Having A Ball

Having A Ball is the thirteenth episode of the first season of The Adventures Of True.

When True and her friends lose a baseball they're playing with, they devise a scheme to retrieve it.

One day, James was playing Cabela's Hunting Expeditions on the Xbox 360 when he heard the phone ringing. Moose and Stocking Head were out running errands. James paused his game, went over to the phone, and answered it.

"Hello?" James answered as he put the handpiece to his ear.

On the other end was Gil.

"Hi, James." he said. "Is True home?"

"Yes, she is." replied James. "I'll go get her for you."

James put Gil on hold and went upstairs to True's room, where True was looking at the Archie book Josh had given her for her birthday three episodes ago.

"True, Gil's on the phone." he said.

"Okay, I'll be right down." True replied.

True set her book down, went downstairs, and spoke with Gil.

"What's up, Gil?" she asked.

"Can you meet me and the other guys at the ballpark?" asked Gil. "I want to show you something."

"Sure, I'll come." said True. "I'll be right over."

"Alright, see ya." said Gil.

True hung up and went out to the garage.

"I'm going to the ballpark, James." she said.

"Alright, True." said James as he resumed his game. "Have fun!"

True got her bike, carried it out of the garage, put on her helmet and pads, mounted the bike, and pedaled off to the local ballpark, which often allowed the kids of Nick Jr. Town to play scrub baseball whenever there wasn't an actual baseball game between two actual teams going on, and even had a plentiful supply of youth-sized baseball equipment for them to use. When True arrived, she found Franklin, Gil, Goby, Nonny, Timmy, Rintoo, and Tolee waiting. With them were three other animal boys. The first was a blue and yellow penguin wearing a blue and yellow beanie with a red propeller on top and a blue bowtie, the second was an orange moose with red hair inbetween his antlers and wearing a shirt in red-orange and blue stripes, and the third was a purple kangaroo wearing a light blue t-shirt with a dark blue collar and cuffs and a single yellow stripe going around the middle and blue rolled-up jeans.

"Hi, guys." said True. "Who are these three?"

"These are our friends Pablo, Tyrone, and Austin." replied Franklin. "They're in a different class at school than we are."

"It's really nice to meet you, True." said Pablo, the penguin, as he, Tyrone, the moose, and Austin, the kangaroo, shook hands with True.

"Same to you." smiled True.

"So, what did you want to show us, Gil?" asked Goby.

"This." said Gil.

Gil held up a baseball that looked to be in pretty good condition apart from a few small spots of wear and tear.

"A baseball?" True asked.

"Yup." nodded Gil. "But this is no ordinary baseball. It was a foul ball my dad caught when he was my age. It's been a prized possession of him ever since. I was helping him clean the attic and found it. He said we can play with it as long as we don't lose it."

"I can see why." said True. "If I lent something I've had for a long time to someone, I wouldn't want them to lose it, either."

"So, who's ready for some scrub?" asked Gil.

"I am!" said the other boys.

"What's "scrub"?" True asked.

"Scrub baseball." replied Nonny. "It's pretty much like baseball, except we don't play in teams."

"Yeah, we just play for fun." added Franklin. "And the rules are pretty much the same as regular baseball. We often play it when we can."

"Oh, cool." said True.

"Alright, let's go." said Gil. "Scrubs!"

"Scrub one!" shouted Franklin.

"Scrub two!" shouted Goby.

"Scrub three!" shouted True.

With that, after the kids got their gear from the supply closet where all the equipment was stored, Gil took his position at the right-handed batter's box as Timmy got ready to pitch and Nonny got behind Gil in the catcher's box. In addition to being the catcher, he was also serving as the umpire.

"Play ball!" shouted Nonny.

With that being said, the game finally began. At first, things went very smoothly, and soon, it was True's turn to bat.

"Ready, True?" asked Timmy.

"As I'll ever be." said True.

And with that, Timmy threw a lightning-fast screwball. It was going so fast True thought she would miss it, but when she swung her bat, she swung it at the perfect moment, and the ball went flying out of the park. The kids watched as the ball landed behind a fence next to a moderately disheveled house that wasn't too far away from the field.

"Oops." said True.

