Already on the first day at the secondary school Mitch Cartwright noticed that he was popular. The boy didn’t know if it was because he was a real heartbreaker or a Cartwright. His best friend Matthew Walker was in his class as well.
During the acquaintance class their form tutor Terry Fox asked, “Tell something about yourself. Mitch, you start.”
“Who me?”, he asked amazed.
“Yes, you”, said Terry.
“Well, I live at the Ponderosa, the ranch which my grandpa had built up from the start. I have 2 uncles, 1 aunt and a little brother and little sister an 2 parents who take care of us excellent. I love baseball and drawing in which I am very talented in both”, told Mitch.
“So you live at that big ranch?”, asked Penny Taylor.
“Any objections? I was born there on Christmas Day”, answered Mitch.
“I am Penny Taylor an live with my parents and brother in the better neighborhood of Virginia City. My hobbies are hockey, shopping and fussing with my best friend Stacey”, said Penny.
Mitch and Matthew looked at each other with a look saying, “We have that again!”
After a while everyone had his/her turn except Max Willis.
“Max, you tell something about yourself”, said Terry.
“Then we are busy with hours of listening”, giggled Stacey Parker, a friend of Penny.
Max looked for a second at those girls and ran then out of the class room. Mitch and Matthew followed him at once. At the hallway the friends stopped him.
“Max, what is the matter?”, asked Mitch.
“Th…They al ….always p…pest…pester m…me”, he said hesitating.
“Because you happen to be stuttering?”, asked Matthew.
Max nodded.
“Well Max, those bitches have the gift to be suave but you have a much better gift. Namely the way you speak. Friends?”, asked Mitch.
“Fr…Friends”, Max said who felt a bit better now.
“You know Max, you know what they say: every fool has its fault and ”, began Mitch.
“And w…we have th…them”, said Max.
“Exactly. Do you like hockey?”, asked Matthew.
“No, b…but ice hockey yes”, answered their new friend.
“Just take us along to a training once. Then we take you along to our training of baseball. My pa is the coach and new players are always welcome”, said Mitch.
Max agreed.
After the acquaintance class Max told the teacher everything who understood it.
“Well Mr Fox, Max is not the only one who has a disorder because I am suffering from serious word blindness”, said Mitch.
He gave Terry the doctor’s statement.
“Do you have disorder as well or not?”, Terry asked Matthew then.
He answered, “I am only bothered by a high intelligence.”
Mitch looked away because he knew enough.
“You are quite a couple all together”, said the teacher.
“Does the school also have a baseball team?”, asked Mitch.
“That is there but we don’t have a coach”, said Terry.
“I can ask my father if he wants to coach the team. He is also coach of the youth team”, answered Mitch.
“I will get in touch with your father”, said the teacher.
The next class was history. David Green gave that.
When he saw what the family name of Mitch was he asked, “Mitch, do you happen to be a descendant of Alexander Cartwright?”
“You mean the one who had written down the game rules of baseball?”, Mitch asked on his turn.
The teacher nodded.
“I don’t know but it might be. I will ask it at home”, answered the young Cartwright.
“I give you an assignment which you must work individuality. Make an essay about the history of your family. It’s for a mark”, said David.
The rest of the school day went quietly for the new students. At 16.45 the school went out.
“How long must you ride to be home?”, Stacey asked Mitch.
“Three quarters of an hour. You probably get picked up by car?”, Mitch asked on his turn.
“Of course I get picked up by car”, she scoffed.
“Lazybones”, Mitch said where after he got up and rode away.
Stacey was furious and heavy insulted.
At the ranch everybody waited for the homecoming of the new student as Hoss and Joe called their eldest nephew. They saw him coming and started to laugh.
“There is our new student. Mitchy, how was it at school?”, Hoss asked while Mitch put his bike into the garage.
“Fine. It’s just a pity that there at least 2 of those swank gals in our class an ruin the sphere all the time”, answered Mitch.
Joe said, “You always have those sometimes between it somewhere.”
