chapter 1

Reuven plays for the softball team, led by Mr. Galanter, a gym instructor in his early thirties. Reuven plays against a team of Orthodox students, each with a crisp uniform that contrasts with Reuven's more casual team. Davey Cantor warns Reuven of Danny Saunders of the opposing team, the son of Reb Saunders. Danny Saunders hits a double and ends at Reuven's base. While on base, Danny asks Reuven if his father is David Malter and tells Reuven that his team will kill "you apikorsim" this afternoon (apikoros, plural apikorsim, means a Jew who denies the basic tenets of his faith, indicating one who accepts Darwinism, for example).