The Hitting Zone

Mom and Dad were home by Tuesday afternoon when we all got back from school. Mom set the table with a couple of snacks and asked us about our finals. With assurance that we were all good to do well, she then asked if we were going straight to Garret's after school tomorrow. It was an easy yes.

Wednesday was like the real last day of tests. Things were about to get real busy with the draft, the twins graduation, and Zeke's Super Regional this weekend.

Alisha and Kaylee toyed with the idea of going to Stanford this weekend, but ultimately decided to stay home for Alisha's birthday. Noah assured her that we would celebrate when summer break started next week. That got Alisha thinking to throw another pool party but next weekend. It would be a lot of kids from school again. I tried not to cringe too much at the idea. It was her birthday and she should celebrate the way she wanted.

"But if Zeke moves on, then we might be in Omaha next weekend." Noah pointed out.

"Then we party without you guys." Kaylee shrugged.

Alisha looked torn. She wanted to do fun things…but with Noah there.

"If Zeke moves on after this weekend, then we'll go to your house Monday to celebrate." Noah suggested. "Just whoever can be there. We'll be responsible for ordering the pizza and you provide the cold drinks?"

Alisha nodded. "Yea. That sounds okay. I'll make sure my parents know. I've kind of already told them that I want to have friends over often for pool parties. Like not real parties. But gatherings." She glanced at Kaylee. "You'll have to be careful with your arm, but we can still hang out in the jacuzzi. I just want this to be a summer of fun."

"Maybe we should have tried to join the softball league again." Noah laughed. "I feel like that kept us together most of last summer."

"Thank god we didn't." Kaylee muttered. She wiggled her arm in the sling. "This hurts me enough. I would have hated it more if we had real plans that I missed out on. It sucks enough not learning to drive with you guys."

"Don't worry, we'll be your chauffeurs as soon as we pass our permit tests." Noah grinned.

"Don't we have to have an adult with us when we drive though?" Alisha asked. "At least until we get the real license."

"Dave's an adult." Noah pointed out. "We can just drag him around too.

I laughed. "Dave would probably go willingly."

"If not, we tie him up. Or we try to blackmail him." Noah rubbed his hands together, already thinking of sinister ideas.

We all laughed, knowing that Noah was probably joking, yet I wouldn't put it past him to go through with it.

After school, Noah and I met the twins at Kyle's car. We went straight to Garret's, a house I've only really seen a handful of times and mostly in passing. We got a good parking spot on the street, not too far. I say that, because we knew a lot of people from school would be coming over besides just us.

Heck, there were already people there when we got to the door. Starting with a familiar face, Mr. Cameron. He noticed us right away, coming over to shake hands with each of us.

"Good to see you all." He looked directly at Kyle. "You nervous?"

Kyle shrugged. "Not really. It's just a matter of course. I get picked, my agent does his best to negotiate, then I hit the road."

Mr. Cameron smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you boys. All so very confident and sure of your futures."

I tried not to visibly cringe, knowing that wasn't true.

"What number do you think Garret will go today?" Noah asked while looking around. "Where's he at anyways?"

"He and his parents are with his agent, probably discussing what the latest news is." Mr. Cameron lowered his voice. "Worst case, he drops to the second round. I don't think that'll happen, but you can never be too sure."

"Hard to feel bad for a future millionaire." Dave laughed. "He'll be fine no matter what. Garret will just note down everyone who passes up on him."

"You make me sound vengeful." Garret accused as he walked over, having overheard Dave. He messed up Noah's hair. "Heard you asking for me. Bet you just want to know when the snacks will be put out."

Noah rubbed his stomach. "Nothing wrong with an after school snack."

"Can I get your early feelings and opinions before the draft begins?" Mr. Cameron asked him, pulling out a voice recorder.

Garret shrugged. "Sure. Let's go to the kitchen first. See the spread before it gets messy."

I didn't know what he meant by spread until I saw it with my own eyes. Every little bit of counter space was completely covered with snack trays. Meats, cheeses, crackers, and pretzels. Fruits and veggies platters. Chips and cookies.

Noah took the lead to stock up, grabbing a plate and filling it with an assortment. The twins and I were much more calm and conscientious. There were others that would be here soon and wouldn't be right to make a mess of the design.

Mr. Cameron asked Garret a few questions about his thoughts, feelings, and expectations.

"I feel like going in the first round is the general expectation and that would be exciting, but I won't be bitter if I fall to the second round." Garret was answering a question. "Just means the party will go on a little longer. My dad will connect the tv to the website streaming and we'll watch on."

"Any particular place you would like to end up? Either for sentimental reasons or practical purposes?" Mr. Cameron asked.

"No, because none of it is concrete." Garret grinned. "I'm looking forward to traveling all over the country for my time in the minors. It's a long road to the majors and this is just a stepping stone. I'll be grateful to whichever team gives me a chance to grow within their organization and hopefully can contribute to its success."

Mr. Cameron looked to Kyle. "What about you, Kyle? Any teams in particular you like more than the other?"

Kyle shook his head.

"Lies." Noah muttered between bites of a brownie. When he finished chewing, he added. "Kyle would probably like to end up on a minor team that plays in SoCal so he can see his girlfriend more often."

Kyle didn't deny it.

Mr. Cameron chuckled. "That would be nice to have someone you know when you end up in a strange place. But definitely difficult to plan considering the many moves the minor leagues can do." He glanced between Garret and Kyle. "It'll be interesting to see if either of you can get past rookie ball the first year."

"I probably have the best chance seeing as I'm going before him and I'm still in shape." Garret smirked.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "The season just ended. I'm still in good shape. Not resting can be bad for your elbow and shoulder. Be careful not to overdo it."

Garret couldn't continue to stay with us as more and more people showed up. He reminded us to get some good seats in the living room before taking off.