Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

RIPLEY – AGE 5 { QUINCY – AGE 10}

" A re you ready for your first day of kindergarten, sweetie?"

I nod my head, trying to hide my fear of starting a new school in the middle of the year. Will everyone already have friends? Will there be room for me? What if I have to sit alone at lunch?

Mommy looks me up and down. "Are you sure you don't want to wear something…prettier?"

I glance at my leggings and oversized Team Canada Olympic softball sweatshirt. It's about as fancy as I get. "No. I'm good. Where's my glove?" I don't go anywhere without my softball glove.

She smiles as she hands it to me. "I can't believe how warm the weather is here in January. We can throw outside after school today if you want."

She's right. We'd be under ten feet of snow right now if we still lived in Toronto .

We eventually make our way into the school. I try not to let my nerves get the best of me.

My mommy walks next to me with all the confidence in the world. She's a beautiful, tall, skinny redhead. Her makeup and hair are always perfect. She dresses nicely too. Grown-up boys always stop to talk to her.

After my mommy fills out paperwork, we walk toward my new classroom. I hope the girls are nice. Sometimes girls are mean to me because of my size or because I don't like to wear pretty dresses like they do.

I'm introduced to my new teacher, Mrs. Sandwick, who sends my mother on her way. Mommy starts her job teaching and coaching at the high school tomorrow, but today she's supposed to be unpacking. Having moved about ten times in my five years in and around Toronto, I know it means that she'll leave everything in boxes for months. I'll end up unpacking everything because I hate when things are messy.

Mrs. Sandwick takes my hand as she calls the other students to come sit in a circle. "Class, this is Ripley St. James. She just moved here from Canada. Do you know where Canada is?"

A boy raises his hand, and Mrs. Sandwick calls on him. "Yes, Nathaniel."

"It's on top, right?"

The class laughs, and Mrs. Stanwick smiles. "Yes, it's north of the US. It's a different country."

He turns to me and asks, "Do you speak English?"

I nod. "Yes. A little French too, but mostly English."

Mrs. Stanwick looks around. "Can I have a volunteer to be Ripley's buddy for today? To show her how we do things here?"

A pretty blonde girl immediately raises her hand. She's the only other girl not in a dress. In fact, she's in sweatpants and a T-shirt. "I will."

"Wonderful, Arizona. Thank you. Boys and girls, don't forget about the father-daughter and mother-son picnic on Saturday. It's going to be so much fun."

Oh no.

She continues, "You all have about fifteen more minutes of playtime before we begin our day. Arizona, please show Ripley around the classroom and where to store her lunch."

Everyone runs off except Arizona, who stands. Oh, she's tall like me. I've always been the tallest girl my age, but we're about the same height. She approaches me and smiles. "Hi. I'm Arizona Abbott. I love your glove and your sweatshirt. Do you play softball?"

I nod. "Thanks. I do. My mommy was in the Olympics for softball."

Her eyes widen. "Wow. That's awesome. What position did she play?"

"Pitcher. I'm a pitcher like her. She's been training me."

"Cool. My brother is a pitcher. I was thinking about pitching too, but maybe I'll learn to be a catcher instead so we can throw together. Maybe we'll be in the Olympics one day like your mom was."

I can't help but smile as I'm immediately put at ease. I have my first friend. And she's awesome.

"I'd like that. All of it. I have a ball in my bag and an extra glove. Maybe we can throw at recess."

She shrugs. "I'm a lefty. Your extra glove is probably for righties."

My face falls. "Oh. Yes, it is."

She smiles. "But I have a glove in my bag too. I never leave home without it. We can definitely throw. I'm so excited to have another girl to throw with. I've never thrown with other girls, only boys."

I go on to have the most amazing first day. Arizona and I spend every minute together. We play catch at recess. She has the best arm I've ever seen on a girl our age. We're already talking about playing on the same team this spring.

At some point, one girl came over to me and made fun of my size. I know I'm very big for my age, but it always hurts. Before I could respond, Arizona pushed the girl to the ground and made her cry.

When no one was looking, she poured a cup of water into the girl's lunchbox and soaked her sandwich. We giggled as we watched the girl open it with water and sandwich bits pouring all over her dress.

