I changed clothes grabbed my baseball card binder and went to the Finches dugout Even though he’s a batboy Dylan isn’t a big baseball fan I showed him my baseball card collection sometimes well part of it I had more than 5,000 cards I told him about my favorite players I explained plays during the game Dylan didn’t know it but he was my secret mission By the end of the season I was going to make him the greatest fan of the world’s greatest game I found Dylan sitting on the edge of the bench in the visitors dugout Hey I nudged his elbow Shh Dylan pointed at something I scanned the infield and didn’t see anything unusual What It’s right there He pointed again and I realized he was pointing at the fence that protected the dugout from foul balls I set my baseball card binder down and knelt by the fence to get a better look
There was a little creepy-crawly thing sitting on the chain link It’s just a bug I said It’s not a bug It’s a spider said Dylan Spiders are bugs Not exactly They’re arachnids Bugs are insects Hey look It’s spinning a web Great I said Wally said we should go home My dad will give you a ride Thanks Dylan replied I want to stay and watch I can call my parents later I thought baseball bored you Dylan had admitted that when we first started working for the Porcupines I mean watch that he said He nodded at the spider Of course I knew Dylan liked animals but did a spider count as an animal
ust after I got home I had one of the worst moments of my whole life I’d forgotten my card binder I’d left it in the Finches dugout when I was talking with Dylan about that stupid spider It felt like I’d left my right arm somewhere I called the Finches locker room Dylan answered It’s me Is the game still going on Yeah And Sparky is done with his web Sparky Sparky the Spider You named that thing No I just call him Sparky That’s naming him Maybe By the way you left your binder here I know that’s why I called I wanted to make sure it was OK It’s fine Do you want me to put it in your locker Keep it overnight I said Take good care of it But feel free to look through it There’re some cool cards in there
Sure Dylan promised Gotta go I want to see if Sparky’s caught any bugs yet I overslept the next morning We batboys had to be at the ballpark two hours before the game started I would have to hurry to get there on time It was my own fault I’d listened to the rest of the game on the radio before I went to sleep The Porcupines finally won in the thirteenth inning Tommy Harris hit a triple and Mike Stammer brought him in with a sacrifice fly It would have been so great to be there I knew what Uncle Rick meant about never leaving a game early Too bad Mom and Dad didn’t understand I got dressed bounded down the stairs and ate a bowl of cereal Mom saw me put the bowl in the dishwasher Do you need lunch she asked I can get a hot dog at the ballpark You’ve been eating a lot of hot dogs lately she said Why don’t I pack you a lunch while you walk the dog Oh yeah It was my job to walk our dog in the morning Penny was near her food bowl She looked up at me with great big eyes and made a whimpering noise Hi girl I reached for the food bin She’s already had breakfast said Mom Aw Mom She wants more I said Penny was still staring at me It would make her happy
