The Hitting Zone

We hurried to the stadium with our snacks and met Zeke by the entrance of the stadium. He actually let out a short laugh when he saw me and his brothers in the Stanford baseball shirts. He looked at his mom. "Was this your doing? Is it supposed to promote this school to me some more?"

Mrs. Atkins faked being offended. "How could you accuse me of something like coercion? Noah wanted one, and then Jake, and then the twins. But to make sure you weren't left out, I got you one as well!" She whipped it out of her bag and handed it over.

Me and the other boys laughed at her skills of persuasion. Only Noah wanted one, yet we all got one. Heck, the twins weren't even there so how could they even ask for a t-shirt?

Zeke held the shirt out to make sure it was the right size. "Thanks. Shouldn't you hold it since you have the bag? I might lose it."

Mrs. Atkins smile seemed a little brighter. "Why not just wear it for the game? Show your support for the team? Plus, I can take some more pictures with you and the boys."

Zeke's lips twitched, but he didn't try and fight it. To make his mom happy, he changed his shirt right then and there, handing her the one he was wearing. Zeke was full of muscles, and unlike me, his body was a clean slate. I started to feel a little self-conscious even though it wasn't me who was changing in public. I hugged my arms to my body.

Mrs. Atkins noted my actions. "Jake, are you getting cold? Want to put on your sweatshirt? Wait. Let me get a picture of all you together. In front of the Stanford University sign!" She herded us into position and started to snap away before I had time to correct her. I just accepted it as is.

After the impromptu photo shoot, Zeke passed out the tickets and we went on in. Our tickets were scanned, and we found our seats just a few rows back from yesterday's seating. We were still behind home plate and took up almost a whole row with the seven of us. A few sets of eyes followed Zeke as he moved through the crowd and sat down. But as the stadium filled up, we started to blend in even though we wore matching shirts.

The stadium was starting to fill up with more and more students wearing similar shirts as us or at least, shirts of the same color. The scouts that were obvious to spot yesterday started to get lost in the crowd too.

I looked around in amazement. This was almost three or four times as many people that showed up to our games. I spotted a familiar face as it came down our row and sat down on the other side of Mr. Atkins on the end. It was Willie Ramsey, the scout.

He waved to us and started to talk to Mr. Atkins. Sadly, we couldn't hear now that the place was filling up. Both teams took turns warming up and using the field for some batting practice before the game started. As we got closer to game time, Mrs. Atkins recruited her husband and the twins to help get food and drinks with the vouchers handed over from Zeke.

"So what do you really think of the school?" Noah asked excitedly, now that it was just us and Zeke. Zeke sat on the edge, then Noah, and me.

Zeke scratched his jaw, where a little of stubble had started to grow. "Too soon to say."

"How is it too soon?" Noah pouted. "You've been here for over 24 hours. You have to have a first impression, right?"

Zeke's eyes were set on the field, watching the teams prepare. "It's an option."

"Of course it's an option." Noah said, exasperated. "That's what Mom and Dad have been saying this whole time. I just want to know if you like the school or not."

"I like the school." Zeke stated. Just as Noah was about to say something else, he spoke up again. "I like the coach. I even like a majority of the players on the team." His eyes seem to cloud over. "But I don't necessarily think it's better than being a first round pick in the draft."

Noah nodded, happy with his answer. "That's the Zeke I know." He elbowed me and said, "See. I told you Zeke is someone who would go straight to the pros."

"If I don't get picked in the first round, I probably won't go." Zeke declared firmly.

Noah shrugged. "You're almost top 20 so it shouldn't be a problem."

Zeke rolled his eyes. "You're an airhead sometimes. The draft is comprised of high school and college players. Just because I'm top 20 out of high school players, doesn't mean I'll get selected in the first round." He looked down at his new shirt. "Stanford is a great fallback option. Potential free education too."

"Oh!" Noah realized his mistake in his thoughts and took a minute to digest it. "You just have to continue your domination."

Zeke clenched his fists, yet he had a grin on his face when he replied to his littlest brother. "Don't you worry about it. Focus more on yourself. I'll be just fine."

Noah nodded, not even noticing the scary fists in his brothers lap. Now that he had more time, he told Zeke all about playing a mini game against Nick. He even told him how we first met him, how we got ice cream, then about the twins competing with Shawn in a handstand competition, and then mentioned my hitting in the cages. He didn't leave anything out.

Normally Noah wasn't this forthcoming, but it seemed like he had missed Zeke enough to become more honest. He didn't forget to tell Zeke about yesterday's dinner and movie, and then all the events of this morning and afternoon. By the time he was done, the others were back, food was placed in our laps and drinks went to the cup holders.

What was more interesting, is that Zeke listened to all of what Noah had to say without becoming annoyed or anything. He listened patiently and asked for clarification in parts that were a little scattered. The scene made me think Noah wasn't as far from Zeke as he had thought. Even though it was just catching up with one another on a days worth of events, it made me happy for Noah. A bonding moment with his big brother.

The opening intro started after the national anthem was sang, and Stanford started to take the field. The twins became especially excited as they saw who was the starting pitcher on the mound. Shawn.