* * *
Although the weather was bright and sunny, Sam endured a gloomy day after his conversation with Rob. While Rob had reassured him somewhat, he also felt agitated and worried about Josie's relationship with Guy Perkins. And then there was his sixth period class�
Sam had known it would be tough not having Josie in that class. But he hadn't been prepared for the depth of his longing for her. Not having her there to smile at him and meet his gaze left him with a feeling of desolation and an enormous sense of loss. His eyes kept straying to her empty desk in the front row and he found himself dealing with the overwhelming fear that she had indeed attended her last class with him. It was almost too much for him to bear, not to see that glowing face or look into those beautiful blue eyes.
He knew she was at softball practice just outside, and as the minutes of that sixth period class dragged by he knew what he would be doing during seventh period. He cursed himself for being so weak, but he knew somehow, he needed to see her, if only to watch her from the stands. He could come up with plenty of excuses for doing that - he was the captain of the Teachers' team, and his team was practicing directly after the student practice was over. It wouldn't hurt for him to assess the competition. He knew Scott Romano, the baseball coach, was planning to be there during seventh period for just that reason. And he needed to assess the competition from Guy as well, he realized, since Guy would be working with Josie.
And Sam loved to play ball and to watch others playing. He had been surprised to learn that Josie played and obviously enjoyed playing ball as well as being a spectator. That was yet another interest that they shared. Rob had piqued his curiosity with his glowing description of Josie's talents and Sam was eager to see her play: to see that spunky determined side of Josie that Rob had talked about. Sam knew he'd seen it before when he'd watched her skate and when he'd watched her persistence in her quest to be accepted. It was part of what he was in love with along with every other thing he knew about her. Just when Sam didn't think he could feel any more towards her, she'd amaze him again.
Now Sam knew from Rob's own words that Josie and Rob were best friends. That could only mean one thing: that Sam was the true love, the soulmate, she'd written about. Rob had certainly implied that he was supportive of a Sam/Josie relationship. What had he said? "When the time was right." Sam realized that Rob was a lot smarter and more perceptive about things than he'd suspected.
From a distance, he had thought of Rob as a goofy, good-natured jock. He should have known there would be much more to Rob based on the fact that Josie was obviously so close to him. Even though she was only seventeen, Sam knew that Josie wouldn't have a friendship like that with just anyone. And Rob had even said he'd tried to tell Josie that she'd misunderstood the situation with Sam and Lara. 'Yes,' Sam mused to himself, thinking about the way Rob had obviously been sizing him up, 'Rob's certainly an unusual character!'
* * *
To her surprise, in spite of everything that had happened the day before, Josie was having a great day. She had started out the morning determined to get on with things and to be positive about life in general. She wore a new dress to school to perk herself up, and had been complimented on how pretty she looked by almost everyone she saw. She had called Gus early that morning to explain about the camera the day before, but he'd seemed remarkably placid and unconcerned about the whole thing. And he'd been excited when she told him about playing in the softball game.
"That's fine, Geller� Just don't forget that camera in school anymore!" he barked.
"I won't forget� Sorry about yesterday. Is it okay if I don't wear it at practice and when I'm playing ball? I don't want to be self conscious so I'll do my best for the team."
"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you wear it to class. No harm done yesterday. I need to see you Friday though after school to go over some things before the Prom."
Josie sighed. "Okay Gus, I'll be there."
"By the way, nice job on the, uh, wardrobe, Geller. Big improvement."
Josie thought she must be imagining things. She knew he must be talking about what she'd worn into the office earlier in the week. Had Gus actually complimented her again? Could she have heard that correctly?
"Thanks, Gus."
"No sweat. See you Friday, Geller. Don't be late!" he snapped and hung up on her. 'At least he was still rude,' she thought to herself. That was normal. But he still was acting a little too warm and fuzzy for Gus Strauss. A chill ran down her spine just thinking about it.
Josie's day only improved from there. During her lunch period Guy had asked her to come to the music room to listen to that song he'd written for her. She'd been so amazed and flattered that he would put so much effort into doing something for her. And the song was so sweet and pretty. It really touched her heart. And thankfully, as always, Guy was the perfect gentleman even though they were alone together in the music room.
