When shortstop Mike Watson catches his Junior Varsity teammate Robby Brown slipping a tube of ChapStick into his pocket at the store, he doesn't know what to think.<br><br>Mike has had the hots for Robbie since the two boys started high school and finds it difficult to talk to him without feeling awkward and stupid. But he has to say something. What if someone else saw and Robby gets in trouble?<br><br>Does Robby make a habit of stealing things? Has Mike’s perception of his friend been wrong all these years? Is the ChapStick a cry for help or a way of getting Mike’s attention? Mike is determined to find out.

Caught

Mike follows his teammates onto the bus. From the head of the aisle, he leans to the left, then to the right, looking for Robby even if he doesn’t want to admit it. When he sees the third baseman hunkered down in the last seat, he breathes a sigh of relief. So no one caught him, good. Even if stealing’s wrong, Mike doesn’t want Robby to get into trouble over it.


As much as he’d like to take a seat beside Robby, he knows he doesn’t have that kind of courage. Instead, he falls into the first empty seat he finds on the opposite side of the bus, turning as if to chat with the guy behind him. What he really wants is to be able to glance over at Robby from time to time, just to look at the guy. With his cap pulled down low, his shoulders slouched, Robby looks sad. Mike wishes he could think of something to say to make him smile again. He wants to tell Robby it’s okay, he won’t tell anyone about the ChapStick, but he can’t say anything here, where everyone else can hear.


Chapter 4