What Now?

"Strike three." That was it, the game is over. We lost the championship. I don't even know what to do or where to go. The other team is rushing onto the field. They are celebrating. I can hear the crowd cheering, why wouldn't they? We are the visiting team. My heart sinks, and then I look up to see all the reporters rushing to me. Questions spitting out from every direction. "How do you feel?" "Where does the team go now?" Where does the team go now, that's right. We already belong to a city that doesn't much appreciate their professional baseball team sucking ass every year. We are a joke. As manager, of course I have to field this question. What should I say? My starting pitcher is out for the next season recovering from elbow surgery. My top three hitters are all making under the table deals to get to a better team before they get sent to some God awful city to lose yet another season. Hell, even making it to the championship game this year was a fluke. It wasn't even a close game, we were blown out. So now, I'm stuck with a team of injured players and the healthy one's don't want to be here. I'll be luck to even have a job. What am I going to do? I have kids in college. The reporters get bored with me, I've got nothing valuable to share with anyone. I've got all these things, and no clear idea of what path to take. All I can think is "What now?" Like I don’t already have enough on my plate, when I get to the club house, the owner is in my office. What does he want? I take the long walk from one end of the clubhouse to where my office is and my boss is waiting to fire me I’m sure. Each player stares at me as I walk by, some in disgust, others with pity in their eyes. I am pathetic. Once such a great player, now I’m nothing but a loser. There is so much rushing through my head now, I can organize it at all. My thoughts are cycling through one after another. I feel my mind is in several places at once. I look up, my boss now staring directly at me, I feel the sweat dripping down my face. I can hear the tomorrows ESPN anchors in my head telling my sad story to millions of viewers. As I get into my office, I see there is another person in there with the owner of the team. It’s a police officer. “What now,” I think to myself. “What in the hell now?”