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Her expression changed so fast I was sure she was going to jump up, say something nasty and go off, but instead, she nodded, smiled again and relaxed.

"I've been looking for an excuse to get away from those pack rats. Glad you came," she said.

We watched the players start their batting practice. Her boyfriend was on the mound pitching.

"Bobby is really graceful out there. Watching him wind up and throw is like watching a ballet sometimes," she said.

I studied her boyfriend and agreed.

"So, all kidding aside, how come you changed your style, and how did you hook up with Craig Harrison so fast? No one even saw you two talking before today."

"All kidding aside," I replied, "were you sent over here to find out?"

She laughed. "Sorta."

I liked the fact that she was honest.

"Well, I sorta decided to try new clothes, and then I put a spell on Craig and seduced him," I told her. "I've been studying witchcraft in the basement. You had better warn them. I can cast spells and turn girls into houseflies."

"Girl, you are something else," she said, laughing. "We're all something else, Charlene. That's the point."

She nodded. "You two go out over the holidays?" "Not really. I had a lot of family visiting."

"Here he goes," she said, nodding at the ballfield. Craig was at bat. "Bobby says he's the only one he can't figure out. They're always competing with each other."

I leaned forward.

Bobby's list pitch seemed to go right through Craig's bat.

"He's too anxious to show off because of you," Charlene said. "Bobby's going to get him"

Already someone's mistakes are being blamed on me, I thought. That didn't take long.

Craig swung and missed the next pitch, too.

He paused, stepped away from the plate, looked down at the ground and seemed to say a prayer or something. Then he returned. Bobby Robinson was all business, intent. He went through his windup and hurled what looked like another strike, only Craig timed it just right. The ball came sailing toward the bleachers in a high arc and fell near the pack of girls, who shrieked and leaped in every direction.

"That boy's definitely in love," Charlene said. "No other explanation Bobby gonna accept."

She laughed, squeezed my arm gently and returned to the pack.

The contest sparked an idea for me, and I began to work madly on a new drawing, concentrating on it so hard that I had no idea how much time had gone by or that I had worked to the point where the coach had blown his whistle and declared the practice had ended. The pack of girls exploded in every direction, each catching up with one of the players. Craig came sauntering out toward me and waited while I finished a line. Before he could speak, I turned it so he could see it.

It was a picture of him, swinging hard, his whole body in movement, but as the ball came off his bat, it turned into a bird.

"Wow," he said, taking it to look closer. "Can I have this?"

"Sure," I said.

He handed it back. "Sign your name. Someday it's going to be worth a ton."

I laughed and wrote my name in the bottom right corner.

"See," he said, "I knew you'd have a good time coming to practice. What did you think of my first hit?"

"It looked like you were aiming for those girls." "I was," he said, holding his hand out for me.

I took it and we started back toward the school building.