Gil was upset.

"Oh, this is bad!" he cried. "My dad's going to kill me if he finds out we lost the ball!"

"Don't worry, Gil." said True. "We can just go over to that house, knock on the door, and ask whoever lives there to give it back."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that." warned Nonny.

"Why not?" asked True.

"That's Crazy Dave's house." Nonny replied.

True was confused.

"Who's Crazy Dave?" True asked.

"He's something of a legend around here." explained Nonny. "He doesn't leave his house most of the time except when he needs groceries, and he has these weird plants called Peashooters, so named because they shoot peas at anyone who goes near them."

"But why is he called "Crazy Dave"?" asked True. "And why doesn't he ever leave his home?"

"There's all sorts of theories floating around to explain that." Nonny went on. "One of the most popular ones is that he escaped from prison in the past and is on the run from the law. He fears that if somebody sees him, they'll turn him in to the cops."

"I suppose that makes sense." said True.

"It's hopeless." Gil sighed. "There's no way can get that ball back."

But True had an idea.

"Maybe there is." she said.

"How?" asked Gil.

"I'll show you." replied True.

True then took a stick and started drawing something in the dirt.

"Here's what we'll do." she said. "We'll build a crane of some kind and have one of us work it while another one of us is raised and lowered into the yard to fetch the ball."

"Sounds like a good plan." said Timmy. "But how are we going to build it?"

True then noticed a large tree by the fence.

"Maybe we can use that tree." she said. "And we could make some kind of winch with it."

"We'll need some rope." said Goby.

"And something to power the winch." added Timmy.

"I know where we can get some rope." said Tyrone. "My dad might have some in his workshop at home."

"Let's go there and ask him." said True.

And that's what they did.

"Sure, I've got some rope." said Tyrone's father, Benjamin, when Tyrone asked if he had any rope. "You just wait here."

Benjamin then left and came back with a spool of 500 feet of rope.

"Will this be enough?" he asked.

"Oh, yes." said Tyrone. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem." said Benjamin. "Just make sure you bring it back when you're done."

"We will!" replied Tyrone.

And with that, the kids left Tyrone's house with the rope.

"Well, we've got our rope, but we still need something to power it." said True. "Any ideas?"

"I've got one." said Franklin. "Follow me."

Franklin took True and the others to a boat rental place by the lake. There, they were greeted by a man in his thirties with long light brown hair, black bead eyes without any sclera, and wore a red knit hat, a light blue polo shirt, a white undershirt, yellow rubber overalls with blue buttons, black and orange boots, and blue-tinted square glasses on his face.

"Well, hello there, kids." he said.

"Hi, Cap'n Turbot." said Franklin. "You know those Aqua Cycles you got recently?"

"Yes." replied Cap'n Turbot. "What about 'em?"

"Can we borrow one, please?" asked True.

"Sure, go ahead." said Cap'n Turbot. "By the way, you're True, right?"

"Yes, that's right." True nodded.

"Nice to meet you." said Cap'n Turbot.

True returned the older man's greeting, and then, with his help, the kids took the Aqua Cycle over to the fence by the disheveled house. After Cap'n Turbot left, the kids propped it up on some cinder blocks in a manner that would still enable the two big paddle wheels at the back to move freely, they hooked the paddle wheels to two pieces of rope, then tied the other ends of the same pieces to make a loop big enough to fit around a person as somewhat of a makeshift harness, which they then slung over one of the tree's branches, and it was decided that Rintoo and Tolee would work the makeshift winch, so they got into position while True fastened herself to the harness.

"Alright, I'm ready." she said. "Take me up!"

Rintoo and Tolee nodded and started to pedal. Soon, True was high enough to see over the other end of the fence.

"Okay, take me down!" she commanded.

Rintoo and Tolee pedaled backwards, and True inched slowly down. But then there was trouble. The branch couldn't bear the weight anymore and started to bend.

"Rintoo, Tolee, take me back up, quick!" True ordered. "The branch is breaking!"

Rintoo and Tolee nodded and began pedaling in the forward direction. They managed to get get true over the fence just in time, because at that moment, the branch broke. Luckily, since True was only half a foot from the ground, she was able to undo the rope harness and drop safely.

