Hendricks loans her glove

You suddenly weren't alone in the bleachers with Archer. The two other walk-on players, Ramona Hendricks and Cierra Martinez, were soon nearby. Their approaches to the other players were rebuffed like they didn't belong, so they thought maybe you would be more interesting company.

"Hey, Archer," Cierra said, causing both you and Felicia to turn your head. You nudged Felicia so she wouldn't make this weirder than it was.

"Hey. You two, uh, your batting looked real good."

Ramona smirked and leaned forward, taking her hat off. She looked two steps beyond exhausted. "Either you're really polite or you've got a real weird idea about softball. I'm done, I'm pretty sure. I know when I'm done. My hitting wasn't very clean and I think I twisted something in that sprint. Maybe next year, or maybe I should just stick with astrophysics, that's probably a slightly better career choice."

Cierra laughed, pat Ramona on the shoulder, and then turned to look at you. "Seriously, though, when you're on... you're on. You've got a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on out there."

"Oh, I am definitely aware of that..." you said.

Ramona leaned back as she worked to catch her breath, while she and Cierra chatted a bit more. Both were quite pretty, even all geared up in their baseball caps and simple sportswear and having run the distance of the field. Neither were particularly athletic either, but they fit the bill better than you at least. Archer slugged you in the shoulder when she noticed that you were eyeing other girls. It wasn't just the girls you were looking at, it was their gloves... Ramona was left-handed like you were, apparently, if her glove was any indication.

"Ouch. Hey, so uh... Ramona." You looked her way and held up your glove, clearly not properly sized for you. "I hate to ask but if you aren't going to continue, would you mind if I borrow your glove? I, uh, grabbed my brother's by mistake."

Ramona pondered for a moment, glancing at Cierra, before she handed her glove over. "Take care of Betsy, not a scratch on her."

"Is Betsy the name of the glove or the cow the glove is from?" Archer asked.

Ramona just smiled. "I like this little group. Hey, I'll stay right here I think, you two go finish things out there, you've at least got a shot at something. And if you get on the team, Archer, you'll owe me venti coffee for borrowing my glove. If you don't make the team, then I'll take a slightly smaller coffee."

You stood up and followed alongside Cierra to line up again as the coach came back out, asking each player their preferred fielding position. You adjusted 'Betsy' on your hand and it felt really comfortable. You weren't going to be a laughing stock this time!

"Archer, position."

"Uhh, first base."

The coach shook her head. "That's McCall's position and you've got some strong competition there for substitute. Show me what you got in center field before I even let you stand near our MVP's spot." You glanced around, wondering if you could figure out which one was McCall again. The answer was easy--it was the woman burning a hole in your head with her glare.

As the coach sent everyone out to the field, McCall confirmed it by bumping into you as she headed to the bench, her position apparently secured. "If you bump my cousin from the roster, I will make your life hell," she said quietly before stepping away from you.

Great, you already had a nemesis. What a day!

You jogged out to center field, and waited patiently, trying to adjust your athletic wear to get more comfortable. Everything was so clingy against your body, you'd have preferred a looser shirt and definitely not this sports bra's **** grip. You just had to survive a little longer...

The coach started knocking balls from home plate, and then called out a pattern to simulate a play. Most of it was pulled left or right, so Cierra in left field or the girl whose name you forgot on the right side took most of the action. But when the ball came your way... "Center field, runner ready to head home!"

Your eyes were fixated on that ball in flight. You could see where it was going to land, just a little ways beyond second base, and you needed to really move to get to it on time. You weren't sure if the coach did this deliberately, giving you a big distance to cover and then calling for a throw to home, but your uncanny speed kicked into high gear again. If a baseball player at whatever talent level your coin was at could've made the catch with ease, then the same was going to be true for you, even with the size of the ball the difference wasn't enough for you to stumble. This felt natural again as you hurried forward to get to the ball on time.

The diving catch you made was spectacular.

The roll forward to get yourself back to your feet was incredible.

The dead-on accurate throw you hurled toward the catcher with everything you could muster was, frankly, impossible. Or, highly improbable. The catcher barely had to move to make the grab.

That kind of play was rare in the pro leagues, let alone college. Even with the size of the ball, the movements were similar enough to not matter. If this were a real game, you'd have the bleachers on their feet. Your open mouth upturned into a giddy smile as you glanced around at some of the players, mouths covering their hands as they tried to process what you just put on display. That should've been an awkward catch on a bounce and then a toss. You gave them a diving catch and a laser.

The coach was hard to impress, however. One catch does not a superstar make. As you were headed back to your position, she immediately dings another ball, this time to deep center. "Runner on second, heading for third!" Again, you tracked the ball, pushed your legs to their limit--starting to feel a considerable burn from all the sudden running you had to do--and made another rather brave catch as you collided with the padded back wall. That one really stung... but you gritted your way through the collision and threw to second base. You were a little dazed from the wall, but it was still a powerful enough throw to impress everyone again.

The coach seems to deliberate something for a moment, before she pointed at you. "Archer, first base, you got your shot. Campbell, center field." You heard the sound of a crash nearby, and glanced over to see McCall throwing her helmet against the bench. That's... not great. Campbell must have been her cousin.

Still, as the day went on, it was apparent that fielding in softball was just enough like baseball that you looked like the pro that the magic made you into. Your catches and throwing were exceptional, and your awareness of the first base position seemed unquestionable.

As the tryouts ended, the coach called everyone back together. "Good job out there ladies, I liked what I saw even if it was a bit unconventional at times. I'll have the final roster posted later this week outside my office. If you're on the list then I want you out here same time next Tuesday, got it?" Everyone nodded and scattered. McCall looked like she was ready to rip your head off, so you scurried back toward Archer the punching afficionado in case she came any closer, but she seemed to head in a different direction. Cierra jogged up to walk alongside you, and the two of you were soon near a chattering Ramona and Felicia.

You handed Ramona's glove back to her, who was nodding approvingly at you and Cierra. "You two are amazing, I think you have to be on that roster. I've never seen throws like that in college ball, Archer." You and Cierra just smiled, too tired to say much.

Felicia, however, had plenty to say. "Hey, how about in celebration, let's go get some drinks! The four of us. I'll buy."

"Ah, thanks Jane," Ramona said. "Your girlfriend's amazing, Archer. She's like a real-life Indiana Jones in training, that's so exciting. Real generous that she'd pick up the tab. Meet you at The Longshot at five?"

That's a few more tangles in the story you had to keep track of. This was getting complicated... to Cierra and Ramona and the rest of the softball team, you were Archer and girlfriends with the actual Archer who is temporarily Jane. To Archer's roommates, you are still Jane, but also study-buddies with Archer and the ex-girlfriend of John. At least everything with you being John was normal, where you and Felicia were just trouble-makers.

Cierra and Ramona hurried toward the locker room to get back into some normal clothes, as Archer walked along side you, carrying your backpack. "Oh, by the way, since I used your name with Ramona and you're using mine, it means technically you're buying the drinks."

Fantastic.