“
You never talk to the pitcher when…” He shook his head. “You just never talk to the pitcher when--”
“I just wanted to congratulate him on a good game--”
“It’s not over ’til it’s over,” Chase said.
“You jinxed me,” Jason said, crouching down in the corner, pressing his palms against his forehead, like he’d been struck with a migraine headache.
“You don’t really believe that superstitious--”
His head came up so fast, and his stare was so hard that I stopped. He did believe. He really did believe. And judging by the way the other guys were looking at me, they all believed.
I backed away, not knowing what to say. I’d just felt sorry for him because he was being ignored. The guy at bat struck out, and Brandon was next. Bird had her fingers crossed while clutching the wire of the fence.
“I think I just made a big mistake,” I said, my voice low.
“Yeah, I heard you. According to Brandon, you’re never supposed to use the term no-hitter in the dugout.”
“Well, I wasn’t technically in the dugout.”
“But your words traveled into the dugout. Close enough.”
“Great. You don’t really think I jinxed them, do you?”
Brandon struck out, the first time he’d struck out since playing for the Rattlers. When he walked by and glared at me, I found myself wishing Harry Potter was real, sitting in the stands, and could turn me into a rabbit’s foot. I didn’t really believe in bad luck. I believed we made our own luck, but I also understood the power of positive or negative thinking. If you think you’ll lose, you’ll lose.
The next inning, when six batters in a row got base hits off Jason, the coach put in a relief pitcher.
By that time, even people in the stands were looking at me like it was my fault. Someone suggested I sit behind the dugout of the visiting team.
”
”