
“I don’t care if you know what I’m talking about!” I snapped. “Where’s Matt?!”
“Son,” Dad butted in. “You hit your head, maybe you’re remembering wrong.”
“Fine!” I yelled. “You guys don’t know, I’ll ask the doctor.”
I sat up and started to climb out of my bed, but my dad put his arm around me.
“Daniel! You can’t get out of bed. You need to rest.”
“Don’t tell me what to do! I’m fine!”
I threw his arm off of me and climbed out of bed. I figured that that wasn’t the best way to greet my parents since two years, but I need to find Matt. I found the doctor and walked up to him.
“Excuse me doctor,” I said. “Can you help me find a patient?”
“Name?” he asked.
“Matthew Brown,” I said.
The doctor looked at me troubled like he didn’t know what to say.
“So,” I said. “Where is he?!”
“Son, the day of the crash… Matt came to this same hospital…” he paused. “He didn’t make the night.”
The doctor walked away without saying another word. He could at least have said sorry. He was so uncompassionate it made me want to punch him in the nose. For the first time in a long time, I found myself crying. Tears ran down my face as if someone poured a bucket of water on me. I slowly walked back to my room and sat down on my bed where my mom and dad still were.
“Daniel, what’s wrong?” my mom asked.
I sat there wondering how I could explain this.
“Daniel!” my dad yelled. “Answer your mother.”
“I…” I started. “My friend, Matt, was in the car with me. He… he died last night. It’s all my fault Mom.”
“Dan,” my dad said. “It was your fault, you’re right; but you don’t have to feel guilty about it. It was an accident… accidents happen.”

Two days later, I was released from the hospital. The first thing I did was find out where Matt’s parents lived. I drove there and rung the doorbell. A man opened the door who I suspected was Matt’s father.
“Sir, I’m Daniel Evans, you must be…”
“Hello, Daniel,” he cut me off sounding angry. “I hope you’re having a lovely day.”
I knew he was being sarcastic.
“Because my day,” he continued. “Totally stinks right now! Do you want to know why? Because you crashed a car that my son was in, and now he’s DEAD!”
“Sir,” I said. “I came over to apologize. If you don’t accept it, I totally understand.”
“Well, I don’t! So get out!”
He slammed the door, but I stopped it with my hands. I pushed it back open.
“Just one thing I need to say before I go,” I said. “I wish that I wasn’t irresponsible, because Matt was the nicest friend that I have ever had; if it wasn’t for him… I wouldn’t be a college graduate right now.”
“Well, I’m proud of him that he helped you,” he said. “But I’m not proud of you.”
He shut the door again, but this time didn’t slam it. I walked away and pulled out my car keys. As soon as I opened my door, the house door opened back up. Matt’s dad was standing there.
“Daniel,” he stuttered. “I… I forgive you.”
He shut the door again and I felt happy that he forgave me. Now I must head out to Chicago.

