The New Kid In Town

Pablo wiped the sweat off his brow, adjusted his gloves, and stepped back into the batters box. It was a hot day, easily over ninety degrees, and the fact that his shirt and face where both covered in dirt from the base paths didn't help very much. Eagerly, he squared his shoulders and cocked his head at the mound, awaiting a pitch. It came, and he swung his lumber at it, only to have it fly through the air without hitting anything. "Strike two!" the umpire, coach Stevenson confirmed. "One ball, two strikes."



"Come on you stupid spic!" Raffy yelled from the bleachers. "If you can't make the ball leave your bat, we may have to make you leave this country, ya hear?" Pablo wasn't too surprised- Raffy was known to be offensive and degrading most of the time. That was probably why nobody really liked him.



He barely caught a piece of the next one to stay alive, and the one after that he took below the knees, ball two. Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught something in the crowd. It was Armena Taylor- she was a grade ahead of him and in the next class after his. She had gorgeous dark hair that flowed like the Amazon down past her shoulders and electric green eyes. She was half white, half hispanic, and almost every guy at Rancheria Middle School had a crush on her. He was completely mesmerized by her gaze for a few seconds, until someone screamed "hey lover boy! You gonna swing or what?"



You bet your sweet ass I am, Pablo thought to himself. Eyes locked on the pitcher like a hungry tiger on it's prey, he anxiously awaited for the next throw. It hovered slowly to the plate, and when it arrived, Pablo's bat slammed it back the other way with a force strong enough to launch a rocket. It soared over the clear Texas sky for a few seconds before coming down just shy of the chain link fence that marked the end of the playing field. Jimmie Nelson, who was supposed to be playing center, was snoozing and had to be rudely awakened to run back and grab the ball. However, he was one hell of a runner alright, and his throws where faster than a speeding bullet. That, combined with Pablo's lack of coordination running the base paths, made him settle for a double in what should have been a home run. Still, it drove in the tying run from third as well as the leading run from first which gave them a 6-5 lead that they hung on to the rest of the game.



Later, at lunch, a couple of kids walked up to him and told him what a great hit that was. It was great and all, but their words faded to silence when he saw Armena approach him. 'Hey, Pablo. That hit was pretty cool there."



"Thanks," he responded.



Luke, who was tall and skinny with bright blonde hair, chimed in. 'Why you talking to this kid for? He's a nobody."



Pablo stood up and slammed his fists on the table. "Listen buddy..."



"Oh, look whose fighting back. Seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the border this morning, didn't they?"



Presently a large group of students where gathered around them, whispering and speculating what he would do next. Without really thinking, Pablo grabbed Luke's neck and slammed him against the brick wall. His soft flesh was torn by the rough red brick, and he began bleeding profusely. Cussing like a wild animal, Luke grabbed Pablo's shirt and tugged on it until a choking sound was heard. Then he punched him square in the jaw. Cheers of approval came from fellow students- the fight had started.



For the next five minutes, the two fought back and forth with Pablo having the slight upper hand because he learned how to fight on the streets of Mexico. Finally, Luke ran out of breath and fell over which allowed Pablo to pick him up and heave him onto the stone hard pavement. Presently, the principal, Dr. James Howard, stood in front of him. "See me in my office," he simply stated. "You're in big trouble."



Although he was suspended for ten days, he had earned the respect of Connor Clayton and Buck Bradshaw, both immensely popular students. In addition, Armena winked at him as he filed out of the building and hopped on his bike to ride home.



As he rode down the dusty path leading his to his family's home, he though to himself 'Wow. I have only been in America for a few weeks and already I am popular and have the hottest girl in the school liking me. I wonder what will happen to me next.' One thing was for sure- he was glad his dad had moved the family to America. The new country had given him a fresh start in a place where getting into fights made you cool and caused girls to like you.