Mandy screamed when the ball hit her on the head while the rest of her PE class laughed. "I can never catch that ball!" she thought.
Even for a ten-year-old girl, Mandy was incredibly uncoordinated and always the first to be laughed at. Not only was she uncoordinated, but she seemed extraordinarily dumb. She seemed incapable of getting over a D even if she did try her best.
During the next inning, for some dumb reason she was playing second base. It seemed as if all of the balls were specifically targeted for her and she just kept on missing. The best hitter in the class was up to bat next and hit the ball way up and into the rafters. The ball fell straight down, right at Mandy's head, but instead of just letting the ball hit her, Mandy did something unprecedented. She stepped back and lifted her hands and caught the ball. She landed right beside the base but had a good five seconds to step on the base before the runner could get there.
Mandy, though, being an enthusiastic (and dumb) ten-year-old girl just sat there screaming giddily and jumping up and down while the runner stepped on the base. Her team forced her to go out into the farthest, darkest corner of the gym where no balls ever flew.
When she got home she found forty-one roses in front of her house and a card that said "Meet me behind the school tomorrow. You'll know me," and was signed "Your secret admirer." Mandy really didn't know what to think. She was stunned at the thought that she might have a secret admirer but she really had no idea who it could be and was scared it would be some freak.
So the next day after school, Mandy stuck around a bit before walking home. A tall, handsome stranger, much older than Mandy (maybe thirteen years old!) walked up behind her and asked her, "I assume you got my roses?"
Mandy started and then turned around and looked nervously anywhere but the boy's light brown eyes. She said meekly, "Yes."
The boy looked at Mandy's slight figure and realized that Mandy looked a lot younger up close than she did from afar. "How old are you?"
Mandy didn't know why he was asking and answered, "Ten."
"Damn it," the boy paced around nervously and tried to think about what to do.
Mandy could sense that something was wrong and started to cry a little.
Having apparently made up his mind, the boy ran away.
Mandy, being dumb, forgot about the whole thing in a matter of minutes, stopped crying, and walked home as if nothing had ever happened.