Joey's first day of school

Joey got up in the morning and could barely contain his excitement. He put on his shiny new school clothes - a red and white thing of beauty - ate his Wheaties, and headed out the door to catch the school bus. When he arrived to Great American School, he couldn't help but smile and look around in awe.

You're in the Big Leagues now, he said to himself as he gazed out at the green expanse in front of him. He took note of the spaciousness of the clubhouse, a far cry from the tiny little rooms of the Minors. Wow, he thought, this is cool, eh?

Joey had to wait his turn to get to bat. It was worth the wait, as he crushed a pitch over the centerfield wall for his first Major League hit. He told himself hitting in the Big Leagues is fun, so he did it two more times, but one time, the pitcher wouldn't throw him a pitch to hit, so he had to walk to first base. He didn't mind, though, especially when Hobbs hit him in with a single to give him his second run scored of the day.

"Don't smile, put your head down and run hard and touch home plate," were thoughts on his mind as he rounded the bases after he hit his homer. "From third to home, I was thinking about what they'd do to me on the bench. Are they going to shake my hand, give me high-fives or ignore me?"

Then, the playground bullies beat him up, first ignoring him in the dugout then pounding on his head. One of them threw his home run ball into the stands. It was only later Joey found out that they were just teasing him, that it wasn't the real ball, and that his ball was safe. What a mean trick! he thought, but he didn't care, because he was just happy to be at school.

I think I'm going to like it here, he said out loud as he smiled.

"Oh man, what a day. It felt great."
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