What is the conflict of The Friday everything changed story?

The main purpose of "the Friday Everything Changed" is to reveal a significant theme: that some traditional sex-role patterns unfairly limit the freedom of individuals. We see this clearly in the conflict over the water, but we see it as well in the patterns for playing softball. As organizers, the boys have every privilege. When the teacher Miss Ralston strikes a home run, she shatters the illusion that girls cannot play ball as well as boys, and show the girls that they need not accept the limitations that have placed on them---neither in softball nor in other aspects of life.

The reader sees that through Miss Ralston's actions, the girls have gained a greater self-awareness and freedom, and the boys have been given cause to rethink their attitude toward the girls. In a larger sense, this story addresses more than the problem of male-female relationships; it reveals the idea that patterns of any sort can restrict the freedom of an individual.