What a Pair! (10 page)

When Mark and Mattie entered the schoolyard, Mattie spotted Stella talking with a group of girls over by the swings, so she decided to join them while Mark went to visit with some of the boys.

Even though Mattie didn’t like all the schoolwork she knew she’d have to do, she did enjoy getting to see all her friends. It was fun to talk about the things they’d done over the summer months. Some, like Becky Yoder, had gone on a trip to visit family who lived in another state. Mattie wished she had relatives living somewhere other than Ohio. It would be fun to ride the bus or train and visit somewhere she hadn’t been before. But at least they got to ride in their driver’s van whenever they visited Grandpa and Grandma Troyer in Burton. That was better than staying home all the time.

Mattie said hello to Stella and the other girls, and then someone suggested they take turns pushing some of the younger ones on the swings. Mattie didn’t want to do that, so she picked some pretty flowers growing in the field next to the schoolhouse to give to their teacher, Anna Ruth. She’d only picked a few flowers when the school bell rang.

Mattie sighed and shuffled into the schoolhouse behind the other children. Like it or not, her school day was about to begin.

When Mattie and the others entered the schoolhouse, the boys jostled one another as they hung their straw hats on some hooks on the wall, and then put their lunch boxes away on a bench at the back of the room. On the girls’ side of the room things were a little quieter, as they found places for their lunch boxes as well. Then Mattie hurried to the front of the room, where the teacher’s desk sat in the corner, and gave her the flowers she’d picked.

“Why, thank you, Mattie. These are lovely, and it was nice of you to think of me.” When Anna Ruth smiled, the whole room seemed to light up. She had light brown hair, hazel-colored eyes, and a pretty face. Mattie was surprised the twenty-year-old schoolteacher wasn’t married yet. In fact, as far as she knew, Anna Ruth didn’t even have a boyfriend. Maybe she, like Mattie, didn’t plan to get married. Or maybe she just hadn’t found the right fellow yet.

“I’m glad you like the flowers, and you’re welcome,” Mattie said before taking her seat. Maybe she would do better in school this year if she stayed on the good side of their teacher.

“Good morning, boys and girls,” Anna Ruth said after the scholars had all taken their seats.

“Good morning, Anna Ruth,” the children replied.

Next, the teacher read a verse of scripture from the Bible. “‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God.’ James 1:5.”

Mattie felt like hiding under her desk. Had Anna Ruth chosen that verse to read this morning because she knew Mattie wasn’t smart? Well, why wouldn’t she know it? Mattie had struggled in school last year, and unless God gave her a good dose of wisdom soon, she’d probably struggle this year, too.

Dear God
,
she silently prayed
,
help me to be smart like Mark
.

Next, it was time to stand with the others and recite the Lord’s Prayer. When that was done, everyone filed to the front of the room to sing a few songs. The first song they sang was called, “Sing Little Children, Sing,” but Mattie had a hard time concentrating on the words. It was easier to look out the window, where a stream of light filtered through and drifted across the light-colored walls and dark wooden floor. She spotted a big old horsefly on the window, buzzing angrily and trying to find its way out. She was tempted to leave her place and open the window so the fly could escape, but figured she’d be in trouble with the teacher if she did that. Well, at least that old fly hadn’t gotten trapped on the flypaper hanging from the wall in one corner of the room. Maybe when the door was opened at recess the fly would find its way outside to freedom.

Glancing out the window next to it, Mattie noticed a herd of black-and-white cows grazing and swishing their tails in the pasture across the way. Out another window on the other side of the room, she saw a field of dreary-looking dried cornstalks. Summer was almost over; there was no doubt about it. Soon the warm days of August would turn cool, and autumn would swoop right in. Mattie dreaded walking to school when the weather was cold or rainy. One more reason she hoped for a new bike that would get her to and from school a lot quicker than walking.

Mattie’s mind snapped to attention when Stella poked her arm and whispered, “It’s time to take our seats again.”

Mattie shuffled back to her desk and sat down, dreading the arithmetic lesson she knew would be coming next. Later in the day, they would study reading and spelling. Mattie wasn’t looking forward to those subjects either. She glanced up at the sign on the wall above the teacher’s desk:
Y
ou
Are Responsible for Y
ou. It was a reminder that she needed to study harder to get good grades, but sometimes her thoughts took her in other directions.

As the morning wore on, Mattie’s stomach began to rumble. She glanced at the battery-operated clock on the wall and smiled when she saw that it was almost time for lunch.

After lunch, some of the older students got a game of baseball going. Mark didn’t want to play, but after his friend John Schrock, who was Stella’s cousin, kept pestering him about it, he finally agreed.

“It’ll be fun,” John said, as he and Mark waited to take their turn up to bat.

“We’ll see about that,” Mark muttered. It might be fun for those who could play well, but he didn’t like baseball and had never been able to play the game without messing up. Mattie, on the other hand, played baseball as well as any of the boys. Everyone wanted Mattie on their team. In fact, when it was her turn to bat, he could see the look of happiness on her face. If Mattie did even half as well in school as she did on the ball field, she’d be an excellent student.

