Chapter Text
“Come on! Come on! You girls got this! Finish strong!”
Marlene pulled out the rest of her energy and compiled it into crossing the white line drawn on the turf that was her teams’ “finish line” when it came to conditioning. With her chest contracting and feeling like she was going to throw up after this set, she crossed the white line, collapsing onto the turf afterward.
Shortly after her finish, the rest of her team crossed the blessed white line as well. While some of them looked like Marlene, a handful of her teammates looked only slightly winded. She could kill her teammates that had stamina. Though she had been playing softball and had been conditioning for the majority of her life, running had always wiped her out.
“Girls,” their coach, Coach Jane, said. She made her way over and settled in between the two groups of softball players; the ones that were standing up and the ones that were sprawled out on the ground. “Everyone up!”
That was one thing about Coach Jane, she never let any of her players lay down on the ground during team talks or after conditioning. She said it was bad for you if you laid down after running and exhausting yourself. Marlene hated her for it, she always thought that she would fall over.
Slowly, Marlene and the rest of her team managed to form a sad circle around Coach Jane and the assistant coaches. Sad because it looked more like a deformed square than a circle.
“Glad that none of your majors are in geometry,” one of the assistants, Clare, mumbled. Her eyes were gleaming with laughter.
“Heard that,” Marlene said back, her voice low.
Clare looked up at Marlene and a smile appeared on her face.
“Good.”
“As you know, our season ends this week,” Coach Jane started, a sad frown on her face. “And I know that I say this every year, but I truly think that this team has been the best team I have coached in years. I know that we didn’t make it to the World Series, but I have no doubt that next year we have a shot.”
“Damn right, Coach!” Haley Beck shouted, her light eyes bright with possibility.
Coach Jane nodded at Haley, as if to discipline her for swearing, but Marlene saw the gleam in her eyes. There was no disciplining there.
“As I was saying, I expect all of you to be watching the World Series, keeping track of teams, and studying plays. We have to start now if we want to ahead of the game come January of next year,” Coach Jane raised her thin eyebrows and Marlene fought the urge to roll her eyes. She knew the college teams playing in the World Series like the back of her hand. It was always the same five teams: UCLA, Oklahoma, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Alabama, and then three random teams that happen to make it but get eliminated early.
Marlene was a student at the University of California at Berkeley. While they were a Division One school that qualified, their softball team had never made it to the World Series. But Berkley had not always had Captain Marlene McKinnon.
Next year would be Marlene’s last year as an Undergraduate Student and last year as a softball player and she did not want to go out without a title. It would physically pain her to go out without stepping foot onto the dirt of The World Series’ field.
“The first game starts next week,” Coach Jane continued, looking down at her phone for confirmation. “Make sure to tune in with your full attention and a notepad.” She was staring at Marlene during the last part.
After a couple of questions, Coach Jane was ready to end their two-hour practice. So was Marlene.
“Alright, McKinnon, take us out!”
Marlene and her teammates gathered in close, placing their hands in the middle of them. She smiled at them, wishing that their season could have continued.
“On three. One, two, three!” Marlene called out.
“Go Bears!” The rest of her team shouted back at her, their faces bright.
“Good work today, ladies,” Marlene complimented her teammates as they started their walk back to the locker room.
“Thanks, Captain,” Haley responded, throwing a wink Marlene’s way.
Marlene didn’t have time to register the wink fully before Coach Jane was calling her over.
“Hey, Marlene, can I speak to you for a minute?”
With a nod of her head, Marlene made her way over to the coaches.
“Look, I promise that this year I will actually take notes during the World Series,” Marlene started, but stopped when she saw the amused faces on the coaches. “What?”
“As much as I love your dedication to your sport,” Coach Jane stifled a laugh. “That wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Marlene tilted her head to the side, her mind wondering what on earth they would want to tell her.
“You know the USA National team?” Coach Jane asked, a small smile making its way to her face. “The one that competes around the world and the team that goes to the Olympics?”
Marlene’s mouth dropped and she placed her hands on her hips.
“Coach, what are you telling me?”
“Oh, just tell her! I can’t wait any longer!” the other Assistant Coach, Henry, exclaimed, his eyes completely lit up.
“Well,” Coach Jane drew on, causing Marlene to want to grab her and shake the information out of her. “Head Coach Minerva McGonagall called and she wants you at the tryouts next week!”
Marlene let out a high pitch scream that she was sure her teammates heard in the locker room. The USA National team was interested in her? Marlene McKinnon? A twenty-one-year-old from a small town in California? She couldn’t believe it.
