James A. Ardaiz
it seemed strange to them to make decisions about what they were going to do beyond that. Freddy changed the subject. “You think DiMaggio is going to be able to keep up his hitting streak?” Joe DiMaggio had hit in over thirty straight games for the New York Yankees, and his streak was an object of national obsession. Sammy shrugged. “I think the Clipper will hit fifty or sixty games, you watch.” Freddy snickered. “Yeah, sure. Nobody can get a hit every game.” Sammy just laughed. “You watch. He can do it. We have a few more minutes. Let’s work on grounders. You need a lot more practice if you’re going to make the team.” Sammy looked over at Mickey. His friend had been fairly quiet, even for him. “What are you going to do now that you’ve graduated? You planning to go to JC?” Even though Mickey was a year older than the other two, the three had been inseparable. Mickey held the ball in his glove and toed the soft dirt. His face lost its boyish lines for just a moment, reminding Sammy of his father. Mickey looked down at the ground and then turned his face away before answering. His voice was quiet but firm. “I’m going to volunteer for the draft.” He looked back at his two friends, waiting. This was not something he had discussed with them. Neither boy said anything for a moment. Keeping secrets was not something they had often done. Sammy waited for Mickey to say something more, but Mickey kept staring at them, his face expressionless. The silence filled the empty space of the makeshift baseball field. Sammy finally broke the awkward quiet. “You’re kidding, right?” The draft had been put into effect in the last two years, but it wasn’t something Sammy or Freddy thought about much. They were still in school. Sammy twisted his glove with his right hand. He overheard some of the teachers at school talking about war. His father talked about war in hushed tones with his mother. But he didn’t think about war. He was going to be a senior. Mickey shook his head in that way that his two friends recognized from years of being together. The decision was made. “I got reclassified 1-A. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do. I know Dad wants me 5