You begin to remember that baseball field in India. As one of the most popular baseball players in Asia, no person there could play baseball like you. Although many did not realize it, you had talent. But now, everything has and is going to continue to change. The date is March 1, 1970, and you are on a flight from India to the United States. Your destination was Boston, one of the most popular areas in the country. Shortly after your father and mother got married, they seemed to grow apart. Your dad owned a huge business, and never seemed to have enough time for your mother. They are no longer together and haven’t talked in a while. They divorced as your mother caught your father cheating a month ago. Your father stayed back in India, and now, you’re traveling to America with your mother.

“Mom, how long do we have until we reach Boston?” You asked.

“It’ll be a while, just sit and relax,” your mother responded. 

You could observe that your mother didn’t want to talk. Your mother’s name is Janet, and in the last few weeks, she hasn’t been very supportive of you, nor focused on your development. 

As you prepare for landing, you begin to brace yourself. You had never been on a plane before, and you heard that the landing was the scariest part. You start to hold your mother’s hand as the plane embraces the impact of the ground. You land safely and begin to grab your personal belongings.

As you walk out of the plane, you notice the large airport right in front of you. It is packed and filled with people from many different places. You could identify that they were very different by their clothing and languages. You and your mother began to maneuver around the crowd to grab your luggage. After you secure your luggage, you head to the rental car area. Although it took a while to flag down a car, your mother was able to find one and you were off to your new home. 

After a long drive, you finally reach the apartment. You can feel the soft wind trickle through your body as you exit your car at your new home. This large apartment is very famous as it is located in Cambridge. Cambridge is fascinating and busy because it is right near the Museum of Fine Arts. As you enter the apartment, everyone looks at you differently. However, you were determined to fit in. 

You sleep through the night without any problem. However, today is your first day of school, and back home you dreaded school. Now, you need to make new friends that have similar hobbies. In Boston, baseball is a very popular and intriguing sport. Since your mother has been acting differently, you don’t feel comfortable talking to her. 

“Mom, how do you think I’m going to possibly make friends here? I can’t believe we had to move in the first place. I was doing perfectly fine back home in India,” you mention.

“James, don’t you ever say anything like that again. You know these times have been incredibly tough for me. Since the divorce, everything has gone downhill and we are losing money quickly,” your mother responds. 

“Alright, I’ll do it for you, I’m so sorry for bringing that up,” you utter back.

Your mother looks at you menacingly, and fear comes across your face. At this moment, you smile and wave back at her as you step out of the car. In front of you, the sign reads Cambridge High School. Before coming to Boston, you had heard that this school has an incredible baseball program. This seemed very appealing to you as you loved the sport more than anything else in the world. You walk in the doors and see two younger figures waiting for you. They begin to introduce themselves. 

“Hi James, our principal told us all about you. I heard you loved playing baseball. I enjoy baseball as much as you do. My name is Erich and I can’t wait to get to know you,” your new classmate states. 

Erich seemed like a very heartwarming and comforting individual. However, on the other hand, the boy standing next to him stared you down. 

“Don’t get your hopes up, kid. You have nothing to worry about in baseball because you aren’t ever going to play. My name is Jared, don’t you ever forget that name,” he assured.

People like Jared were the kind of people who made you question your decision to play baseball. Jared and your mother both seemed to not believe in you. Jared and Erich gave you a quick tour around the whole school. The first day of school was very laid back and efficient. However, tonight was your time to shine. It will be your first baseball practice to prove you deserve a spot on the team. 

As the bell rang and school was over, you quickly hurried out the door. You were very determined to prove to others that you are dedicated to baseball. To you, the sport is more than just a game, it is an escape from reality. Baseball brought you hope and joy when you needed it most. You step onto the baseball field and admire the large bleachers and beautiful green grass. You are struck with happiness to be back on that inspiring field. The first person you notice is Jared. Although you only talked to him once, you felt like you shouldn’t be friends with him. You could tell that he is very arrogant just by talking to him. Next, you noticed Erich come into eye view. He begins to welcome you over. 