"Well, that plan's out the window." she said.

After the kids returned all the stuff they had borrowed, the kids met up.

"Now what do we do?" asked Goby.

True had another thought.

"Maybe there's a loose piece of fence somewhere." she said. "If we find it, we could try to break it off."

"It's worth a shot." shrugged Nonny. "Let's find one."

That didn't realy take too long.

"Here's a loose one!" said Timmy.

"Great." replied True.

"Now, how do you suppose we break it off?" asked Gil.

"Maybe we can hit it with some bats." True suggested. "If we hit it hard enough, it'll break."

"Let's try it." said Rintoo.

With that, everyone grabbed a bat from the equipment closet at the field and started thwacking at the loose fence piece, and soon, just as True had predicted, it broke right off.

"Perfect." said True. "Now, we'll need someone to try and fit through it."

"I'll go." said Tolee.

And with that, Tolee took off his panda slippers and tried to crawl through the hole in the fence, but he couldn't even get his head through it, let alone into it.

"It's too narrow." he said as he put his slippers back on.

"Alright, Little Miss Genius, what do you propose we try next?" asked Gil.

It didn't take too long for True to think of another possible solution.

"Nonny, you know that grabber robot you made in Robotics Club?" she asked.

Nonny quickly figured it out.

"Yeah, I guess we can try using that." said Nonny. "I'll go get it."

And what that, Nonny left, and soon returned with the robot, which looked similar to a Dalek from Doctor Who in terms of construction, except it had a pair of telescopic grabber arms instead of a death ray gun and a manipulator.

"I hope this works." said True.

"It better, or I just wasted all that time for nothing." replied Nonny.

Nonny then started piloting the robot toward the hole in the fence, and miraculously, it fit right through and was able to reach the ball, but when Nonny tried to make the robot grab the ball with its grabber arms, nothing happened.

"Darn it!" huffed Nonny. "I keep forgetting to wire the controls for the grabber arms!"

Nonny then reversed the robot out of the hole.

"Now what?" asked Rintoo, who was growing impatient.

True then spotted a ladder.

"Looks like that ladder's our only other option." she said.

"We might as well try it." said Gil.

With that, the kids propped the ladder up against the fence, and while Timmy and Franklin held it in place, True climbed up the ladder and over the fence, but when she did, she landed weirdly on the ground.

"Oof!" she cried.

"Are you okay?" asked Tolee.

"I'm fine." said True. "A little dirty, though."

True then saw the ball, and she went over to it and picked it up.

"Gotcha." she said.

The boys cheered, but then there was more trouble. Strange green cannon-like plants were alerted to True from the cheering and eyed her menacingly.

"Those must be the Peashooters." True said to herself. "And they look unfriendly."

Unfortunately, she was right, because the Peashooters started firing their namesake ammunition at True, and to make matters worse, there was no way she could get out, as the ladder was on the other side of the fence and the hole in the fence was too narrow to fit through.

"Help!" she cried. "I'm trapped!"

What happened next was purely surprising. A 36-year-old stout scruffy-face man with light brown hair and a beard and wearing a pot on his head, a white polo shirt, blue jeans, a brown belt, and tannish-brown sneakers came out of the house and sprayed the Peashooters with a spray bottle of water.

"No!" he shouted. "Bad Peashooters! Bad!"

The Peashooters stopped shooting as they were hit with the water. The man then looked at True.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think so." True replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm Crazy Dave." the man said.

True's eyes widened with shock. She was so shocked she dropped the ball.

"Come on, kid." Crazy Dave said. "I'll show you the way out."

Crazy Dave then took True out of the yard through a gate in the fence. True was very surprised.

"A gate!" she said to herself. "Now why didn't I think of that?"

Soon, True was reunited with her friends.

"Now then, what's going on here?" asked Crazy Dave. "And why is there a hole in my fence?"

"Well, you see, sir, we hit this baseball into your yard by accident and we tried to get it back." True explained. "First we tried a homemade winch system, then we tried breaking the hole in your fence, then we tried a robot with grabber arms, and finally, we tried that ladder, and it kind of worked, but not in the way we had hoped.