The first ball that was pitched came right over home plate. Mattie swung and—
crack!
—the bat hit the ball with such force that it sailed right over the pitcher’s head and landed in the neighbor’s field of drying corn.

Everyone cheered as Mattie ran around all the bases and made a home run. Russell and Calvin even whistled real loud.

“Good going!” Stella patted Mattie on the back. “I’m sure glad you’re on our team.”

“
Danki
,” Mattie said with a grin. Her cheeks were rosy, and her blue eyes sparkled like twinkling fireflies on a hot summer night. It was obvious that she enjoyed playing ball very much.

Mark was glad his twin sister had made a home run, but oh, how he wished he could play as well as she did. Mattie made that home run look as easy as pie. It just wasn’t right that a girl could play better than her brother.

John was up to bat next, and he hit a ball that took him to second base.

Then it was Aaron Stutzman’s turn. He hit the ball on the second swing, and it took him to first base, while John ran quickly and made it to third base.

“It’s your turn now,” Mattie said, smiling at Mark. Did she know how nervous he felt?

Mark’s palms grew sweaty as he stepped up to home plate and grabbed the wooden bat. Then, squinting against the glare of the sun, he positioned the bat over his shoulder.

The first pitch flew past Mark and hit the fence.

“Strike one!” someone hollered.

The catcher quickly recovered the ball and threw it back to the pitcher.

The pitcher threw the ball again, and when it blurred toward home plate, Mark swung with all his might. But he missed the ball, lost his balance, and fell on his back with a groan.

The girls gasped, and several of the boys laughed. Mark wasn’t hurt, but he sure was embarrassed. He couldn’t believe what had just happened to him.

Gritting his teeth, Mark clambered to his feet, and more determined than ever, he gripped the bat once again. As he waited for the next pitch, he whispered a little prayer.
Help me to hit this ball, Lord
.

Whack!
This time he hit the ball with such force that it sailed through the air, just missing the pitcher’s head.

Mark felt pretty good about that, but he only made it halfway to first base when he got tagged out. That was the trouble when you couldn’t run fast.

“Hey, brainiac with the carrot top hair,” Aaron Stutzman jeered, “looks like you can’t run any better than you can hit! Maybe you should let your twin sister fill in for you the next time you’re up to bat.”

Mattie planted both hands on her hips and glared at Aaron. “You shouldn’t make fun of my bruder or call him names.”

“She’s right,” Russell called from the sidelines where he’d been watching. “Mark just needs more time to practice.”

Mark’s face heated, and he knew it had turned red. It was bad enough that he couldn’t play well, did his sister and brother have to embarrass him in front of the others by sticking up for him like that? This was not a good way to begin the new school year, and as he walked off the ball field he decided that from now on he’d find something else to do during recess.

    C
HAPTER
8    

“Sure wish I hadn’t played ball during lunch recess today,” Mark told Mattie on the way home from school.
“I don’t like playing ball, and I don’t like people laughing at me or sticking up for me when I mess up. If the teacher doesn’t mind, I’m not gonna play that game anymore.”

“What Russell said was right, you know. You just need to practice more,” Mattie said. “Mom always says that practice makes perfect.”

“I might practice if I liked playing ball, but I don’t, so what’s the point in practicing?” He nudged Mattie’s arm. “What about you? If you practiced spelling more you might be good at that, too.”

Mattie’s cheeks turned pink. “You know I don’t like spelling, and I don’t want to talk about this anymore!” She ran quickly ahead of him.

That was fine with Mark. With the way he felt about the baseball game, he’d rather walk by himself anyway.

Trudging along with his head down and shoulders slumped, he stopped to dig the toe of his boot into the dirt. When he spotted a ground beetle moving slowly through the dirt, he squatted down and studied it for a few seconds. Ground beetles were often found under rocks, twigs, or tree stumps, and they were big and black. Burying beetles were another type of interesting bug, but they had spots on their backs, kind of like ladybugs. Beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, and other insects didn’t bother Mark at all, but he sure didn’t like snakes. In fact, he disliked snakes even more than he disliked Mattie’s yappy little dog.

“Hey Mark, what are ya lookin’ at?” Aaron Stutzman called as he walked up behind Mark and tapped his shoulder.

“Nothin’ much,” Mark mumbled. “Just watchin’ a big fat beetle.”

“Well, if ya watched the ball as hard as you’re starin’ at that bug, ya might be able to hit better.” Aaron snickered. “Maybe you should get your twin sister to teach you how to run faster, too.”

Mark clenched his fingers so tightly that his nails dug into the palms of his hands. He didn’t need the reminder that Mattie could play ball better and run faster than he could, and he was relieved when Aaron went on his way.

Farther down the road, Mark found a flat rock with red stripes running through it, so he stuck it in his pocket. It would look good with some of the other unusual rocks he’d collected and put in a glass jar in his room. Then he rose to his feet and continued his walk toward home. He was almost there when he spotted a teenage boy riding up the road on his fancy black-and-silver bicycle. Oh, how he wished he had a bike like that. If he’d been riding a bike instead of walking he could have pedaled right on past Aaron when he’d started making fun of him. And if he had a bike, that would get him home really quickly like his brothers Russell and Calvin.