“No way!” Marlene exclaimed, pulling Coach Jane in for a hug. “This is all thanks to you!”
Coach Jane was blushing at all the commotion that was happening in front of her.
“No, Marlene, you worked for this.”
“Thank you, thank you so much,” Marlene was starting to get teary-eyed and needed to get as far away as possible from her coaches. She had a reputation to maintain. “I will not disappoint you three.”
“Oh, Marlene,” Clare started, shaking her head. “I don’t think you could even if you tried.”
“Word,” Henry shot out, nodding his head. “You da bomb, McKinnon.”
Marlene visibly recoiled after Henry spoke. She shook her head and started to walk away from the three coaches.
“Don’t ever speak like that again, Coach Henry.”
“Got it!”
“What’d Coach want?” Haley asked, sliding her cleats into her cubby. Her long, blonde hair was tied back into a complicated braid that Marlene could only wish she understood how to do.
Haley Beck and Marlene McKinnon had been scouted around the same time, mid-September of their junior years of high school. Haley was from Michigan and one of the best high schools in the country while Marlene was from California and a decent school that managed to get a title every few years. When they traveled to Berkeley to get their official tour of the school alongside other members of their recruited class, the two of them became close friends, promising to keep in touch and even dorm together if that was possible.
Turns out, it was possible to request roommates, so on August 15th, the two girls and their families helped them to move into a room so small that it was hard to imagine the friendship that would blossom out of that year.
But the two of them became best friends. They did everything together. From brushing their teeth in the little sink by their door to waiting for the other to finish changing in the locker room. It was a wonderful freshman year.
Their second year treated them a little differently. Haley and Marlene had made the decision not to be roommates after an event happened that left the both of them a little shaken. Haley moved in with one of their catchers, Millie Martinez, and Marlene with second basemen, Lisa Taylor. While it had been nice to have some space away from each other, distance makes the heart grow founder.
Both Haley and Marlene had decided to move off of campus for their remaining time at Berkeley, resulting in the two of them living under the same roof again. Now, they weren’t sharing a room anymore, but their feelings towards each other returned back to the way that they had felt during their first year in college.
Marlene could hardly contain her excitement as she looked into Haley’s pale face.
“I’m heading to the USA National Team tryouts!”
Haley’s face lit up as she dropped her jacket and ran over to Marlene, enveloping her in a huge hug. Marlene squeezed Haley’s back, her long arms reaching.
“I’m so proud of you!” Haley squealed, pulling away from Marlene. “I just know that the team is going to take you.”
Marlene blushed a deep red. “Oh, you don’t know that.”
Haley rolled her eyes and started walking back to her personal locker. “Have faith in yourself, McKinnon. You’re one of the best first basemen that Berkeley’s ever had.”
“But there are going to have so many more skilled players there to take my potential spot,” Marlene said as she started to undress to go take a shower.
“Yeah, maybe , but none of them are Marlene McKinnon,” Haley winked again, turning her head so that she could face Marlene.
Marlene watched in silence as Haley finished packing up her things and headed out the door.
“Does chicken sound good for dinner?” Haley called out, barely waiting for an answer because she knew it.
“Of course!” Marlene shouted, her heart light.
“Your flight is at eight, then you are going to be picked up by one of the coaches after baggage claim. Then, you are going to be taken to the hotel that everyone is staying at, meet the rest of the coaching staff, be shown to your room, spend your time there until dinner, and then head back to go to bed. Tryouts start tomorrow and will continue for three to five days. Whatever Coach Minerva and her staff need to figure out the winning team.”
Coach Jane was giving Marlene instructions and shoving multiple things into her hands, but she could hardly pay attention when the airport was right in front of her.
“Thank you, Coach Jane,” Marlene found herself saying. She took a quick look down at her hands, seeing that her schedule and other papers were pressed into them. “I’ll be okay. We fly all the time.”
Coach Jane nodded, worry still present on her face.
Marlene’s heartstrings started to pull and the first wave of sadness had started to in. It drew on her that she would be gone from her team and family for months on end if she made the team. Her body would be tested in ways that it had never been before and while Marlene was in the best shape of her life, she knew it was going to be near impossible. But she wanted to make everyone she loved proud, which started with making the team. She would worry about making the starting lineup later.
“I will text everyone constantly and will be updating my social media as I see fit,” Marlene said, trying to make Coach Jane feel better. “I won’t forget about Berkeley, I don’t think I could even if I tried.”
