Prepper

Chapter 5

Ashley took Hunter's paper from him and had started to walk away when he called her back and handed her a pen, one of those fine-tipped Sharpies. Jeez, Ashley felt dumb. Of course the players would need something to sign with. She walked toward the diamond with the newspaper and now the pen, holding the paper in her fingertips because her palms were damp.

She crossed the invisible line that marked the friends and family bleacher zone. Nobody noticed her. All the people that should be in those bleachers were on the diamond now, crowding around the players that were their sons and the other kids that were their sons' friends. Everyone was so loud, laughing and talking, that Ashley might have to shout to get anybody's attention. Eff. But it was for Hunter.

Ashley took a deep breath and stepped around the safety fencing. God, she did not belong here. Super did not, but she wasn't the only one. There were other kids on the diamond who weren't players, who weren't even friends with the team, getting the guys to sign stuff. Have a great summer! So sad. Except this wasn't for Ashley, it was for Hunter, so nobody would write that.

There was so much energy out here. The Tigers piled into selfies or lined up, groaning and mugging, for a real camera held by some parent. One girl shrieked, lifted into the air by Dante, and Gabe dipped his boyfriend into a movie star kiss. Little kids darted through the crowd, tugging on the pockets of their older brothers. Somebody turned their phone way up and all the players who could hear it fell into some kind of dance move for a few seconds, the kind of thing they did in the dugout during a rain delay.

The Tiger closest to Ashley was Cody. His back was to her, those broad, broad shoulders, and he was taking pictures with some other Ridgeway kids. Ashley was probably photobombing those pictures like a total creeper. Now she'd have to ask Cody to sign first so later when they looked at the pictures it wouldn't look like Ashley was stalking him or something. Shoot, because Ashley had been hoping to work her way up to Cody and then, God, to Jake beyond him. Just do it. Do it for Hunter.

Ashley swallowed and stepped up to Cody, so close to Cody, and tapped him on the shoulder. She shrank when he turned to look at her. Wow, his eyes were pretty. And impatient, flicking over her as she blushed.

"Um, hi, could you, um, please sign this?" Ashley asked. She held out the newspaper and the pen.

"Do you even go to our school?" Cody asked, taking them.

"Um, yeah. It's for my brother," Ashley said, and pointed to Hunter. Cody looked over and Hunter did his "spazzy" wave, the kind he did when people stared at him. Ashley gave him a look, not that he could see it from here.

"Oh, uh, sure," Cody said. "What's his name?"

"Hunter. Um, he wants the whole team to sign it. He loves the Tigers. You don't have to write anything. He just wants your autographs because he thinks you'll be famous someday."

"He's got that right," Cody said, signing his name. "Jake! Yo, Parker!" he yelled, and Jake turned. Cody passed Hunter's newspaper over the heads of the people in between them. "Sign this for the retarded kid," he said. "Wants all our autographs."

"'Kay," Jake said.

He signed Hunter's newspaper without even looking at Ashley, which was a relief but also a disappointment. Cody had already turned away from her, toward a pretty girl, so Ashley shifted with the crowd, watching the newspaper.

After Jake signed it he passed it to Dante and then took it back, passed it to Kyle and took it back, all the while signing other people's newspapers and laughing and talking. Jake whistled a couple of times, drawing other teammates toward him, Carlo, Kaito, Jerome, Gabe.