At the end of the day, we walk out toward the school buses, and that's when I see him. The cutest boy I've ever seen in my life. He's got blond hair and blue eyes I can clearly see from a hundred feet away. He must be at least thirteen years old. So old.

He's got a red backpack hanging off his shoulder and is staring at Arizona. I understand. She's very pretty.

I lean over. "That cute boy is looking at you. I think he likes you."

She starts giggling uncontrollably. "That's my brother, silly. He's not cute at all. He's gross. He farts all the time. Yuck."

"Oh. How old is he? Is he a teenager?"

"He's ten. He's just tall for his age, like us. Come on. I'll introduce you to him. He waits for me every day to make sure I get home."

I quickly look around and don't see my mommy. She said she'd pick me up right after school. It's of no surprise to me that she forgot. She's been doing that for five straight years.

We walk over toward her brother. My palms are sweating. I take deep breaths as I feel my heart racing. He gets cuter and cuter with every step we take.

Arizona punches him in the arm. "Hey, Q. This is my new best friend, Ripley. Ripley, this is my nose-picking, loud-farting brother, Quincy. You can call him Q if you want."

Quincy is a dream name. I'd rather call him that.

He nods my way, unfazed by her digs. "What's up, Shortcake?"

I pinch my eyebrows together. Shortcake? I'm not short. Just the opposite.

He motions his head toward my lunchbox. It has Strawberry Shortcake on it. My face flushes with embarrassment at my babyish lunchbox. "Oh. My mom got it for me. I hate it."

He chuckles. "I think it's perfect for you. Her red, curly hair matches yours."

I touch my hair, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Does he like it? Does he hate it?

He answers with a smile. "I've never seen anyone with that color. It's super cool."

Phew.

He leans over and sniffs. "You smell like strawberries too."

I did have some for lunch. I try to smell myself, but I don't smell strawberries.

Arizona links her arm through mine. "Ripley is awesome at softball. She's a pitcher like you, Q. Her mom pitched in the Olympics. Can she play with us after school? Please?" She turns to me. "Quincy lets me play with him and his friends at the park near our house." She straightens her shoulders with pride. "I'm the only girl they allow on the field with them."

He shrugs. "Can she really throw? You know how those guys are about new people joining us, especially a girl. "

Arizona nods enthusiastically "As good as me. Maybe better."

I'm not sure that's true, but it's nice of her to say.

His eyes widen. "Z throws harder than most of my friends. If you're as good as her, you can play with us."

He smiles at me again, and my heart sputters. His smile is a little crooked, but it's so darn perfect on him.

I stare at the emptying carpool line, still not seeing my mommy. "I think my mom forgot to pick me up." I look down, embarrassed. "It happens a lot." Usually the school has to call her.

Arizona points toward the school buses, which are lined up. "Our mom never picks us up. She works super late. Where do you live? I'm sure there's a bus."

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. We just moved here."

"Do you know the street name?"

"Hmm, Maple-something."

Quincy asks, "Maplewood?"

I nod. "Yes! That's it."

He points toward the bus right behind him. "You're only two streets over from our house. You must be on our bus. If your mom won't get mad, you should come with us."

Mad? No.

"Okay."

It turns out I do only live two streets from the Abbotts. Arizona said we can walk to each other's houses. I tell them that I'll walk to their house after I stop at mine, but Quincy insists that they get off at my stop. He said since it's my first time on the bus, he wants to make sure I get home, and then they can show me the path to their house.

He's so nice.

When we get to my house, my mother is standing outside talking to a man. I roll my eyes. She's always talking to men .

As soon as she sees me, her face falls. "Oh crap. I was running late. I'm so sorry, sweetie."

"It's okay. My new friends showed me how to use the bus. And they live nearby. I can ride with them every day." I'd much rather do that anyway.

She smiles. "Wonderful."

I introduce them, and then I grab what I need to go to the park to play baseball. I walk with them to their house. It's super close. There's even a path that cuts through a few backyards.

As soon as they open their door, an enormous, golden-colored dog sprints through it and jumps into Quincy's arms, knocking him over and then licking all over his face. Lucky dog.

I suck in a breath. "Oh my god, that dog is huge. What is it? What's his name?"

Arizona smiles down at Quincy and the dog's loving interaction. "Her name is Diamond, as in the ball field."

"What kind of dog is she?"

