“What’s up?” he wondered, looking around. “Where is everybody?”
Derek shrugged. “I guess they’ve got other stuff going on.”
They started throwing the ball back and forth, waiting for someone else to show up so they could have more of a real game. But no one came.
After half an hour Dave said, “I guess I should get on home.”
“Oh. Okay. Will I see you again before you go? Maybe go drive some more balls?”
Dave looked down. “I don’t think so,” he said. “My room’s still a disaster area.”
“So… I guess I won’t see you again for a long time,” Derek said. The sudden realization hit him. This was it.
He hugged Dave hard. “I’ll write to you. Next week.”
“Me too,” said Dave, trying not to choke up. “I promise.”
“Me too. Shake?”
“Shake.”
“And you know I’m always here for you,” Derek added as they went through the steps of their handshake.
“Same here,” said Dave.
They hugged again, one last time. “See ya, Dave.”
“See ya.” Derek watched Dave turn and head back to the car. It pulled away and shrank into the distance, leaving him standing there, alone.
But no—not quite alone….
Looking up the Hill, Derek saw a familiar figure, wearing a baseball cap and waving to him.
Avery!
“Hey,” he greeted her. “How are you?”
“Better,” she said. “The doc gave me some medicine, and I’ve been taking it really easy, so…”
“Good. Good…. I was kind of worried there for a while.”
She shrugged off his concerns. “I’m fine now. No big deal.”
“I knew you’d show up for the game. Even when your mom and the doctor said you couldn’t.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I talked them into it.”
Derek smiled too. He could imagine what that conversation must have been like!
“I saw Dave go,” she said suddenly.
“Yeah.” Derek sighed heavily.
“So… that’s it, huh?”
“Guess so.”
“Sorry. It stinks to lose a friend.”
“We’re going to stay in touch.”
“Uh-huh. Great.” She nodded, but not like she believed it. “So, what are you doing this summer?”
“Going to my grandparents’ in New Jersey. We go every year, my sister and I. It’s fun. Lots of cousins our age. The lake… and we’re going to visit the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, too.”
“Cool,” she said, sounding faintly disappointed. “See you in the fall, then, I guess.”
“You going to play next year?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she answered. “Basketball, soccer.”
“Oh.”
“And baseball, too, next spring, of course.”
“Really?” Derek was surprised. “That’s great! I mean, I’m glad. You going to try again to win it for your brother?”
She shook her head. “Nah. I tried that, and it was too much for me. Next year it’s going to be for me.”
“That’s good. That’s really good. I mean, it’s all about having fun in the end, right?”
“You got that right,” she replied, giving him a broad smile. “So… you got time for a catch?”
More from this Series
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Grand Slam
Strike Zone
Ida B. Wells
Michael Collins
JETER PUBLISHING
Jeter Publishing’s eighth middle-grade book is inspired by the childhood of Derek Jeter, who grew up playing baseball. The middle-grade series is based on the principles of Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation.
Jeter Publishing encompasses adult nonfiction, children’s picture books, middle-grade fiction, ready-to-read children’s books, and children’s nonfiction.
About the Authors
DEREK JETER played Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees for twenty seasons and is a five-time World Series champion. He is a true legend in professional sports and a role model for young people on and off the field and through his work in the community with his Turn 2 Foundation. For more information, visit Turn2Foundation.org.
Derek was born in New Jersey and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he was four. There he often attended Detroit Tigers games with his family, but the New York Yankees were always his favorite team, and he never stopped dreaming of playing for them.
PAUL MANTELL is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Derek-Jeter
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Paul-Mantell
Jeter Children’s
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
ALSO BY DEREK JETER
The Contract
Hit & Miss
Change Up
Fair Ball
Curveball
Fast Break
Strike Zone
Baseball Genius
Double Play
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2021 by Jeter Publishing, Inc.
Jacket illustration copyright © 2021 by Tim O’Brien
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Book design by Krista Vossen
Jacket design by Krista Vossen © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020950000
ISBN 9781534480469 (hardcover)
ISBN 9781534480452 (ebook)