She told herself to quit wishing that it could be Sam singing to her, but she couldn't seem to stop the longing for him. That was the only negative aspect to her day: the yearning for Sam Coulson. She wondered if he would even notice her absence. She figured he would probably be relieved to have her gone after their encounter the day before. She was afraid that he would still be angry with her for bursting in on him and Lara that way. She tried to push the thoughts of him out of her mind, but she couldn't quite get there; the feelings ran too deep this time.
Josie was still daydreaming about Sam when she went into the Ladies' Room to change into her shorts and Mets T-shirt. Her Orioles baseball cap would complete the outfit. It was a warm, sunny day: perfect for the practice, she realized. The first thing she did was remove the wings pin camera. Then she tucked her shirt into her shorts, noticing that she'd lost more weight. The shorts were new so they fit her perfectly, but the shirt was too big now. She rolled up the sleeves, noticing her bruised arm. It looked better already and didn't hurt at all, but it brought back the memory of being in Sam's arms. Josie bit her lip and struggled to push those thoughts away. She brushed her hair and decided to wear it in pigtails.
She knew for the practice she wouldn't be wearing her catcher's mask and chest protector. Rob had told her that this was to be a chance for the infield to get comfortable working together. The plan was for Aldys to hit balls for them to field and Rob also wanted to see her run for himself. Rob wanted Josie to save her best stuff for the game and he didn't want to give the enemy scout (Coach Romano) the complete picture of the threat he would be facing in Josie. Rob knew that just a small preview was all that would be needed to shake up the opposition. Josie giggled to herself, thinking about Rob and his elaborate game- winning schemes.
She met Aldys in the hallway as she walked out of the restroom. Aldys was wearing shorts also.
"Aldys, you look so cute! Are you wearing contacts?" Josie smiled at her friend. She noticed that Aldys really did have beautiful eyes.
"Yeah, thanks Josie," Aldys blushed at the compliment. "You look cute too. I love your hair! How is your arm doing?"
"It's fine; it doesn't hurt at all. Rob's going to tape it for me. It'll be fine. I think this will be fun, Aldys!"
"I do too. I'm a little nervous, but Rob's so nice and encouraging. He said I could run for you and maybe help him out, too," Aldys said excitedly.
As they walked out to the field they saw that Guy and Rob were already throwing a ball to each other and some of the other players were throwing and catching also. Josie noticed Guy do a double-take when he saw Aldys. 'Now that's interesting!' Josie thought to herself. 'Aldys really does look, pretty.' Even Rob stopped talking long enough to check out Aldys. And he noticed Guy's reaction to her too. Rob threw the ball to Guy and ran up to Josie to tape up her arm.
"Hi Josie! Hi, Aldys. Aldys, you go out and throw with Guy while I tape Josie up, okay?"
Aldys smiled shyly and picked up a glove and ran over to Guy. He threw the ball lightly to her and she caught it and laughed, "Come on, Guy, you can throw harder than that."
Guy smiled and complied with his next throw. Soon they were obviously working well together throwing the ball and laughing and joking with each other.
"They're pretty cute together, Rob" Josie smiled.
Rob turned around to look at Guy and Aldys. "Yeah, Aldys looks hot�but don't forget for now he's your Prom date, Josie!"
"I know, I know. Did you tell Mr. Coulson we wouldn't be there in class?" Josie asked nervously.
"Yeah we had a nice little chat." Josie's eyes opened wide at that. Rob concentrated on wrapping her arm. "Hold still, Josie."
"What did you chat about?" Josie persisted.
Rob looked at her. He didn't have the heart to keep it from her. He didn't want to see his sister hurt anymore.
"Josie, he asked how your arm was." Josie's face suddenly lit up. "Hold still! And he told me you misunderstood what happened yesterday. " Her face was practically glowing now. Rob continued, "I told him you were fine and that you are a strong person and that you have bounced back from much worse. And I told him that you are an awesome catcher; so don't let me down, okay? Because I'm counting on you to prove me right here!?"
"Oh, Rob!" Josie threw her free arm around his neck and hugged him.
"Wait a minute, Josie. I also told him he can explain things to you when the time is right and he seemed to agree with that."