"A Great Dane. She looks scary but she's a big softie, especially for Quincy." Arizona pets her head and in a playful voice, says, "Aren't you, girl? Nothing but a big teddy bear."

She looks up at me. "She sleeps with Quincy. He feeds her and walks her." She whispers, "He really loves the dog."

Loves? Once again, I think lucky dog .

When we step inside, the house is nice. It's similar to mine, but they have a lot of furniture and things hanging on the walls. "Your house is pretty."

Quincy shakes his head. "When I'm a famous baseball player, I'm going to buy the biggest and best house in the world, with a gigantic yard so I can have a million dogs like Diamond."

The house is quiet. "Are your mom and dad here?"

Arizona shakes her head. "No, they're working. They're not usually here when we get home from school. "

For the first time since we met, Quincy frowns. "Never. Not once in my life."

"Is it scary?" I've never been home without an adult.

He puffs out his chest. "No. I take care of my sister. I always protect her."

If I wasn't already, I think I'm now officially in love with him.

Arizona gathers some equipment while Quincy walks the dog. About twenty minutes later, we're on our way to the park, which I'm also realizing is only a short walk from our houses. Diamond is with us. She's not on a leash, but she stays near us the whole walk, never straying too far away.

When we arrive, there are three boys around Quincy's age waiting for us. They roll their eyes when they see me. One of them whines, "Ugh, another little girl. What the hell, Abbott?"

Quincy narrows his eyes and spits on the boy's shoe. "My little sister is better than you, Jay, and Wyatt all put together. You know it's true. She said her friend can hang. If Arizona says so, consider it the law."

The boy's shoulders slump. "Fine, she can stay, but she better not suck."

"She won't."

Quincy removes his shirt, and my stomach feels weird. It's like butterflies are flying around in there.

Arizona notices me staring. "Don't mind him. He never wears a shirt. He gets into trouble at school all the time for it. He's a weirdo. A smelly weirdo with flippers for feet."

No, he's beautiful and perfect. And not at all smelly. I look down. He does have big feet though. Wow, I've never seen a kid with such big feet.

He flexes his muscles. "I'm not weird. I'm buff. If I'm going to play professional baseball one day, I need muscles."

He gives an overexaggerated grunt as he flexes again. Arizona simply giggles. I watch him in complete and total awe.

We finally start to throw the ball around. They know a ton of fun games we can play without a full team.

While I'm definitely not fast like Arizona is, I have a great arm and the boys are in shock. It takes all of two minutes for me to blend in with them. I'm having the best time. I can't believe they do this every day.

When we're walking home, Arizona stops to tie her shoe, and Diamond waits by her side, leaving Quincy and me alone for the first time. "Thanks for inviting me. It was fun."

He shrugs. "You're a good ballplayer. Despite your lunchbox, Shortcake, I knew you'd be able to hang if my sister said so. She's never allowed another girl to come with us to the park before. Ever ."

I smile, feeling so proud right now.

"You have a pretty smile. It makes your eyes look extra blue."

"Thank you." I think that was a compliment. "Today is the first time a boy has ever stuck up for me. It's the first time I've ever played ball with boys."

He smiles. It's lopsided and cute. His blue eyes sparkle. "First time, huh?"

I nod. "Yep."

He throws his arm around me. I'm in heaven. "I think I'll take all your firsts, Shortcake. Okay?"

I don't know what that means, but he can have them. Whatever they are, they're his. "Okay."

"Are you going to the picnic on Saturday?"

I hang my head. "I can't. I don't have a dad."

"Oh, he doesn't live with you?"

"I…umm…I've never met him before."

Quincy slowly nods, like he's thinking about something. " Well, our dad never comes to stuff for Z. I have to be her dad sometimes. I can be yours too. We can all go to the picnic together."

I smile. "Really?"

"Sure thing, Shortcake."

That picnic was the first of many events Quincy attended with me when I didn't have anyone else. It was rarely discussed. It was just assumed he would take me to father-daughter picnics, dances, and other school events.

We spent years going to the park after school and playing ball with the older boys. Even when new boys complained about Arizona and me tagging along, Quincy always stood up for us. As soon as they saw us play, they usually shut up pretty quickly.

I'll never forget that first day though. It's the day that I met my best friend, Arizona Abbott, and the day I think I fell in love with Quincy Abbott. The day I promised him all my firsts.