“I have always been so proud of you, Marlene,” Coach Jane smiled, gently taking her hand. “You are my superstar.”
“You’re the superstar’s coach,” Marlene replied, watching as her coach’s smile grew. “You made me who I am today.”
Marlene nestled into her seat on the airplane. She had chosen a window seat so that she could lean herself up the side and get comfortable. Her clothing, which consisted of her team’s blue sweatpants and a gray hoodie, provided such luxuries.
By the time the plane took off, Marlene had fallen fast asleep and would not wake up until they were landing in San Diego, California. A quick trip around the state.
It was only around eleven o’clock when Marlene made it to baggage claim. During her trip through the airport, she had seen a couple of young softball players heading to Southern California to partake in the first club tournament of the season. It had made Marlene smile, to see that so many young girls were still playing the sport. There was a future for softball and it was being shaped now.
Marlene found her blue and gold duffle bag and yanked it off of the carousel with ease. She had packed lightly for this trip. No matter what, if she made the team or not, she would have the chance to go back home. Practices didn’t start until June and it was only May 10th. She would have to go back to Berkeley, take her finals, and start her summer. Whether that would be with the National Team or Berkeley’s club team, she didn’t know.
“Miss McKinnon!” a voice called from the right side of her.
Marlene turned, duffle in hand, and realized that a short, round, man was holding up a sign with her name on it. He had a wide smile on his face and was pointing at the sign, in case she had missed it.
Marlene doesn’t miss anything .
“Hi!” Marlene exclaimed, extending her hand to shake the man’s hand, which he did so, very eagerly. “You must be one of the Assistant Coaches.”
“Coach Horace Slughorn,” he said, nodding his head. “Though, most of my players just call me Coach Sluggie.”
That is an unfortunate last name and nickname , Marlene thought to herself, but nodded her head along anyway.
“Oh yes!” Marlene said, tracing her brain back to where Coach Sluggie coached. “You coach at Baylor University in Texas!”
Coach Sluggie beamed as he dropped Marlene’s hand. “Yes! Been coaching there since I graduated many moons ago.”
“Well, Baylor is certainly very lucky,” Marlene gushed, watching her future fold out in front of her. If she happened to make the team, she knew that Coach Sluggie would quickly become one of her favorite coaches.
“Oh, you’re too kind, Miss McKinnon,” Coach Sluggie grinned.
He reached for her duffle, but Marlene backed away. “It’s okay, it’s light. I can carry it.”
If Coach Sluggie was offended by the action, he did not showcase it. He simply turned around and started walking out of the airport to his transportation.
“How long have you been playing softball?” he asked, holding the door open for Marlene.
She gingerly got into the passenger seat of a very tiny car, narrowly missing hitting her head on the ceiling.
“Since I was four,” Marlene responded, buckling herself into the car. “I actually started as an outfielder.”
“Have you played any games in the outfield recently?” Coach Sluggie asked, raising his eyebrows.
Marlene shook her head. “I haven’t played outfield in a game since high school, but I practice there often, taking drills and fly balls.”
“It’s always good to have a secondary position,” Coach Sluggie said, turning the radio up. “I hate having to force the girls trying out to have awkward small talk, so I’ll just play music until we arrive at the hotel. Shouldn’t be too long now.”
Turns out, the ride wasn’t too long. Marlene and Coach Sluggie arrived at the hotel they were staying out within twenty minutes of leaving the airport. Marlene was itching to fly out of the car and run into the hotel. All she wanted to do was meet the coaches and make a stellar first impression.
“Alright, Miss McKinnon, follow me,” Coach Sluggie said. He turned around, walking towards the giant front doors of the fancy hotel.
Marlene didn’t understand why the hotel had to be so fancy if the girls were only here to eat and sleep, but she didn’t question it.
“You can call me Marlene,” she said, catching up to Coach Sluggie easily with her long legs.
He glanced at her and shook his head. “Until you’re my player, we go by formalities.”
She let his comment roll off her back, Marlene didn’t need to stress over it when she would be meeting the National Coaches soon.
Coach Minerva used to be the Head Coach at the University of Oklahoma, where the World Series is held every year. It is also her alma mater. She attempted to be the Head Coach of both teams for a year, but figured out that it was near impossible. She now works full-time with the National Team and specializes in working with the infielders.
Assistant Coach Pomona is able to coach the National Team and work with the team at Florida State University. While Coach Pomona originally played at a school in California, she decided that she wanted to work somewhere else, which Marlene agreed with. As soon as she finished her time at Berkeley, she was getting the hell out of California. Coach Pomona has also been dubbed the “team mom” and has been known to become the girls’ secondary motherly figure. She spends most of her time working as an offensive (batting) instructor.