Chapter Six: I Officially HATE Myself Now

Chapter Six: I Officially HATE Myself Now


For the first time in my entire life, I was excited to get up when my alarm clock beeped. I couldn’t wait to see my grade. If I pass, I will pitch on the Chicago Cubs. I ran down the hall and was about to run downstairs when I saw Matt’s room. I stopped and knocked on the door. He opened up and let me in.
“Hello, Dan, are you feeling good about your test?”
“Yup!” I replied.
“Well, I hope you pass,” he said.
“Hey, Matt, what are you going to do after graduation?”
“Um... it’s not as cool as baseball,” he said ashamed.
“Come on, Matt, it’s probably just as cool,” I assured him.
“After I graduate this year, I’m going to be a scientist. I’m gonna make rocket ships; like really advanced rocket ships that can go out of the galaxy.”
“And that’s not cool?” I said. “You’re probably going to be way more famous than me. You never know. I could be benched my whole career and never throw a single pitch.”
The part where I said he could be more famous than me was true, but that was a lie when I said I thought I would be benched every single game. I’m so good at pitching (not trying to boast, but seriously).
“Well, got to go. I’m gonna go check my grades.”
“Okay, I’ll see you down there,” Matt said.
I left his dorm room and headed downstairs. When I got to the wall with the grades, there was a giant line of people. Well this is great! I thought. Waiting anxiously for everyone to move along after they saw their grade, I finally got up to the chart. I started at the top of the page with my finger and slid down it until I found the "E’s", for Evan. Okay, I found E…Ev…Eva…finally, Evan. I slid my finger to the side making sure the grade and my name were lined up. No way… I got an A plus. You’ve got to be kidding me. I actually got an A plus. I passed! I passed! I passed! Again, I had to find a way to let this feeling out. So again, I jumped up and shouted. People stared at me in shock.
“I know I said I'd never do that again, but I also didn’t know that I would get an A plus. I had to go back on my promise.”
Everybody continued to stare at me.
“I’m just gonna head to math.”
As soon as all my classes ended, I headed straight to baseball practice. I told coach about my grade first thing.
“I already heard,” he said. “I’m very proud of you, Daniel, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“Now that you’re gone, we won’t win nearly as many games... who am I kidding, it’s your career. I’m sorry Dan.”
“No problem, coach,” I said. “I take that as a compliment.”
Coach told me that a week after I graduate, which is in a month, I would be sent to Chicago and meet, Lou Piniella, the Cubs’ coach. The month flew by and I graduated. In one week, I would be in Chicago. The day after graduation, I knocked on Matt’s door.
“Hey Matt,” I said.
“Hey buddy.”
“So,” I said. “We’re both graduated, and we’re both headed in great directions for our careers.”
“Your point?” he asked.
“Maybe we could go to Chili's to celebrate. I’ve got a car.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you outside,” he said.
It seemed like forever waiting in my car for Matt. Every time the dorm door opened, I hoped that it was Matt. Each time it was another student until, finally, it was Matt. What I saw messed with my mind; Matt is dressed in a green button down shirt with caci dress pants. His hair is combed over to the side and he has black dress shoes on. When he opened the door to shotgun and sat down, I looked at him trying not to laugh.
“What?” he asked.
“You do know I said Chili's, not the White House?”
“Yeah… what’s your point?”
“Why did you dress up?” I finally asked.
“What? Am I not allowed to look nice?”
“Whatever,” I said.
I pulled out of the college parking lot and headed to Chili's. I pressed down the gas pedal more and more as we went.
“Don’t you think you should slow down?” Matt warned.
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I’ve had my license for years now.”
Matt didn’t say anything. I knew he was just trying to trust me. I looked at my speedometer and saw that I was going eighty on a thirty-five mile per hour road.
“Okay! You’re going too fast!” he yelled. “Slow down or I’m getting out.”
“Don’t worry, there is like barely any cops on this road.”
“I’m not scared of getting pulled over,” he said. “I’m afraid of crashing.”
My speed is now at ninety. I continued to ignore Matt. I started to think of my parents. If they saw me doing this, I would be in huge trouble. I thought of the possibility of actually crashing. What would people tell them? Your son was driving irresponsibly and crashed? I couldn’t imagine them hearing that. I won’t crash though. I won’t…
“DAN! KID!” Matt yelled.
I swerved to avoid the kid in the road, and went into the grass. I dodged trees while going ninety. Matt covered his eyes with his hands.
“I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die!” he yelled.
“You’re not going to die!” I yelled. “I’m like Evel Knievel.”
I looked over at Matt and saw how scared he was. I looked back straight ahead and CRASH! I hit a tree dead on. We flew up into the air twirling like a roller coaster. We hit the ground on the side of the car and rolled and rolled. Matt didn’t’ have his seat belt on and he flew out of his seat and bounced up and down as we rolled. As for me, I was belted in so I stayed in my seat. The car finally came to a halt upside down. I am okay; I just have a little cut on my forehead and what feels like a broken arm. I looked over at Matt. He doesn’t look so good. He is unconscious and all cut up and bloody. I shook his arm trying to wake him up. The more I shook; the more I started to feel dizzy. I must have hit my head on something. I can’t keep my eyes open but I don’t care. I kept on shaking Matt over and over.
“Matt wake up!” I yelled. “Matt wake up! MATT!!!”