"Really? He really said that?" Josie didn't think her day could get any better.
"Yes Josie, he said it. And he looked really concerned about you when he talked about you. You know that thing you always say about knowing when you're meant for someone?" Rob looked serious now, she realized, unusually serious.
Josie nodded.
"Well, after talking to him�you know this was the first time I actually talked to him? Josie nodded again. "Anyway, after talking to him, I think I see what you mean." Josie was grinning from ear to ear. "You know about there being one person you're meant to be with - I can see it with the two of you - the way he looks when he talks about you and the way you look right now."
Josie threw her arm around him again. "Cut it out, Josie, or I'll never get this finished. That doesn't change the fact that you still have to get your story and he still thinks you're his student. That's why I said 'Give it time' to him and that's why I'm saying it to you. You have to get your story and he has to do his job. It will work out, just wait and see. Plus, he likes me now, so I'll be able to help you."
Josie smiled. "How do you know he likes you?"
"Everybody likes me. He didn't want to like me at first, but I won him over. I'm charismatic. He couldn't help himself." Rob winced as Josie punched him in the arm with her free hand. "Cut it out, Josie! It'll be seventh period before I get this arm of yours wrapped! Right now we have to focus on this practice. I don't want to show them all our stuff, just give them a little preview to make them nervous, so don't overdo it. Show them you're good, but save the real stuff for the game. We have to concentrate on winning because this is our mission. This is war and we have to show our enemy what we're made of starting now, okay?"
"Okay, Rob. But who are we supposed to show?" Josie asked looking nervously at the empty stands. She knew Sam would be in class during this period.
"Coach Romano will be up there spying, trust me. I know how he operates; he's very sneaky. And then there's Mr. Coulson. I'm sure he'll be out here soon, since their practice follows ours. He's their centerfielder, Josie. He looks like he's a good athlete, so we have to keep our eye on him. Plus, he's their captain and he didn't seem at all nervous about the game. That bothers me�but believe me, I'll have my eye on him. He could be trouble, being so smart and all, but he seemed more worried about you than about the game so that's good for us."
Josie's heart skipped a beat at the idea of Sam worrying about her and being in the stands watching her. Rob studied her face for a moment.
"I mean it, Josie. This is serious business. We have to win this game. It's part of my plan: a very important part."
"I know, Rob. I'll be fine. Don't worry, I won't let you down."
"I hope not, because we've come too far to ruin everything now. Now let's do it!" He finished and ran out to the pitcher's mound and ordered his players to take their positions. Josie looked at him proudly. She knew Rob was a great player, but he was also a true leader, she realized, and a really nice brother, even if he did tend to over-dramatize every game he played.
The practice went well and Rob, Josie, and Guy rapidly fell into a groove working with each other. All the other players were amazed at Josie's talent. They quickly realized that, if anything, Rob had understated her ability. She was aggressive, agile, and quick; everything that a catcher needed to be. Most of the other players were regular baseball players playing at different positions, so they weren't that easily impressed, but Josie quickly earned their respect. By the end of sixth period, they all felt like they had a winning team. And then there was Aldys, who could run like the wind. That had been a complete surprise to all the other players. Guy Perkins was impressed with Josie, but he was more than intrigued by this new side to the girl he had derisively called "Alpo."
Aldys' job was to help Rob and to come in as a pinch runner for Josie at some point in the game. She was happy to help them by hitting balls, too. After an hour's practice, thanks to Captain Rob, they had really gelled and all felt like a team. Rob smiled to himself as he saw his plan coming together. He had spent some time with Aldys and was planning to meet with her again before the game the next day. Rob could see that she had a good working knowledge of the game - since she'd helped her dad when he coached little league - enough so that he was considering having her come in as his First Base coach.
He had deliberately decided not to ask the three popular girls to be on the team. He doubted whether Gibby, Kirsten or Kristen could be much help anyway. His main reason for not including them centered on his mission to have Josie crowned Prom Queen. This was an opportunity for her to succeed at something she was great at already, thereby cementing her popularity with the jocks in the school. Rob realized she already had the "nerd" vote, via her membership in the Denominators. Rob saw the jocks as the true swing vote in the equation - they had the power to decide selection of the Prom Court. He knew that Josie had the ability to win the respect of the other jocks even if they didn't win the game. Rob also factored in Mr. Coulson's feelings for Josie. He had a feeling that even though Mr. Coulson was the captain of the opposing team, he would secretly want Josie to win. 'Yup,' Rob thought to himself, 'I've covered all my bases in more ways than one!'
