The Hitting Zone

Even though I had a nap in the middle of the day yesterday, I was still able to sleep well at night, and woke up feeling great Monday morning. The same couldn't be said for some others.

At the table for breakfast, the twins were both nibbling on bagels like zombies, not even blinking. Noah was resting his head on the table, trying to get an extra few minutes of sleep. Meanwhile, Zeke had his eyes glued to his phone like he was having trouble memorizing an imaginary game plan.

Or maybe there was an actual game plan? I paused my eating to ask. "Is there a game plan for tonight?"

The table got quiet. Scary quiet. The twins stopped nibbling and Zeke looked at me directly.

"Just do your best." Mr. Atkins said, coming in from the office. "All of you. Stop stressing. Be more like Noah." He gestured at the sleeping boy beside me.

Dave scoffed. "He can only sleep now because he couldn't sleep a wink last night!"

"Pre-game jitters is normal, Dad." Kyle pointed out.

Mr. Atkins laughed. "I know. But as a parent, it's my job to comfort you all and tell you it's gonna be okay."

"It sounds like you're saying it's okay to lose." Dave accused.

Mr. Atkins lifted his hands, helpless. "I'm saying it won't be the end of the world. Look, Jake isn't nervous either."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Jake is also the same boy that threw up after my perfect game because he 'could have' messed up. I'll wait until we get there and then see him scared."

My eyes widened.

Zeke slapped Kyle upside the head. "What's wrong with you?"

"Yea!" Dave agreed and slapped him on the arm. "Can't you see that Jake was in an optimal state of mind? Can you afford to replace him after making him a nervous wreck?"

Kyle shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

Zeke looked down at me. "Don't listen to him. Just play like normal."

"Yea," Noah yawned and stretched, finally looking half-awake. "Because we normally win." He gave me a crooked smile. "Tonight will be fun!"

***

(Third-person perspective)

Wayne and Mary Atkins waved to their kids as they headed off to school. With the kids out of sight, they both went to the office they shared and had a seat.

"So?" Wayne asked, probing his wife for a reaction.

"So..." Mary drawled out.

"Have you given anymore thought to what I suggested last night?" Her husband asked.

Mary scrunched up her nose and organized some paperwork on her desk. "I did. I'm not necessarily a fan. But, I'm not completely set against it. I just don't want to upset Jake."

"He won't even know. I'm not sure it'll all work out on his end, anyways. He could be busy. The A's only said he took the weekend off."

"He probably has a game of his own then. Forget about it." Mary waved her hand back and forth as if she could wave away this thought of her husband's.

"We should at least let him know. Let him make a decision for himself." Wayne suggested in a light tone.

Mary looked up and narrowed her eyes at Wayne. "What about Jake? Say, if Jeremy goes and Jake spots him in the stands and it ruins his momentum. What then? How will you answer our other boys? I don't like it."

"Mary, honey, Jake's getting better. He's growing up, mentally. He can handle this, that is, if Jeremy even goes and he can spot him. There's a lot of what ifs. I trust Jake, and more importantly I trust our boys to help him get through any speed bumps he may run into. Noah always keeps a close eye on him. And there's Zeke. He wouldn't let anything happen to the younger ones."

Mary sighed. "Okay, okay, alright. Fine. Go ahead. Give him a call." She pursed her lips together. "I won't be sitting next to him though. You can't make me."

Wayne chuckled as he scrolled the contacts in his phone. He pressed the number and the phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Jeremy. It's Wayne Atkins. I don't really know how much you want to be there for Jake and it's not my business to pry how close you want to be with him. I just wanted to let you know that him and the boys have their CIF Final tonight at Stanford University at 7pm."

"..."

***

(Jake's POV)

School seemed to fly by. It felt like every teacher and student would come up and tell Noah that they were rooting for us and couldn't wait for us to bring the trophy back. I stayed behind Noah for the most part, unsure of how to react, but on some of the instances, their words were directed at me.

"Go get'em Jake!"

"Bambi, don't get caught in the headlights!"

"Score a few runs!"

"Do your best, Jake!"

"You have to win!"

By lunch time, it became hard to swallow.

"You better get used to it, Jake." Noah told me as he nonchalantly ate his sandwich. "Most of the kids that spoke to us are freshmen. We're gonna be here for the next few years with them. Plus, I heard the school is going to supply a couple of buses so some students can watch the game tonight! They'll all be behind you every time you go up to bat. Just accept it!"

I stopped eating completely and packed up my lunch.

"Hey, what's wrong? You've gotta eat!"

I cleared my throat. "I'm just saving it for the bus ride there."

"True. The game is like right at dinner time." He moaned. Then after a second he whipped out his phone. "I'll just have to text mom to drop off some snacks before we hit the road."

Butterflies kept my stomach occupied until after math, when the old man, Mr. Petrus pulled me back for a second. The twins looked scared, probably worried about themselves, but I gave them a wave. I had a hint as to what Mr. Petrus wanted to say.

"Good luck, Jake." He told me. "I'll be able to watch in person tonight."

"Thank you." I told him, sincerely.

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd be more nervous."

I held my stomach. "I wasn't, but..." I lowered my voice. "I'm starting to feel scared to let others down. I might not be able to hold a bat by tonight."

He laughed and knocked on the desk. "You can let anyone down, but yourself. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. Try your best. I wish you success."

"Thanks again." I smiled at him before rushing off for health class with Noah.