Free Supercharged Infield by Matt Christopher Page A

was in the third-base coaching box, and Penny in the first-base coaching box, both clapping and yelling
     for the Hawks’ leadoff hitter to start the game rolling with a hit. The leadoff hitter was Karen Keech.
    Maxine Jackson, the tall, wiry girl pitching for the Comets, whipped in the first underhand pitch, and Karen let it go by.
    “Steeerike!” yelled the umpire, a big,broad-shouldered man who seemed to be about twice as tall as the Comets catcher.
    Karen glanced back at him with a defiant look. Then, as if his size changed her mind about what she was thinking, she turned
     and faced the pitcher again.
    Penny couldn’t help but smile. Karen was her old self again, that was for sure. “Drive it, Karen!” Penny yelled. “Start it
     off, kid!”
    Maxine’s next pitch was knee high and directly over the plate. Karen swung and topped the ball, hitting a dribbler down to
     third. The Comets third baseman ran in a few steps, scooped up the easy bouncer, and pegged it to first, beating Karen by
     two steps. One out.
    “That’s okay, kid,” Penny said, thumping Karen on the back as the girl turned to the right at first base and started to head
     back toward the Hawks dugout. “Get ‘em the next time.”
    Karen smiled at her. “Right,” she said. Even being put out did not keep a sparkle from shining in her eyes, too.
    Melanie was up next and singled to right, drawing loud applause from the crowd. She had hit the ball well in the game against
     theHard Hats last week, but each hit had landed in a Hard Hats’ glove. “Nice drive, Mel,” Penny said.
    But it was the next hitter, Shari Chung, that Penny was anxious to see bat. Then Faye. And finally Jean. After each of them
     had been “deprogrammed,” they all had
seemed
to be normal again. They all had
said
they felt their same old selves again. Still, Penny thought that the only place
that
could be proved was on the softball field.
    Shari came to the plate, looking excited and eager — almost overeager — to get a hit. But, Penny thought, Shari had
always
looked excited and almost overeager
before
. So, in essence, she
was
the same girl again. The question was, How was her performance going to be at bat?
    Shari swung twice, missing the pitch both times, then popped a fly to the shortstop.
    A disappointed groan sprang from the Hawks’ fans. Even Penny said, “That’s okay, Shari. You’ll be up again.” But there was
     a smile in Penny’s eyes, and joy in her heart. Shari
was
the same girl again in every respect.
    “Penny! Come in! You follow Faye!” a deep, drawling voice shouted from the bench,and Penny saw Harold Dempsey standing in the dugout.
    Penny ran in, and Debbie Brohill ran out to take her place in the coaching box. Penny paused in front of the pile of bats,
     selected her favorite, then straightened up and looked directly at Harold.
    “It’s lucky for you, Harold, that Jonny figured out how to change everyone back. That was awful!”
    Harold looked at the ground. “I had no idea they’d all start acting that way. It was
weird
. And scary.”
    “Well, I hope it’s all over now. We’ll see.” Penny looked hard at Harold. She just couldn’t figure him out. Then she got into
     the on-deck circle and watched Faye take a hard cut at a pitch, then crack a single between first and second bases. But the
     hit was not an
extraordinary
hit, Penny told herself.
Or was it?
Did she have to wait for Faye to bat again before she’d really be sure?
    Melanie ran to second base and then to third on the hit. Penny came up next. She felt nervous and worried. She’d been watching
     Maxine Jackson closely; the pitcher had terrific speed.
    Crack! Penny drove the first pitch out todeep left field for a double, clearing the bases and putting the Hawks on the scoreboard. Her heart pounded joyously as the
     crowd cheered. “Way to go, Penny!” a fan yelled, and Penny recognized Jonny’s voice. She looked for his face in the stands
     and finally saw it,