As practice begins, you walk to your baseball bag and grab your bat. You have been waiting for this moment ever since you arrived in Boston. Your coach throws you the first pitch. You wait back and drive the baseball out into center field. Before you know it, the ball clears the fence. Everybody looks at you in a shocked, but respectful manner. The coach walks towards you and hugs you. Just by that action, you know you have made the team. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Jared start to approach you. 

“Wow, that was a pretty impressive hit. But, I hope you know you will never be as good as me,” he comments.

Erich begins to walk towards you with a big smile across his face. 

“How did you do that? No one ever told me you were this good. Anyway, would you like to meet up with me tonight at the Museum? It closes at around 9:00 P.M.,” Erich questions.

“Sure, I would love to do that. Thanks for being such a great person to be around,” you respond. 

Practice comes to a close, and your mother comes to pick you up. As you begin driving, a huge thunderstorm hits. You can hear the rain colliding and hitting the car. Your mother drives you home safely, but only to notice one thing. As you get closer to the apartment, a huge lightning strike hits in the distance. The loud thuds seem to be coming from the direction of your apartment. Your mother becomes frightened and startled. As you come around the corner of the intersection, you notice that the weather has caused high levels of destruction. Your assumption was correct as the lightning did indeed hit the apartment. The sky is filled with orange as the apartment building is engulfed in flames. All of your necessary belongings have been destroyed. Your mother begins to tear up. You and your mother could have never imagined something this horrid would ever occur. 

“Mom, what are we going to do? Where are we going to sleep?” You asked. 

“At this moment, I have no idea,” your mother begins to burst into tears. “I can’t believe all of this could have possibly happened.”

You and your mother decide to sleep in the car. Although it is very scrunched and uncomfortable, you have no other choice. However, you remember that Erich wanted to meet you at the Museum. For this reason, you wake up your mother and tell her you are going to the Museum. Your mother nods her head and gives you permission to leave. 

You enter the Museum and see Erich waiting for you at the front door. 

“How are you feeling James? You look a little depressed and downhearted,” Erich asks. 

“Actually, I am not doing well at all. My home was just destroyed by a lightning strike. Everything I owned and cared for is now gone,” you respond in a low voice. 

“Well if you need a place to stay, I live with my father in a large house. We would definitely be willing to allow you to stay here until further notice,” Erich offers. 

“Wow, that would be outstanding. Thank you for everything you have done for me,” you vocalize happily.

You and Erich begin to leave the Museum and head towards Erich’s house. However, as you step out the door, an alarm starts blaring around you. You are confused as you don’t know what is happening. In the distance, you observe a large gray cloud of dust begin to form. This day has been terrible already, but now, there is a large tornado occurring. You and Erich begin to panic. You have never experienced a tornado before, and you are now brought into distress. The tornado begins to get close. You and Erich sprint back into the Museum. You watch the tornado pass by the museum as no damage has been done. You are lucky that the tornado caused minor harm in the town. 

After waiting a few hours, you start to leave the museum. As you reach Erich’s house, you are amazed. In front of you, there is a large red house with beautiful decorations and landscaping. As you walk in the door, a large person greets you and welcomes you. He supplies you with food and blankets. Thanks to Erich, you now have a warm and safe place to live. You fall asleep faster than ever before.

You wake up in the morning and realize one thing. Today is the last day before the state championship baseball game. You skipped eating breakfast because you didn’t want to feel greedy. However, Erich’s inviting personality has given you a sense of belonging. As Erich finished breakfast, you and he began to walk to school. The weather was much different from last night, as there was sun shining through the clouds. 

As you and Erich stepped into the school, the bell rang. Most of the time, you sleep through your classes. You never pay attention in class, which causes your terrible grades. Your mother has been nagging you to get better grades, but you have been careless. All that you care about is how you play baseball. In your eyes, baseball comes before school. Your mother didn’t like this philosophy, for she was very intelligent back in the day. However, you have not followed in her footsteps. 

As the school day finished, you and Erich walked out to the baseball diamond for practice. Just off of these first few days, you and Erich had created a bond that could never be broken. Erich had the qualities of an admirable individual. He has been such a great role model to you. 

