Baseball Rose
copyright 2012 Faeriemage
By any other name…

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize for the delay in the next chapter of this. I was dissatisfied with the previous chapter and wanted the second opinion of my editor before I continued. He was busy with other projects and finally got to chapter 3 last night. Now…to pick up the pieces of my shattered psyche and figure out where I am going with this next :)

---

If he’d been a super villain, he would have cackled gleefully as phase one of his plan worked out better than he could have ever hoped. The three patsies wouldn’t even dare to cross him, since they’d only done it because of the sway he held.

You sell drugs to a kid and for some reason the kid thought you were his, or her, friend. They’d tell you all sorts of things, in confidence of course, that they would never have dreamed of telling anyone else.

That lead him to the three who were even now being lead away. Of the three he actually felt sorry for Joey. Well, not that sorry. Hacking was a felony after all.

Truth be told, power was a heady brew and one that he fully planned to sip as he continued to control the school.

Joey’s debt to society was paid by the other job he’d done. The young druggie smiled at the thought. Yes, Joey was debt free after this. The drive with all the proof of his illicit activities was in his hot little hands.

Now, what to do with the video that proved to anyone who cared to watch it that Jay was just the sort of bully that he’d always suspected.

There was no real decision here: it was going to the police.

***
Mr. Ford got off the phone and looked thoughtful for a moment before he began to make another call.

“Hey, Leon," he said as soon as the phone was picked up.

"Hello, Oscar. I haven't talked to you in a while."

"Yeah, I know, it has been too long."

"You needed time to heal," the voice on the other end of the phone said. "No one could have just bounced back after what happened to you."

"I know. I’m glad to be in a better place, emotionally, but it does have its own difficulties. About those difficulties. You know the Sims boy I told you about? There is video of the assault that is about to make its way to you."

"You decided to send it to me after all? I thought you wanted to handle this in-house, so to speak."

"No, this is not from me. Bill tells me that the entire assault was deleted from our server"

"Oscar, if you had anything to do..."

"I know how bad it looks. Can you just let me finish? The person who will be delivering will likely not be the person who stole it."

"Who do you think stole it?"

"Francis George. Or at least he caused it to be stolen."

"Who would name their kid Francis if their last name was George. That even looks bad in print."

"Be nice. It’s not easy having two first names, Leonardo Andrews

“Anyway, I’ve sent an image of Mr. George to your cell."

"I can't believe I didn't connect him with an ongoing investigation we have. Seems everyone in his organization calls him Pasty, though, so the boys have started referring to him that way. He's a low level drug dealer that we can't ever seem to catch with any drugs. He sends his buyers to individually prepped stashes."

"Really? Drug dealer? That explains this a bit better."

"I would suggest that you let us handle it this time. I mean all of it. Suspending Mr. George won't prevent him from selling at your school anyway. I mean it, Oscar. Don't do anything."

"You know me too well. I leave this in your capable hands Mr. Chief of Police.”

Calling in a favor wasn’t something that he ever felt comfortable with, and he didn’t feel like he was calling in a favor. Unless the freshman or his parent had wanted to press charges he was okay with not sending the evidence into the police. However, now that was out of his hands.

The kid had just gotten beaten up, and now he would be charged with assault for his bullying.

Yes, Jay would also likely be charged with assault and gross bodily harm, but now both of them would be in the system.

This wasn’t the way that he’d wanted things to go. Time to really call in a favor.

***
Andrew Peters walked into the office of the superintendent of schools without even pausing at the receptionist’s desk outside. The young man at the receptionists desk tried his best to stop Andrew, but it simply wasn’t going to happen.

“Andrew…what?” Began the older gentleman behind the teak desk. The superintendant wasn't a slow man, normally, but he'd been contemplating the photos of his grandchildren and wondering when he'd get the time to visit them.

“I want you to get your head out of your butt, Harald and let Melanie play baseball on my team.” Andrew was furious and let his friend know it.

“What are you..?” began Harald. He was still on the back foot in the conversation.

“You’re aware that Jason Sims is a girl, genetically at least?”

Harald just opened and closed his mouth at this. He’d known Andrew since he personally interviewed him for his present position almost thirty years ago. He’d been the principal back then, so he’d had a real stake in that school.

But to hear…

“What are you talking about, Andrew? I seem to be a couple of lines short of a complete scene on this one.”

“Melanie Deverau wants to play baseball.”

“Well, there’s a wonderful girls…”

“You didn’t understand me, Harald. She wants to play baseball”

“Oh…and softball…”

“Isn’t baseball.”

“Oh…The board has declared that anyone born female is not allowed to play sports with genetic males where it doesn’t go counter with title IX.”