Chapter five: The Big Test

Chapter five: The Big Test

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Is what I heard Friday morning.
I couldn't have possibly slept in, I thought. I looked at my alarm clock, 5:30 A.M. I still have a whole hour to sleep. I rose out of bed, headed to the door, and then opened the door. Matt was on the other side.
"What are you doing?" I asked. "I still have another hour."
"Don't care," he responded. "Get your butt down to math class." He shut the door. As puzzled and doubtful as I was, I showered, got changed, and headed down to class. When I arrived, there Matt was sitting at Mr. Hendricks' desk eating an apple. As soon as he saw me, Matt leaped out of the chair, over the desk, and onto the ground. I never knew he could do that.
"You may ask," Matt began. "Why... am I here?"
"Right on the money," I replied. He looked at me as if I were dumb.
"Don't get smart, Evans. Now, if you want to make it to the MLB, you must past this test."
"News flash!" I said frustrated.
"Daniel! Last chance," he warned. "If you are tired during the test, then you won't pay attention, then you won't pass the test, then..."
"I get it!"
"So," he continued as if I had never spoken. "You will exercise for one hour to get you pumped up."
"What!" I complained.
"Don't be a sissy, Daniel. It's for the best."
I sighed. I looked back just to make sure that no one was watching.
"Embarrassed, Evans?" he asked.
"Do you have to notice every little movement that I make?"
"I apologize," he said. "Now, twenty-five jumping jacks... go!"
For some reason, I listened and did as he said. After I finished, he told me to do thirty squats, then fifteen push-ups, then fifty sit-ups! Finally, I heard:
"Done! You have completed your exercise."
I looked at my watch and saw that it was seven o'clock. If I awoke at 5:30, took a half an hour to shower, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and got changed, that led me to 6:00. Man, I had been working out for a whole hour. Time really flew.
"Okay," Matt said. "Do you feel awake?"
"More than ever," I replied.
"Well, you're not clean," he examined. "Get upstairs and shower, class starts in a half hour."
I have decided to start listening to Matt. He seems to be a lot wiser than I am. Quickly, I ran upstairs to my dorm room and did my normal routine that I do in the morning. Class starts at 7:30 A.M., I came to class at 7:35.
That won't help; I thought when I entered the class.
"Mr. Evans, you are five minutes late."
I braced myself for a punishment. For good students who had a good reputation, being five minutes late is okay. I'm not a good student, though, I am a bad student with a bad reputation; and I hate to admit it, but Mr. Hendricks doesn't like me very much.
"Fortunately," he continued. "Matthew told me that you and he are close friends and he assured me that you would be here soon. So I waited and sure enough, he was right."
"What's your point, sir?" I asked.
"My point is, you are not in trouble... sit down!"
Then why did you mention that I was late? Why not just keep your mouth closed? I thought to myself.
I sat down next to Matt and took out my pencils. Mr. Hendricks went around the room passing out our test papers. When he arrived at me and Matt's desk, I reached out to grab my paper. Mr. Hendricks pulled the paper away and bent down to tell me something.
"You better not disappoint me, Daniel," he ordered. "Matt has been telling me how he is your tutor. I expect great things from you. Matthew is a smart boy."
I managed to smile and say:
"Yes sir, I won't let you down," I assured him.
He handed me my paper and walked away to pass out the other tests. I stopped smiling and turned to Matt.
"I hate that man," I whispered.
Matt smiled and looked down at his paper. I think that that is the first time Matt has smiled in his life. Mr. Hendricks finally made it to the front of the class.
"You have one hour to finish this test everybody," he said. "Once you finish, head to your next class. Tomorrow, your grades will be hung up on the wall. Your test starts... now."
I quickly looked down at my paper and saw my first problem. My brain froze. I forgot how to do this problem. I looked to Matt about to ask for help. I figured that probably wasn't a good idea. I closed my eyes and tried to remember what Matt told me. Thinking and thinking, I remembered. A great giant smile went across my whole entire face. I jotted down the answer and moved on to my next question. I whipped through all fifty questions in ten minutes. I checked my answers really carefully seeing as I flew through the test so quickly. Everything was right. At least that's what it looked like. I checked through one more time and still, all correct. I had to let this happy feeling out. I didn't know how though. Without thinking, I jumped up and shouted, "Woo Hoo!" Everyone stared at me.
"Sorry," I said. "It won't happen again."
Although I said sorry, I couldn't help from smiling. I handed Mr. Hendricks my paper and ran out of the room. I went to my dorm room and waited for my next class to start. The whole time I was thinking, I'm going to the MLB!