Assistant Coach Hagrid is similar to Coach Pomona in the retrospect that he is able to coach two teams. When he’s not working with the USA staff, he can be found on the dirt of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He specializes in working with pitchers and catchers.
Lastly, Coach Sluggie. During his time at Baylor and on the grounds of the National Team, he works with the outfielders.
Needless to say, Marlene was ecstatic about meeting them and getting the chance to introduce herself to some of the best players in the world.
“Do you want to bring your things up to your room first? Or would you like them to be brought up by staff while you are meeting the rest of the coaches?” Coach Sluggie’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get straight to meeting the rest of the coaching staff. I have been waiting for forever to meet them,” Marlene sent a small grin towards Coach Sluggie, who nodded his head.
“Of course, Miss McKinnon,” he said, motioning to one of the many hotel staff waiting nearby. “I would be restless as well.”
“Mr. Slughorn?” one of the nearby bellhops appeared next to the two of them. “How can I be of service?”
“Ah, Mr. Longbottom!” Coach Sluggie said, looking down at him. “Take Miss McKinnons’ things to her room.”
Mr. Longbottom nodded his head, picked up Marlene’s things with ease, and disappeared down the hallway without another word.
“He seemed... nice,” Marlene said. Truth be told, she had no idea what the correct thing to say when a bellhop was in her area.
“Frank is a lovely boy,” Coach Sluggie said, nodding his head. “He’s been the one carrying all the girls’ luggage to their rooms. A strong man that one is.”
Marlene merely shrugged her shoulders. If the other girls had packed as lightly as she had, it would not have proven difficult to almost anyone.
Coach Sluggie took the silence as a cue to move on to the next event, meeting the coaching staff.
“Follow me,” he said, waving his hand to signal Marlene to follow him. What else was she going to do? Run away? She laughed at the thought of turning her back on her dreams.
Coach Sluggie took her down a long hallway where there was a series of closed doors. Marlene only guessed that they were in the conference section of the hallway. The hallway was a long one and Marlene didn’t doubt that the coaches had placed themselves at the very last door, which would lead into the biggest room. Very official.
“I don’t think that any other girl is in there right now, but I’ll knock before I open the door for you,” he said, tilting his head in the direction of the last door on the left.
It was white and slightly taller than any of the other doors. It had gold-colored trimmings and a golden doorknob. Coach Sluggie gave two hard raps onto the door, awaiting acknowledgment from the inside.
“Come in!” a high-pitched voice shouted from inside. Marlene guessed that it came from Coach Minerva.
Coach Sluggie opened the door and Marlene stepped inside, hearing the door close behind her.
She plastered a smile on her face and walked forward to the long table that was seating all of the coaches.
“Marlene McKinnon!” Coach Pomona cheered, clapping her hands together. Her long, dark, curly hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her eyes showed that she was exhausted, but her smile said differently. She was dressed head in toe in Team USA merch, choosing to sport more blue than red.
Coach Hagrid was sipping his drink as Marlene made her way towards them. He was a huge man, watching him on TV did no justice to his height. He had to be well past seven feet tall, which was incredible. While he was not sporting the smile that Coach Pomona was, his eyes did not look nearly as tired. He looked as if he could go on for a couple more hours. He was also not nearly as enthusiastic with his clothing choices as she was, choosing to wear a USA shirt, but wearing other pants.
There was another coach sitting at the end of the table, next to Coach Hagrid. Well, Marlene assumed that she was a coach, why would she be here otherwise? She was considerably younger than the rest of the coaches, potentially mid-thirties. She had ginger hair that was pulled into two braids that cascaded down her back. She was curvy and sported the loud USA merch that Coach Pomona was wearing, sporting more red than blue.
But the only person Marlene could focus on was Coach Minerva, who wasn’t even looking in her direction. Her head was down and she looked as though she was reading some documents that were placed on the table. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low bun and her glasses were pushed up onto the bridge of her nose. Though she was the oldest of all the coaches, she looked the most in shape out of all of them. Marlene just knew that she ran conditioning herself.
“Good afternoon, Miss McKinnon,” Coach Minerva spoke. She lifted her head from the documents and stared at Marlene, her gaze unwavering.
“Hi, Coach Minerva—”
“Coach McGonagall, for the time being,” Coach Minerva interrupted, her eyebrows raised.