Plus he and Josie had held back in the practice on some of their signals and best moves. Rob was feeling pretty confident about the game coming up, especially after he noticed the worried look on Coach Romano's face as he sat lurking in the bleachers. "And he has no idea what's waiting for him," Rob chuckled to himself, savoring the moment.
* * *
As soon as sixth period had ended, Sam went to change into his jeans, T- shirt and Mets cap. He figured he'd join Scott Romano in the stands. Coach Romano was already there when Sam walked down the steps. He turned around when he heard the footsteps.
"God, Sam, we're doomed!"
"How's it going, Scott?" Sam said as he glanced down on the field. He had to adjust himself to being up in the stands gradually, as his old fear of heights resurfaced. He took a deep breath and then he saw Josie crouched behind home plate with her back to him. Just seeing her, even from this height and distance, caused a feeling of warmth to run through him. He felt excited and strangely comforted at the same time.
"You're not going to believe this Sam. Josie Geller, that girl we saw mowing last week? She's the best catcher I've ever seen. I had my doubts when Rob first told me�you know he talks about her all the time and I figured, no way, he's got to be exaggerating, but she's unbelievable. I can see now why he picked her over one of my guys. Heck, I'd pick her over my regular catcher. This girl can really scramble! I think Rob's some kind of evil genius. No kidding, Sam!"
"Yeah, Rob's pretty smart. I noticed that when he brought me the roster. Nice kid too, very competitive."
"He's a great kid, Sam. He's been such an asset to my team. I can't tell you what a motivating force that kid is! But he's a diabolical opponent. I know how his mind works and now he's turning it against me. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Look at him grinning down there. He's holding back on us. I know he is. She's got to be even better than what I've seen and I know that Rob is unbelievable. They are going to demolish us, it's going to be really sad; I can feel it. Look at that sick smile on his face."
Sam sat quietly then, pretending to watch Rob, but keeping his eyes firmly locked on Josie. It didn't take long to see how talented she was and then there was the fact that she looked unbelievably curvy and cute in those shorts and that oversized shirt, not to mention her hair! He checked out her arm and realized that Rob had done a good job taping it and it didn't appear to be giving her any problem. Even though he knew now that Rob posed no romantic threat, he wished he could have been the one to tape her arm: really he just wished somehow he could touch her.
Sam could tell she was playing in a more or less relaxed frame of mind by the way she stood and moved. He had missed her so much during sixth period that it was just good to sit and watch her, even from this distance and height, he thought ruefully, hoping that she would turn around so he could see her beautiful face and maybe, just maybe, she'd see him.
It didn't take long for Aldys to hit a foul ball, at which point, Josie scrambled to turn around and catch it. Now Sam could really see what Rob and Coach Romano had meant. He'd never seen a more determined player at any level and this wasn't even a game. She caught it just short of slamming in to the fence. It was quite clear that if she had to run into a brick wall to catch a ball, she'd do it: she was that fierce at her position. And her reflexes were unbelievably fast. It was like she had an uncanny ability to accurately gauge where the ball would land. And he could see that she had an accurate and lightning quick throwing arm. Anybody knowing anything about the game would recognize that Josie was a seriously talented catcher.
Coach Romano broke into his thoughts. "I hope we can at least give them a game, Sam. And who knew that Aldys Wells could run like that? Who have we got besides you and me who can really play? And don't say Knox."
Sam looked at Scott. "We've got the usual team, Scott. We're limited to the faculty, you know that and there aren't that many athletes. It'll just be fun. We'll give them a game. Don't worry about it. It's supposed to be a good time for everybody."
"Tell Rob that! He's out for blood. Look at that sick smile he just gave me. When he squints, I know we're dead meat! And Josie looks like she's as competitive as he is. Why don't we try and split them up and get her on our team?"