“They are too ugly, too fussy and moreover far too young for you”, reacted Mitch.
They went inside where the others were.
During supper Mitch told everything that had happened at school.
“Grandpa, do we happen to be descendants of Alexander Cartwright? Our history teacher asked that”, Mitch said suddenly.
“Well Mitch, that might be possible”, answered Ben Cartwright, the grandpa of Mitch.
“Who is Alexander Cartwright?”, asked Benji.
“He is the man who has written down the rules of baseball”, answered his brother Mitch.
That evening Adam helped his eldest son with his homework.
“At school there is also a baseball team but without a coach. Wouldn’t you like to do that? You are a baseball coach, aren’t you?”, Mitch asked after a while.
“I want to try it”, answered Adam.
“Our form tutor Mr Fox will get in touch with you. For history we must make an essay about our family history. Matthew en I have become friends with Max Willis. He doesn’t say much because he stutters a bit but we don’t care about that. But the gals are falling for me. Is that because I am so handsome or because of my family name?”, asked Mitch.
Adam sighed deep and answered, “I wouldn’t know. You always have been a heartbreaker. Even when you were just born I had to share you with your mother because she was madly in love with you.”
The rest of the school week went by quietly for Mitch.
That Friday afternoon in September 2005 Mitch Cartwright came home from school. His mother Sally Cartwright saw him coming and stopped with the mending.
“Hello boy”, she said.
“Hallo mom. I must ask you something and daddy too”, Mitch said while he got off his bike.
“And what is it that you want to ask?”, asked Sally.
“Well, we had sport class at the ice hockey stadium. I scored 4 goals and gave 2 assists. The sport teacher, Mr Keller, asked if I want to join the school ice hockey team. With your permission of course. May I?”, Mitch wanted to know.
“Your father has the last word but your school achievements may not suffer under it”, said Sally.
Mitch nodded and went to do his homework.
Before supper the young Cartwright asked his father Adam Cartwright the same thing as what he had asked Sally before.
“Well, you may do it on condition that your marks remain good”, said Adam.
“I do need an equipment”, Mitch said hesitating.
“Mitch, do you really want to play ice hockey?”, asked Ben.
“Yes, really very much. I even go work at the ranch to pay for the equipment”, answered the boy.
“Well, if you want it so eagerly that u even want to work for it I can hardly refuse it. I pay one half and you are going to work here for the other half”, said the owner of the Ponderosa ranch.
Mitch agreed.
“Mitch, tomorrow we go to that sport store to buy your equipment”, said Adam.
“Daddy, may Lisa and I come along too?”, asked Benji, the three year old brother of Mitch.
“Of course you may come along too”, answered his father.
Benji and his twin-sister Lisa found that alright. They were always allowed more when their older brother was with them. Of course the twins took advantage of that.
The whole evening Mitch looked at the site of that sport store in Las Vegas. Finally he had his ‘shopping list’ ready, complete with the price included. Adam had to help him though but that didn’t matter to the eldest Cartwright boy.
The next morning the Cartwrights went to Las Vegas.
“Kids, I do want that you behave yourselves nicely in that store”, Adam said underway.
“We always do that anyway”, said Lisa.
Her father was so sensible not to react to this. But he knew that they would behave themselves anyway.
Once in the sport store Mitch got helped excellent by a man with ice hockey knowledge. Meanwhile Adam kept an eye on the twins.
Arrived at home Ben received a steep bill from his eldest grandson. The rancher had already made up a list with chores for Mitch.
“You don’t have to clean the horses stable because I know that you are afraid of horses. Instead of that you must wipe the garage clean and wash our cars. Deal?”, asked Ben.
“Deal. You won’t recognize the cars anymore after I have cleaned them”, answered Mitch.
“I may hope so”, Ben said smiling.
He had enough faith in his grandchildren.
Because Mitch had come into a new period of his life he learned new things an also got to know new people. Adam let him play ice hockey too so that Mitch could lose his energy in that as well.