“Are you ready to go James?” Erich asks quietly, “I want to go home and eat.”

“You’re right, that sounds like a plan,” you respond. 

You and Erich begin to walk home. As you walk in, your mother is waiting by the door. She met Erich’s father while you were at school. You are then gifted with a large dinner. As you finish dinner, you try to relax. However, you see your mother talking to Erich’s father. You hear Erich’s father introduce himself, and his name is John. It seems as if your mother and Erich’s father are creating a bond as well. You peek through the door and notice that your mother is kissing John. This comes as a surprise as your mother just met him. However, this is a good thing because you and your mother needed a place to stay. 

After this occurred, you went to sleep shocked. But, you had a big day tomorrow as it was the state championship game.

It was Saturday now, and you woke up ready to go. It is almost game time and you need to get ready. You begin by eating a large breakfast in the morning. After that, you leave to head to the Boston Red Sox baseball stadium.

As you arrive, you walk in and see a crowd of over 50,000 people in the stands. You can hear the loud chanting and yelling as you and your teammates step onto the field. You begin to warm up with Erich as you get excited and ready to go. The national anthem begins and you can’t wait until the start of the game. As the national anthem ends, you begin to clap and head to the dugout. You are leading off the game as the first batter. You begin to walk back in the dugout to grab your gear. The sounds of everyone clapping and cheering brought tears to your eyes. You never thought that you would be in this situation. You felt that nothing had been going well for you, for this was the only chance you had. Everyone has doubted you, and no one seemed to believe in you. If you don’t prove everyone wrong, they will always be disappointed in you. You step into the batter’s box with fear and determination across your face. The first pitch comes and you watch it go by for a strike. You begin to feel nervous and anxious as the pitch feels like it was flying by you at 100 miles per hour. However, you step into the box and await the next pitch. Once again, the next pitch is blown by you. You are down in the count 0-2. With one more strike to go, you need to be patient and smart. You can’t go swinging at anything outside of the zone. With this mentality in hand, you step into the box and take a deep breath. The pitcher begins his windup and throws a curveball. You hold your weight back and explode on the baseball. Within a second, the ball begins to soar through the air. The next thing you know, you watch the ball quickly soar over the wall! It’s a home run! Everybody begins to chant your name. The sound of your name being cheered by the crowd makes you feel like you’re back in India. This is the moment you have been dreaming of since you started playing baseball. 

In the game, you only get one chance to hit. However, in the end, Cambridge High School comes away with the victory because of you. Cambridge wins the game 1-0. The only run scored was your homerun early on in the game. Your teammates begin to surround you, and you are filled with joy. Even Jared comes to congratulate you. This is the greatest day of your life. Although many people tried to bring you down, Erich and many others were always there for you. 

You sleep through the night with no problem. In the morning, the doorbell of your house begins to ring. You walk towards the door only to see a recognizable figure outside. The individual standing outside is Jared. 

“I can’t believe I ever said anything like that to you. You never deserved it. I am so glad that you are a part of this team and program,” Jared states. 

“Thanks, Jared, I appreciate it,” you respond. 

Jared begins to walk away. You know that you have gained his respect. 

Next, you walk over to the kitchen to eat breakfast. During breakfast, you hear better news that brightens your day. Your mother has just got a job in Texas. Your mother will take on the responsibility of being a doctor. You are excited by this opportunity, but you also are confused. 

“Mom, what are we going to do? How are we going to move to Texas when we have no money?” 

“That’s a great question, honey. John and I have a secret we’ve been wanting to tell you. John and I are planning to get engaged. We will be moving to Texas tomorrow, so start to pack up,” your mother responds. As you hear the news, a large smile appears on your face. You run towards your mom and hug her for what feels like an hour. 

You are so excited and fortunate. Although you will miss Boston, you are ecstatic to move in with your new family. You run up by Erich and tell him the story. After you tell him, he gives you a big hug. Erich has been such a good friend, and now he will be a part of your family. You and Erich begin to pack up and get ready to head to Texas in the morning with your new beloved family.