The Hitting Zone

Saturday morning, I woke up shaking. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but soon enough, I could spot Noah on the side, pushing and pulling my mattress. I groaned. "It's too early. The game isn't until after lunch."

"No!" He exclaimed. "You've gotta get up now for breakfast with Mom and Dad. I need your face to plead our case!"

"Plead our case?" I squinted out from covers. "What's going on?"

"The tryouts!" He jumped down and started to pace. Our room was empty so it meant the twins must have gone downstairs for breakfast already. Noah went to his desk, picked up his laptop, and brought it to my bed. "Look! They've posted the tryouts for the Northwest regional team!"

I looked at the website. They had selection events listed all over the Bay Area and even near the state's capital. Locations also included in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. I looked at Noah's determined face. This is what he's been waiting for since that tournament. "What's the plan?"

Noah grinned. "Get up. Wash your face, brush your hair. Brush your teeth and get dressed. In record time. C'mon. Hurry up!"

I took a deep breath, flipped the covers off, and hopped to it. Noah got finished getting ready too. We took one look at one another and nodded. He grabbed his laptop and we headed downstairs.

The twins could be heard talking with the occasional interjection from Dad. I started to get sweaty hands, which was weird. I'm not even the one going to be doing the talking. That was Noah's job. I was just there for sympathy points.

Noah took a deep breath and walked in the room. "Good morning, family." He paused at the empty chair. "Where's Mom?"

Dad raised an eyebrow. "She's taking a phone call in the office."

"Already?" Noah checked the time. "Who is calling her at 8:30am on a Saturday morning? The injustice."

"People looking for houses?" Dave shrugged. "Why do you need Mom too? Is Dad not good enough?"

"It's not like it's a surprise. We've talked about this before." Noah started his speech, casually taking my seat next to Dad. I took his next to Mom's empty seat as he started to talk more. "To make it to Team USA, you have to shine in National Team Development Program opportunities. One of which, is the NTIS. The National Team Identification Series is like a big baseball tournament at the end of the summer where the different regions play each other."

He didn't just have Dad's complete attention. Even the twins and Grampa were listening in, no longer eating their breakfasts. Seeing everyone freeze to listen to Noah made me wait to grab my own food despite being so hungry.

"To represent our region, the Northwest, we have to participate in some selection events like a tryout." Noah went on. "Being in one of the more populated areas, we're lucky that we have multiple opportunities to try to make it to round two. Other states like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming will only have one day each. No flexibility at all."

"So there'll be tryouts in the Bay Area." Dad nodded. "When?"

"In a couple of weeks!" Noah turned his laptop to show the dates and locations to him. "The first round has to be completed by mid-May to have selectees ready by early June for round two."

"Where would round two be?" Kyle asked, curious. "The Northwest region is covering a lot of ground. I can't imagine them inviting a bunch of kids to the middle of nowhere, Wyoming."

"Maybe it's based off where most of the players are from." Dave said thoughtfully. "Like if most of the guys that make the team is from Wyoming, of course it would be held there. That would make more sense."

"I think you two are a little too invested in this." Grampa said, sitting between the two. He looked at Noah. "I think you two are perfect for the job. The best ball players I know in high school. Go for it."

Noah grinned.

The twins simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"What about us, Gramps?" Dave asked.

"Yea, why can't we be the best you know?" Kyle added.

Grampa grinned. "You can't even hit."

That immediately riled the pair up, talking about what's tougher, hitting or pitching.

"You guys are too old anyways so it doesn't matter." Noah spoke up, trying to end their heated debate.

Grampa got up and excused himself. He looked at Noah and me. "If your parents don't give you the money, come to me." He went to the living room.

Dad looked helpless and called out after him. "It's not always about money, Lynn." He looked at Noah. "But let's start talking about it. How much?"

Noah selected one of the dates on his laptop. "$150 a tryout!" He smiled proudly.

"Does it cost more in round two?" Kyle asked.

Noah glared at him.

"What?" He shrugged. "It's a valid question. You know Jake will make round two easily. He's the best hitter around."

Dad nodded in agreement. "It is a valid question." He looked at Noah. "I think if you want to entertain this idea, we need to see the full numbers. How much for each round? What dates and locations are we talking about? Where is this big tournament taking place at the end of the summer?" His eyes narrowed. "Have you thought about what will happen if one of you makes it and the other doesn't?"

Noah took a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket. "I did write down the projected costs. They're just estimates because I don't know where round two will be. I also don't know whether food will be covered by the team or if there'll be financial assistance. I did find out that the flight to the tournament in North Carolina will be covered. Not the flight home though which was weird."

Dad looked over the paper, slightly impressed with the info that Noah wrote down. "You've done a decent check." He looked up at us. "But what about the second part, whether if only one of you makes it?"

"You can say it, Dad. Jake will definitely make it. I'm the one in question." Noah stated. He turned serious. "Don't worry. I won't complain. If it doesn't work out for me, I'll participate in some college camps and train at home. It's not like Jake will be gone all summer."

Dad looked at me. "Jake? What do you think?"

I tapped the table as I felt more eyes shift my way. The twins. Noah. I tried not to make a face. "Well...if Noah doesn't make it...can't I just drop out?"

"That doesn't sound like you're very committed." Dad said.

Noah nudged me. "C'mon. This is a once in a life time opportunity. You could be the future of Team USA. Don't you want to face better pitchers?"

His last question made me pause. I do want to face better pitchers. I looked to Dad. "But I don't think I can do it alone..."

Dad looked sympathetic right away. "Okay, tell you what. I'll let you guys sign up for this first tryout."

"Yes!" Noah pumped his fists and I smiled.

"But we are going to revisit this issue after some discussion with your mother." Dad warned. "I don't want any of my boys quitting midway. We'll see where this goes after the first round."

I nodded. I believed Noah could make it through round one with me. He has the best reflexes of any player I know. And now that his bat is keeping up, he'll be able to show off his speed.