“And there is the second problem. The wording. Jay Sims is genetically female. So, technically…”

“And she wants to play…”

“He is the captain of the team.”

“He? I thought you said…” Harald was completely lost now.

“I did say he was genetically female. Physically he is completely male.”

“Oh…and if we let him continue to play, then there is no reason…” A small smile appeared on Harald's face.

“There never was a reason. While there is occasionally full contact at a plate, baseball isn’t really a full contact sport. It is outdated to think that anyone who can compete shouldn’t be allowed to compete.”

“But girls are weaker…” Harald didn't actually believe the party line he was spouting, and George knew it.

“Give it a rest, Harald. Girls are usually weaker than boys, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a huge amount of overlap in our capabilities. Women don’t have testosterone, which means they miss out on the easy muscle building that men enjoy. That doesn’t mean they can’t build muscles, just that they have to work harder at it.”

“And I don’t think I work at it at all,” Harald replied rubbing his belly. He wasn’t fat, but he did have a bit of paunch.

“Jay has testosterone. So, that’s the first problem with banning him. He was raised as a boy, which is the second.”

“So, Jay stays, but what about Melanie?”

“Melanie is a great athlete.”

“I’m not going with just ‘she’s a great athlete’ when I tell the board why I’m allowing her to play baseball.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what you tell the board.”

“Pardon me?”

“The only thing that should be judged is whether or not an athlete can compete on the same level as her peers. At the top end of any sport, you get more of a division between men and women, but whether that’s talent or desire I don’t know. It might also be bias from the people who recruit for the sports. They want male players, so they look for male players.”

“That doesn’t change anything…” Harald began only to be interrupted by Andrew again.

“It should. You tell the board that their ruling on this issue is contrary to the spirit of title IX because baseball and softball aren’t the same sport. Boys who want to should be able to play softball, and girls should be able to play baseball if they want.”

“I don’t think…”

“Harald, just do it.”

“Fine, but when this all blows up in my face you are taking the blame.”

Andrew thanked him and walked out of the office laughing.

***
Melanie didn’t know what to think. She had the feeling down, but the thinking part was confusing to her at that moment. There had never been another person who made her feel the way that Jay did. He was frustrating and sweet and good looking and frustrating. Even with how frustrating he was, his smile melted her. When she was talking to him, she’d willingly give up baseball.

While she was with him she’d give up anything to make him smile.

That was the problem. The feeling part of the equation was perfect. Even being frustrated with him felt perfect to her.

The thinking part of the thing just didn’t balance out well. She wasn’t some slave to his good looks. She was her own person who had a right to her own choices. She had a right to her desires, wishes, and dreams, but whenever she was near him she didn’t even care about herself.

“What is wrong with you, Girl? He’s just a boy.” She almost threw her books into her locker.

She sighed as she picked up the books for her next class. What was wrong was she was in love, or infatuated, or something. She really wanted to know where a relationship with Jay could go.

If she got on the team, then the relationship could go nowhere. She wouldn’t be just another groupie girlfriend, especially one who was also on the team.

On the team.

For a moment all thoughts of Jay left her mind. To actually be on the baseball team would be the culmination of a dream and a lot of work. She knew she was good. She had a talent for the game. It went beyond talent, though.

Melanie spent all of the time she wasn’t in school playing baseball. Usually it was just with herself, but sometimes with the boys in her old neighborhood.

She missed all of the games out at the old field. Baseball had been big in the town they’d come from. That was part of the problem. No one there would have even considered letting a girl on the team. It just wasn’t done.

Her dad had accepted a job with a new company just so she could get a shot on a high-school team. That was the only way that she’d ever get a shot of going further, to get seen playing competitively.

It was an even greater longshot for her to get onto a college team, but maybe, just maybe…

She sighed again as she took her seat in her next class and waited for the last students took their seats.

Jay wasn’t worth losing out on an opportunity like that, no matter how nice he seemed to be, or how kissable his lips looked…

***
“Hey,” Jay said when the other boy woke up.

For a moment, the freshman looked terrified, but only for a moment. He realized that he wasn’t being attacked anymore, even if he was still in pain.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” Jay continued, “I over reacted. I should have let it blow over, but…no buts. I over reacted.”

“I’m sorry too. I should have started running as soon as I called you Cinderella.”

Jay smiled at this, and the freshman laughed.

“What’s your name?”

“Palmer.”

Jay chuckled at that. With a name like Palmer it was a sure thing that the kid had been tormented himself. High school was like that. Palmer smiled at him.

“So, good news is that I didn’t break anything, so mostly it’s just bruises and such you have to heal up from.”

