stuff,â I tell it.
SARB seems stuck. âDo you want me to turn you around?â I reach down and pick the little robot up.
âIâm getting an emergency signal, Jer! He has to do it himself.â
I put SARB down. âSorry!â
Iâd make eye contact if SARB had reasonable eyes. âYouâre a winner, SARB. Every minute. Every day. Walt will program you to leave your doubts at the door.â
SARB backs up, runs smack into the door, and falls over.
â â â
The sign Walt put up on the door reads:
NO ROBOTS IN THE BATHROOM
by order of The Management
I look at Jerwal and SARB. âIâm sorry, you guys. Walt has this boundary thing.â
I open the bathroom door and walk in. Itâs pink, unfortunately.
Thereâs a small mirror above the sink. I look at myself. People say I look like a kid actor, with my straight blond hair that falls over my left eye. I brush the hair back. My eyes look tough today. My skin isnât puffy like it used to be when I was sick. It definitely isnât blueâit got a little blue when my heart was at its worst.
Lopper, youâre looking good, kid. Youâre looking strong. Go warm up. Iâm putting you in the game.
I take out my phone, type:
NOTE TO SELF: FIND OUTâDoes this school have a baseball team? âKind of,â âsomewhat,â is not an answer.
Chapter
9
âDOES THIS SCHOOL have a baseball team?â
I ask three kids on the bus and get three answers.
Yes.
No.
Maybe.
âDoes this school have a football team?â
Well, yeah.
âA basketball team?â
Of course.
âTrack, soccer . . . ?â
Sure.
âSo whatâs with baseball?â
Kids shrug, except for a guy named Logo Larson. The school bus drives past the Hornetsâ Nest. Logo points out the window. âIf you donât win here, nothing else matters.â
âYou mean the middle school team didnât win?â I ask.
âWe won.â He rubs his elbow and stares out the window.
I say, âI donât understand.â
He shrugs and keeps looking out the window.
â â â
The bus pulls around the middle school baseball diamond. The field doesnât look like itâs been used much. The grass is overgrown; the pitcherâs mound is a mess. I see Franny and a few girls running laps. Franny is in the lead, running fast and easy. The bus pulls up to the middle school entrance. Mr. Hazard is in front saying good morning.
He gives me a wave. âHowâs it going, Jeremiah?â
I smile and walk over. âGood, sir. I have another question.â
âShoot.â
âWhatâs a âsomewhatâ baseball team?â
His smile cracks a little. âYou know, thatâs a good question, but unfortunately, it would take too long to bring you up to speed. Youâre not thinking of playing, right?â
âRight.â
âNext year, hopefully.â
âI wonât be here next year.â
âOf course.â He pats me on the back.
â â â
âDoes this school have a baseball team?â I ask Ms. Mullner, the science teacher.
âWell, I donât think they do, Jeremiah. This is my first year teaching. They used to have one and something happened.â
Logo, the kid from the bus, says, âThe coach got fired,â and takes his seat.
I sit next to him. âWhy did they fire him?â
âHe pushed too hard.â
I whisper. âWhat do you mean?â
âNobody wanted to play for him anymore.â
Ms. Mullner is standing by her desk. âToday,â she says, âweâre going to be talking about huge small things: molecules. How can we explain something so infinitesimal?â
No kids raise their hands.
âAnybody hungry?â
A few hands go up.
Ms. Mullner holds a sandwich. âSalami, cheese,turkey, ham, on a roll. What happens when I cut