Chapter four: Let's Get to Work

Chapter four: Let’s Get to Work


After school, Matt came back to my dorm room with his math books and we got to work.
“Alright,” Matt said. “I think that I know your problem.”
“Sweet… what is it,” I responded.
“You’re so bored in class that you don’t even try to pay attention.”
“I pay attention!”
“Okay, making paper airplanes and throwing them at the teacher is paying attention?” he confronted me.
“Okay maybe I have a little paying attention problem....” He stared at me. “Okay I have a big paying attention problem. But that doesn’t matter because you’re here to help me with that. So let’s get started.”
Matt continued to explain to me how the problems worked and how to be a little more interested.
“Alright, now that I have taught you a lot about math, now it is time for your test,” Matt said.
“What!” I exclaimed. “You never told me that you had a test for me.”
“I know I didn’t… I don’t have too.”
“But…
“Hey, you asked me to help you, so you will do it my way, not your way, my way! Do you understand?”
“I guess, but…”
“My way!” he yelled. Matt gave me the hardest test that anyone could ever ask for. It took me two hours to finish it.
“Finally,” I said. “Here’s my test; I hope that it pleases you.” After fifteen minutes of correcting, Matt handed me the test back.
“D plus!?” I yelled. “Come on! I did better than that.”
“Hmm? Let me see,” Matt said. “Okay, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, that’s right.” He went on mumbling to himself correcting my paper again. “Yup, D plus,” he said. “You need more work.”
"Tomorrow is Friday," I said. "That is the day of the test!"
"That is why we need to start working," Matt said. So Matt went over the same information again trying to help me understand. I just don't know what it is about math. It seems to hate me. If I even see the word math I get a brain block. I did Matt's test again. It was a little better.
"C plus!" I exclaimed (just a little better).
"Hey, at least it was better than last time," Matt said. "We'll study one more time and I'll guarantee you a B plus."
Again, we studied and studied until my brain exploded. I finished the test for the third time and then handed it to Matt. I waited nervously watching him correct my paper. Finally, he looked up at me.
"I guess I was wrong about the B plus," Matt said. I shook with fear waiting for him to tell me my grade. "You got an A minus."
"WooHoo!" I yelled happily. "I'm gonna pass the test on Friday, and then I'm going to the MLB!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Matt interrupted. "Now I don't pay much attention to baseball, but don't you have to go through like three leagues or something before you get to the MLB?"
"Normally, yes, but my coach said that he talked to the coach of the "Chicago Cubs", and he said that he would pick me up right away because I am so good."
"Oh nice," Matt said. "You've got some skill."
"Yes I do, yes I do." Matt left my dorm room and I got to bed nice and early. Tomorrow... is a big day.

Chapter Three: Matthew is now my Tutor

Chapter Three: Matthew is now my Tutor


Things started to look up for me. I started to do well in all of my classes. Okay, most of my classes. I’m still having trouble in math; but English, history, and science I’m doing pretty well at. I have a 1.9 right now. If I can pick up in math, I’ll play in the MLB. Next Friday will decide it. There will be a big test for math. If I can get a B+ or higher, I’ll have a 2.3. I decided that every day I should go to bed at nine o’clock sharp. I need to be bright eyed and bushy tailed if I want to pass that test.
Matthew has been pulling pranks on me ever since we got into that fight in math class. Pranks like slamming his mashed potatoes into my face at lunch time. Or throwing my books into the toilet (he got suspended for that one). He even threw a baseball at me during my practice. Luckily it missed me. I’ve got to say, he has a terrible arm. If I want to pass this test, I need to be bold, walk up to him, and ask him to help me study. That’s what I’m going to do; tomorrow first thing before any of my classes start.
The sun is shining bright on this new day; the day that I am going to ask Matt to be my tutor. I walked up to the door of his room and knocked. I heard footsteps coming closer to the door. Once they stopped, there was a couple second pause and then the door opened.
“Hi Daniel,” he mumbled.
“Matthew, you seem disappointed to see me.”
“Why wouldn’t I be disappointed? You humiliated me in front of the whole class.”
“How did I humiliate you? You’re the one who blew me in and said that I didn’t study.”
“You called me Erwin.”
“So?” I said confused.
“I hate that name!” he yelled.
“Well, I’m sorry that I made you upset, but that’s not the reason I’m here.”
“Then why are you here disturbing my peace and quiet,” he said.
“Well… I need you to help me study for the test next week.”
“Hmm?” he wondered. “Let me think… NO!” Slam! The door shut. I sighed.
“Matthew. Come on, I need you.” The door opened slowly.
“Did… did you say that you need me? Did you say that?”
“Yeah, I don’t see why…”
“Oh thank-you so much!” he said lunging toward me for a hug.
“Whoa!” I exclaimed. “I’m not much of a hugger.” He paid me no mind and kept on hugging.
“Thank-you so much Daniel. I… don’t cry that often but… I think… I think that I am going to… you know… cry.
“No please don’t cry,” I begged. I managed to get Matt to stop hugging me, but I couldn’t keep him from crying.
“I mean…” he continued crying. “You… I thought that you were mean… but… you can’t possibly be mean after… after you say something like that.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s awfully sweet of me.” I started to shoo him back into the door.
“You’re so nice… you’re so nice. I need a tissue,” he sniffled. “I need…” Slam! This time I shut the door.
“Hmm?” I said. “I take that as a yes.”