“I almost wish that you had broken something. Then they’d probably give me something stronger for the pain.”

Jay smiled sadly at the other boy. “I’m really sorry about this.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I knew that we were all pushing you too far, but I thought it would be cool to be part of the majority for once. I never thought that I’d end up hurt for it.”

“That’s life, unfortunately.”

A couple of police officers entered the room.

“Palmer Henderson?”

“Yes?” the boy in the bed said, a little worried.

“You’re under arrest for assault.”

“What?” Jay exclaimed.

“Who are you?” one of the officers asked.

“Jay Sims.”

The officers looked at each other and put their hands on their guns. “Step away from the bed, son. We’ve been looking for you as well.”

“What’s going on here?” A voice asked from the doorway.

“This is none of your concern, ma’am.”

“It is my concern. I’ve been retained by the school to represent the interests on these boys.”

“Oh, a lawyer,” sneered one of the two.

“Yes, a lawyer. Mind if I get your name and badge number?” she asked. There was nothing sweet or pleasant about the way she said it. She turned and winked at the two boys at the bed.

“My name is Hank Laramie.”

He gave the woman his badge number, and then his partner gave his information.

“Alright, so you’re arresting these boys?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A call came in over officer Laramie’s radio, and he turned away to talk for a moment or two. He was blushing bright red and glaring at the woman when he turned back. “Come on, William, apparently they’ve recalled the warrant.”

“What?”

“Sorry for this, ma’am.”

The officers left the two boys looking stunned. Jay looked at the woman with a bit of awe. “Who are you?”

“Julia Fore. Your principal retained me to take care of the two of you. The main problem the police have is that the person who stole the footage of the two of you fighting deleted it from the school servers.”

“How is that a problem?”

“It means that it can’t be proven that the footage is authentic. It could have been doctored or obtained illegally.”

“Someone stole it. Of course it was illegal.”

“This country still has problems with people being filmed without their knowledge. If it was not one of the school’s security cameras then it was an illegal film of minors.”

“Can’t they just retrieve the data from the hard drive? I mean nothing is ever really deleted, right?”

Julia laughed.

“That is one of the big myths about technology, propagated by those procedural TV shows. Yes, until something is overwritten it can be easily retrieved, because it is only the table of contents on the drive that is altered. The problem is that as soon as it is overwritten it becomes part of the background clutter.

“There are even a couple of minor things that can be done to completely erase data, like overwriting the data with all ones or zeroes and then alternating a couple of times. In the end, however, after something is overwritten the first time it is very time consuming and costly to even attempt to retrieve the old data.”

“Why are you telling us about this?” Palmer asked.

“Because the data on the drive has already been overwritten. When you have as many cameras as that school, with as much data as they do that needs to be encoded at any one moment, you tend to have all of the open portions of the hard drive used at one point or another as a swap file…” seeing their blank looks, she modified what she was saying, “basically, it is the real world equivalent of repeatedly overwriting the drive. That data, if it was ever there in the first place, is gone forever.”

“What does this mean for us?” Jay replied.

“It simply means this: unless there are a number of eye witnesses who suddenly come forward, then there won’t be any charges against either one of you. Especially since any witnesses would also be suspects in the entire morning's events, including the bullying of Jay from the moment he walked in the door.”

Another question came to Jay, but before he could voice it, Julia stopped him, “It’s complicated, just assume for now that I have both of your best interests in mind. If there is ever a conflict I will appoint another lawyer to your case, Jay, okay?”

“Fine.”

Julia said her goodbyes and left.

“So, you okay, then, Palmer?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m sure my mom will be by later to keep me company.”

“I’m really sorry about this.”

“If you’re sorry, then get me a tryout for the baseball team.”

“Okay.”

“I was joking,” Palmer said a little scared.

“I wasn’t. If you really want to try out for the team, then I’ll make it happen. We don’t have a freshman team this year, but I’m sure that the sophomore team would be glad to have you…provided you’re any good.”

“I’m not good at anything.” Palmer said while looking away from Jay.

“Ok, well, if you want to try out, or maybe just meet somewhere for some batting practice and going over some skills, then let me know.”

“You’d be my private coach?” Palmer said looking a little shocked.

“Yeah, I guess I would. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?”

“That would be kewl,” Palmer replied.

“Well, as long as I want to stay on the team I need to run. I’m going to be late for practice as it is.”

Jay left a smiling Palmer in the room as he rushed out to get back to the school.

***
Jay ran into the locker room, not even thinking someone would be in there. Melanie was just taking off her shirt when he got there. She screamed.

“Crap, sorry.” Jay said and turned away.

“What are you doing in here?”