'I wish we had her on our team,' he thought to himself. But to Coach Romano, he said, "You know the rules, Scott, it's Teachers vs. Students. Just relax and try to have fun with it. We might have a few surprises of our own for them. Just wait and see."
"Oh, I forgot, we do have at least one thing going for us," Coach Romano smiled weakly.
"What?" Sam asked, staring at Josie all the while. He smiled when he noticed the Mets shirt.
"The umpire. At least we know he's in our corner."
"Why, who'd you get?" Sam turned to look at Scott, his grin fading as dread filled his heart.
"Matt Riley," Scott smirked, but his smile disappeared when he saw Sam's face.
"No way." Sam said it firmly, remembering Matt's lascivious comments about Josie.
"What do you mean 'No way,' Sam? The game's tomorrow! Matt's our umpire, case closed."
"What about Jon?" Sam insisted.
"He going out of town, remember? Matt Riley's it. What's wrong with you anyway? He's umpired before. He's our friend; he'll do a good job. He might even lean our way on the close calls." It took a minute but eventually a light went on in Coach Romano's head.
"He'll behave himself, Sam. Don't worry. He didn't mean any of that stuff he said about her and he knows how you feel about it. He's not going to mess with a student while he's umpiring, even one that cute."
Sam scowled.
"Seriously Sam, he wouldn't try anything at a game like that. And besides that, I don't think she'd stand for anything. Now that I think about it though, I don't know whose side he'll be on standing that close to her and all," Scott Romano joked, peeking at Sam. Sam didn't think anything about the idea of Matt umpiring right behind Josie was funny.
"Do you want me to say something to him?" Scott offered.
"No, just forget it," Sam muttered.
"So now who's not relaxed, huh? Remember, Sam, 'It's for fun'? So what if he flirts with her a little? He doesn't mean anything by it. He's not her teacher after all and maybe she'll like him. Who knows?"
Sam glared at his friend. "He'd better not try anything."
"What do you think he'll do, kiss her?" Scott saw the explosive look on Sam's face and knew he needed to backpedal. "Geez, Sam, he's got a job to do. He'll do it. I thought it was nice of him to agree to help us. He's your friend too, you know. He had no idea she'd be playing. What's wrong with you anyway? I'm sure she can handle him if she's not interested. And if she is interested, it's not like it's your job to interfere, you know?"
"Just drop it, Scott." Sam growled. He kept hoping Josie would see him and somehow they could make eye contact. He felt like he desperately needed that, but from what he could observe, she was focused on playing ball and didn't notice him. He was amazed at how well Josie, Rob, and Guy worked together at their positions. It was as if they'd played together for years; they were like a well-oiled machine. Their performance was flawless and this was only a practice, only a hint of things to come.
Sam knew that time wasn't right, but he seriously considered approaching Josie as soon as the practice was over just to tell her personally that he was sorry about what had happened the day before. But then there was something else to consider.
Josie looked like she was having a wonderful time. She seemed cheerful and excited to be playing. Sam knew how much he enjoyed all kinds of sports: how much of a positive outlet it had always been for him. Remembering the way Josie had appeared as she'd left the day before, the sadness and hurt he'd seen on her face - the sadness and hurt that he had caused - he felt like it would be selfish to take a chance on upsetting her again particularly when she seemed so happy.
It was just as Rob had said: to Sam it seemed that Josie had put all the hurt and upset aside, concentrating on doing what she needed to do to get on with things, as if she could just make up her mind to have fun no matter what. And Sam realized something else: Josie was coping with things much better than he was, or at least that was the way she appeared to him.
As they finished their practice, Sam stared as Guy walked up to Josie and was obviously congratulating her on her performance. He blinked painfully as he saw Guy take her hand then and his spirits collapsed. He didn't notice that Rob was staring right at him, because he only saw Josie at that moment; Josie and Guy.
But then, thankfully, Rob and the other players congregated around and Guy stepped back to let them talk to her. Josie was positively glowing, he realized, as she hugged Aldys. Then it looked like Guy and Aldys were talking to each other in a friendly way as Rob took Josie to one side and started to unwrap her arm. Sam could see then that Rob and Josie were deep in conversation. He hesitated, wanting to approach her, but waiting until the moment was right. He slowly walked down towards the field, following Scott Romano who was already on the pitchers mound, kicking dirt and worrying.