Marlene felt her entire face heat up.
“I am so sorry, Coach McGonagall,” Marlene apologized, biting her lip.
“It’s okay,” Coach McGonagall said, looking at the last coach at the end of the table. “This is Coach Molly.”
Coach Molly smiled at Marlene as she waved her hand. “Hi, Marlene.”
“Nice to meet you, Coach Molly.”
“Do you have any questions for us?” Coach Pomona asked, her hands clasped together underneath her chin. “Feel free to ask us anything.”
What could Marlene ask? Surely they wanted her to ask a question. It’s like when you go to interview for a job and they ask you if you have any questions. It’s not a recommendation, it’s a must.
Marlene tilted her head to the side, thinking what was considered an appropriate question for four National Coaches that she had never met before.
“Why am I here?” is what she settled on.
The four coaches looked stunned as they contemplated her question. It seemed as though nobody else had asked that question when they had come to meet the coaches. It was a risk that Marlene was willing to take.
“Well, obviously you’re here because we think that you could potentially have Team USA talent,” Coach McGonagall said, her hands folded out in front of her. “It’s up to you whether or not you rise to the challenge.”
Marlene nodded her head, unhappy with that answer. It sounded too generic, too fake.
“What’s the real reason?” Marlene asked.
“Excuse me?” Coach McGonagall said. Her demeanor became less friendly, if that was even possible.
“Why am I here?” Marlene asked again, her arms crossed.
Coach McGonagall stood abruptly, knocking her chair over.
“That is it, Marlene. You have disrespected the coaching staff enough in all of your five minutes of being here. You are to go to your room and we will see you tomorrow at day one of tryouts. Earn your spot to continue or you will be on the first flight home after the tryout ends tomorrow.”
Marlene hung her head, mentally cursing herself at how she had acted. She hadn’t meant to challenge the coaches, she simply wanted a real answer. But, clearly, she was the younger person and didn’t know as much as the coaches did.
She would clean up her act immediately.
Her walk to her room wasn’t a long one, but it was lonely. She knew that most of the girls knew each other by the sheer fact of playing against each other during their college careers. Most of them had played Division One, the highest a collegiate player can get, but a handful had been selected from lower divisions. Even though Marlene was a Division One player herself, she hoped that some of the players from the lower divisions would secure a spot or two. To prove that you didn’t need to come from a top-dollar university to play on Team USA.
“Marlene McKinnon?”
As soon as Marlene had stepped off the elevator onto her floor, another player was standing near, waiting to get on.
It was Mary Macdonald, the starting shortstop from the University of Southern California. Her tight curls that were normally placed into her game-day braids were running free all around her head. Her dark skin seemed to glow underneath the lights in the hallway. She was wearing loose jeans and a Team USA jacket. She already had a spot on the team, she had been recruited last year. Marlene was shocked to see her here. Why were the returning players at tryouts? Did they had to try out again as well?
“Yup, that’s me,” Marlene said, moving out of the way so that Mary could get onto the elevator.
Mary laughed, her dark eyes closing.
“No shit,” she said. “Welcome to the best floor.”
“Why? Because it has you on it?” Marlene asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Flirting already? Wow, I see how you play,” Mary grinned as she raised her eyebrows.
“Oh, no, I —”
“I’m just playing with you!” Mary said. “Relax a little. It’s the best floor because a majority of the returning girls are staying here.”
Marlene sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, I’m on edge because my meeting with the coaches did not go well.”
Mary’s eyes softened as she nodded her head in understanding. “If it makes you feel any better, Coach Minnie made me cry during mine last year.”
Coach Minnie? How on the earth did one go from Coach McGonagall to Coach Minnie in a year?
“Made you cry? Oh no,” Marlene couldn’t help but let out the tiniest of giggles. “Well, now you are a starter for two teams, so I guess you’re doing just fine.”
Mary looked down as Marlene complimented her. “Oh, shut up.”
Marlene rolled her eyes, “Take the compliments.”
She didn’t realize it before, but she towered over Mary. Marlene was used to being tall, she was the tallest one on the UC Berkeley team, but normally her teammates were not as short as Mary.
“Do you want to grab lunch with me and a couple of the girls from the team?” Mary asked, her finger pushing a button on the elevator panel. “I’m sure a couple of the new girls will be there too.”
“Coach McGonagall told me to stay in my room.”
It was Mary’s turn to roll her eyes. “Come on, let’s go to lunch. They won’t ever know.”
Marlene was powerless as Mary dragged her onto the elevator.