“I was late getting to practice? What are you doing here?”

“Dressing out for the team. Coach though it would be okay if I did, since the entire team would be on the field.”

“Why aren’t you dressing in the girl’s locker room?”

“It’s on the other side of the school.”

“Well, if it’s on the other side of the school…”

Melanie punched him in the arm.

“Hey,” Jay said looking up and preparing to defend himself from any further attacks. He noticed that she’d switched shirts and was just finishing getting dressed. He was doing his best not to think about the glimpse of her in her underwear that he’d just witnessed. She had a seriously smoking hot body.

“Jay?”

“Sorry, sorry. I know you want nothing to do with anyone on the team and I’ll respect that. I’m sorry I looked.”

“Am I that ugly?” she asked, a little anger showing in her voice.

“No, that impossible to ignore. Now, you mind? I need to get changed myself.”

“It’s only fair.”

“I have to put on a jock strap and a cup,” he stated. When she still didn’t move, he continued, “which means I have to get naked…”

“Oh,” she said, going bright red. She turned to leave but Jay stopped her.

“Melanie.”

“What now?” she said turning around.

“I’m really glad to have you on the team. You’re one of the best players we have.”

She smiled and then sashayed out of the room. It’s the only way that he could describe it. He was going to have a hard time getting that cup on.

***
“This can’t be happening to me!” the boy practically screamed at his rear view mirror. When Jay had been gone for most of the day, he thought that he’d won. Courier the disk with the footage to the police, Jay gets arrested. It was so simple. Cut and dried. And before you knew it, the golden boy has a criminal record and begins the downward spiral into oblivion.

But NOOOOOO! He sidesteps that little landmine as if he’s a friggin ballerina.

“That’s it, Miss Jay Sims. You’ve made me resort to violence now. You should have taken your licks like a good little…whatever. Now you get to spend time in the hospital with your new butt-buddy.”

He dialed a number on his phone from memory.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Rick.”

“What do you want, Francis.”

Frank’s complexion turned a deep red for a moment, and then reverted to his normal pallor.

“For that comment, Dick, you get even deeper in the hole to me. Here I was thinking of forgiving your current debt, but no. I own you until I’ve used you up completely.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I want you to tear Jay into bloody little pieces.”

“There’s no way I’m doing that. I’m in enough trouble with my folks as it is.”

“As much trouble as when they find out their little boy has sex for money? Oh, and I’ll make sure to tell them that your ‘clients’ are all older gentlemen.”

“You promised…”

“I promised that I’d keep it to myself as long as you fulfilled your end of the bargain. That bargain isn’t done. Beat the tar out of Jay Sims and we’re square. Keep yourself from getting caught and there might even be a little something in it for you. I got a new shipment in just for you.”

“Wait, you don’t mean…”

“Yes, and like I said, the whole thing is yours as long as you don’t get caught.”

“It’s a deal,” Rick said eagerly.

***
Practice went well, overall. Melanie made a good showing of herself to the team, even getting some playful gibes from the other players about her being a girl.

“Hey Melanie, who’d have ever thought you were a girl? You’re a better player than Jay,” Said one of the players, looking for the obvious pickup from the other players.

“Haven’t you heard, Neil, Jay is a girl.”

A lot of the players stopped at that. They’d all known where it was going, but Ramirez had been the only one who was dense enough to actually go there, or so the other players thought.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Ramirez.”

“What, Jay?” the other boy asked a little nervously.

“Can I borrow that miniskirt from your closet? It would go fabulously with that pink top we saw the other night at the mall.”

Everyone else busted up laughing with Jay joining in after seeing the look that Ramirez threw his way. After a moment or two Ramirez joined in with the rest of them.

After practice, Melanie stopped him before he went into the showers.

“What happened to you today? This morning you beat that kid up.”

Jay’s smile left, and he began to scowl a bit. “This morning I was a stupid Neanderthal who was only thinking about how people were belittling his manhood. This afternoon I almost got arrested for showing a freshman the error of his ways.

“Now? Now, I realize that it’s part of who I am. I choose not to let my genetics choose my identity for me. I’m a guy, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”

Melanie leaned up against him and kissed him on the cheek.

“What was that for?’ Jay said rubbing his cheek. He was smiling the whole time.

“Because you’re a good guy in spite of everything.” After pulling back from him, she smacked him on the butt. “Now, go in and get changed so that I can get through and take a shower.”

“You’re going to…”

“No, in the girl’s locker room. I just don’t want to walk all the way around the outside of the school to get in.”

Jay laughed and went in to get showered and changed.

“Don’t forget, you owe me a view of you in your underwear,” Melanie called out after him. He just waved and went inside.