"Oh, so you're the ones who were making that pounding noise, huh?" asked Crazy Dave.

"That's right." Timmy replied.

"I see." said Crazy Dave. "Well, you know, you kids didn't have to go through all that trouble. If you wanted your ball back, all you had to do was just knock on the door and ask me to get it for you."

True, Gil, Goby, Franklin, Timmy, Rintoo, and Tolee all glared at Nonny and started shouting at him angrily, and Nonny put his head in his hands in shame.

"True was right all along!" Gil snapped.

"Yeah, we never should have listened to you!" added Goby.

Nonny had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Alright, alright, you got me." he said.

Crazy Dave laughed.

"Come on in!" he said jovially.

He led the kids into his house, which, contrary to the disheveled appearance on the outside, was actually kind of well-kept on the inside.

"Wow, this house looks better inside than out." Gil said.

"It's not that bad, actually." said Crazy Dave. "Just needs a fresh coat of paint, that's all."

Crazy Dave then went into his kitchen and came out with a pitcher of lemon-lime Kool-Aid and a platter of chocolate chip cookies as well as some plastic cups, which True and her friends helped themselves to.

"These are delicious!" said Tolee.

"Thanks." said Crazy Dave. "I made them myself."

"Hey, Crazy Dave, I have a question." said True.

"Fire away." said Crazy Dave. "By the way, you can just call me "Dave"."

"Okay." said True. "Well, my question is; how come you don't go out in public much except for groceries and all that?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really a people person, so to speak." replied Dave. "In other words, I'm kind of shy. I tend to do my grocery shopping early in the morning, when there's not a lot of people."

"Why's that?" asked Rintoo as he ate a cookie.

"I just don't want others to judge me because of how I look." said Dave. "If they see this pot on my head, they might think I'm, well, crazy, when I'm really not."

"That makes sense." said True as she had a sip of Kool-Aid. "But why do you wear a pot on your head like that?"

"It's just a habit I've had for a long time." said Dave. "In fact, I think I've had this habit since I was your age and would wear a colander on my head. My parents are used to it."

"And the Peashooters?" asked Goby.

"Those are actually a home security system." Dave answered. "They're trained to shoot at anyone who breaks into the house or my yard to steal something."

"Oh, cool." said Timmy.

After a bit of talking, the kids said good-by to Dave and left.

"Come back any time!" Dave smiled as he waved.

Since it was starting to get late, the kids decided to just go home.

"Well, I guess Crazy Dave isn't so crazy as they think after all." said Nonny.

"I guess we should start calling him "Shy Dave" from now on instead of "Crazy Dave"." chuckled Timmy. "Or better yet, just "Dave"."

Everyone laughed as they continued on their way home.

"Yeah, and he may not be like most people, but he's still really nice." said True. "And he's a pretty good baker too."

Later that evening, True told James, Moose, and Stocking Head about her day over dinner from Good Burger, which Moose and Stocking Head had brought home.

"Looks like those rumors about him are false." said Stocking Head.

"Indeed." said James. "But you know, you really shouldn't believe rumors in the first place, regardless of if they're true or not."

True agreed, and the next day, James sent True to the post office to collect the mail. When she arrived and looked inside their post office box, she found a letter addressed to her. Curious as to who sent it to her, when she got home, she took it upstairs and opened it up. When she did, the letter said:
 * """Dear True,
 * First of all, I wanted to thank you and your friends for visitng with me yesterday.
 * It really made me want to start coming out of my shell and try to become more of a sociable person than I was previously. Again, thank you so much for helping me. I'm beginning to feel that what happened yesterday marked a major turning point in my life. I hope this letter reaches you safely and soundly and I really wish to hear back from you.
 * Sincerely,
 * Your New Friend Dave
 * P.S. You and your friends can still call me "Crazy Dave" if you want. I have no problems with it.
 * P.P.S. If it's at all possible, I'd like to meet your parents or guardians or whoever you live with."""

True smiled as she read the letter.

"You're welcome, Dave." she said.

The End 


 * The Sandlot: The general plot of this episode was inspired by this 1993 American coming-of-age sports comedy film that has since become a cult classic.