Chapter One: The Home Run That Hadn't Happened

The crack of the bat split the air. Luo caught the slider perfectly, and the ball rose on a line sharper than the stadium lights. Cheng seized the girl and pulled both her and her father between the seats. The ball smashed into the metal frame. It ricocheted through the cup beside them, spraying shards of plastic. The crowd's roar fell like an ocean. 5–4. A go-ahead three-run home run. The girl began to cry. Her father stared from the dented frame to Cheng's pale face. Blood ran from a cut on Cheng's hand. “How did you know?” the father asked. That question was more dangerous than the ball. “I saw the pitcher's grip,” Cheng said. “I guessed.” “You guessed where it would land?” “Lucky guess.”