* * *
Rob looked at Josie and smiled as he took the wrap off her arm. "That was great Josie, very understated, just enough to give Coach Romano a sleepless night. I swear I heard him gnashing his teeth up there."
Josie looked fondly at Rob. "Thanks, Rob." She looked towards Coach Romano and saw Sam then out of the corner of her eye. She saw that he was walking slowly in their direction that he was staring at the two of them.
"I think you should say something to him." Rob said as he followed her gaze.
"What's the point, Rob? It's too embarrassing," she said hesitantly.
"The point is he looks miserable and I don't think it's because of the competition. Just tell him you're sorry about yesterday and let him say the rest. So he'll know I told you it's a misunderstanding and he won't get the wrong idea about me. I don't want him to think you're angry at him. It might make him angry at me and more focused on the game."
"But I thought you wanted me to focus on Guy, Rob."
"I did, but you've done enough for today. Guy's talking to Aldys, anyway. Plenty of time for Guy later at the Prom. Don't blow your cover or anything, just let him know you don't hate him. And act upbeat like you're not upset. Just be nice to him."
"Rob, you're captain of the softball team, not captain of my life."
"Just do it Josie, trust me," Rob said and glanced at Sam.
Josie closed her eyes for a minute as Rob finished taking the wrap off her arm. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders and walked directly towards Sam.
Sam was startled to see Josie walking right up to him. He hesitated, not knowing quite what to say. As usual, when he looked at her he was tongue-tied.
"Hi," she started shyly, smiling at him, thinking how sweet he looked in that baseball cap. She knew that Rob was listening to every word.
"Hi Josie. How's your arm?" He managed to smile at her a little.
"It's fine. I'm sorry about, um, about what happened yesterday."
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about, Josie. I'm the one who should be sorry. I�"
"Hey Sam, where's Knox?" Scott Romano interrupted. He walked right up to them and nodded at Josie in greeting.
Sam reluctantly turned away from Josie to look at his friend. "She'll be here, Scott. I reminded her on my way out."
"Somebody should make her wear that sombrero for a change." Scott Romano muttered. It was clear that he wasn't about to leave Sam's side.
Rob felt like enough had been said for now between Sam and Josie, so he joined in. "Hey, Josie, quit fraternizing with the enemy." Then he squinted at Coach Romano, who clearly looked anxious.
"How did you like your glimpse of my secret weapon?" Rob continued, pointing at Josie. She smiled at him and rolled her eyes. Then she turned to smile at Sam. "Maybe we should spot you guys, say�ten runs to make it an even game," Rob smirked confidently.
Coach Romano shook his head at Rob. "I should have my head examined asking you to be Captain, Rob." He turned to Josie. "And, you, you're quite a catcher, young lady."
"Thank you," Josie said and blushed and glanced back at Sam.
Rob took off his cap and put it back on backwards. "You guys have only begun to see the talents of my team, not to mention my coaching abilities. My catcher and I need to confer now on strategy. Get a good night's sleep, gentlemen�you'll need it!"
Sam, who was staring at Josie, barely heard Rob's taunts but he came to his senses enough to say, "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Josie."
Rob looked at him and decided to intervene, "She'll be there, but no game discussions allowed. Captain's rules." He squinted at Sam.
"Fair enough, Rob. See you tomorrow then, Josie." Sam persisted, looking at her with a hopeful expression.
Josie grinned at him and said quietly, "I'll be there."
Sam was sorry for the interruption, but thrilled to have her smiling that beautiful smile at him and to know now she would be coming to his class the next day. Their eyes locked and somehow they were communicating without words again. Rob tapped Josie on the arm and motioned for her to come with him. She smiled at Sam again and turned to go with Rob. Sam waved to her and she turned to wave back, while Coach Romano stared after them, glaring at Rob and shaking his head. Rob smirked back at him.
Rob glanced at Josie's happy face and smiled. "Just call me 'Captain Cupid,'" he whispered. She smacked him in the arm as they walked away.
To be continued