Blurb:
For most people,
softball is a way to have fun, get exercise, make friends, and develop
teamwork. But for 17-year-old Jace Waldron, softball is something more – a
pathway to maturity. It is through that game that Jace learns what is important
in romance and why physical beauty alone is not enough to make it work. Join
Jace and his team, the Valkyries, as they come to the plate to take on all
challengers, while gaining valuable lessons about life along the way.
Author:
Before writing
Fast-Pitch Love, Clay Cormany spent over 20 years as a writer and editor for
the Ohio Department of Education. His creative work has appeared in the
Columbus Dispatch and Spring Street, Columbus State Community College's
literary magazine. He has also edited numerous books, including a three-volume
biography of Christopher Columbus and A Death Prolonged by Dr. Jeff Gordon,
which received coverage in the New York Times and on PBS.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
The skinny student
recoiled from the push, his back thumping into the wall behind him. His books
fell to the floor as he raised his hands to block the punch that seemed
imminent.
"Don't hit me,
Carson," the student pleaded. "I didn't mean anything by it."
Carson Ealy, all two
hundred thirty pounds of him, loomed over the frightened student like a hungry
bear. "How can you say you 'didn't mean anything by it'?" he snarled.
"You asked her out, didn't you?"
"Not … not
really. I just thought Stephanie might like to stop by my house to … to see my
tropical fish. She … she … she lives just around the corner from me, and now
that school's out –"
"Shut up!"
Carson yelled. He grabbed the quivering boy under the armpits and lifted him
until his shoes dangled at least a foot off the floor. "Stephanie doesn't
want to see your stupid fish or your teddy bear or your doll collection. She
doesn't even want to give you the time of day. And you know something else?"
The student, his face
white with fear, shook his head.
"I don't want to
either, and if you bug her again, I'm going to twist your head off. Capisce?”
The student nodded
frantically. "Yeah, yeah, sure, I cap –"
Carson dropped the kid
like an unwanted toy and watched him slink away. The handful of students who
witnessed the encounter also began to walk on. Some might not have known what
it was all about, but Jace Waldron did. He knew the skinny student made the
near-fatal mistake of putting a move on Stephanie Thornapple. Jace had never
made that mistake — but he sure thought about it.
A new student at
Ridgeview High, Stephanie joined Jace's American history class right after
Christmas break. She sat a little ahead of him, one row to the right, giving
him a near-perfect position to admire her near-perfect beauty. Only minutes
before watching Carson bully the skinny student, Jace had gazed at Stephanie
while working on his history final. In the midst of answering questions about
the Great Depression and the Cold War, he imagined himself making out with her.
Jace went to his
locker and began cleaning it out. There wasn't much there. Just a few loose
papers, a copy of Little Women, and the latest issue of the Ram Courier,
Ridgeview High's student newspaper. As he put these things into his backpack,
students around him checked pagers or made plans for parties and sleepovers.
Some exchanged hugs with friends they might not see again until the end of
August.
With his locker
emptied, Jace headed toward the metal doors on the north side of the school,
his gateway to summer vacation, and thought again about the confrontation he
just witnessed. The skinny student apparently missed the news that Carson Ealy,
starting nose tackle on the Ridgeview Rams football team, was Stephanie's
boyfriend. The big guy corralled her almost from the moment she arrived,
hanging out by her locker, eating lunch with her, and walking with her between
classes. Carson wasn't smart or handsome. Jace thought that with a little extra
hair, he could pass for Bigfoot. Still, he found the right words to discourage
other guys who were interested in Stephanie: "Leave Steph alone, or I'll
break your neck." Potential rivals knew he meant business and backed off.
Jace pushed through
the school doors and out into the pleasing warmth of the June afternoon. While
he headed to the parking lot, he took in the scent of lilacs and watched the
gentle swaying of the crab apple trees that stood in a line between the lot and
the tennis courts beyond. After a moment of searching, Jace spotted the blue
and silver sedan that belonged to Stick Macklin, his long-time friend and
cross-country teammate. Most days, he would be driving his own car, but that
set of wheels wasn’t going anywhere without a new battery. He rode to school
with his neighbor Mrs. Havener, who supervised the school cafeteria, and with
any luck he could ride home with Stick.
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