Photo by Louella Lester
She sometimes skips work to watch baseball on a weekday afternoon, the same way she once skipped school to smoke dope in a friend’s car, but she thinks this is more important because she is the only one who can actually change the outcome of the game. Only she can speak to the players through the TV screen using nicknames like Kirky Lerky and Eager Ernie and Yimi My Man. Whispering: You are the only one who can do it or Now’s your time. Cajoling: Throw a splitter or Bunt the ball. Shouting: Come on or For fuck’s sake, they’re paying you millions! Telling each player what only he needs to hear. And if he doesn’t respond—doesn’t look her in the eye through the camera—she uses her powers to churn the crowd into a frenzy.
Louella Lester is a writer/photographer in Winnipeg, Canada, author of the CNF book Glass Bricks (At Bay Press 2021), contributing editor at New Flash Fiction Review, and is included in Best Microfiction 2024.
