The Hitting Zone

Friday's classes seemed to drag on and on. Everyone couldn't wait for the weekend start as we were getting closer to the end of the school year. Noah was the most impatient, legs bouncing, pen clicking, and constantly checking the time.

I was relieved to get a break from him after lunch, during math. The twins were also excited, but nowhere near Noah's level. They were only interested in how good tonight's seats were going to be.

"It has to be the family and friends section, near their dugout." Kyle suggested.

"No way. There's too many of us." Dave refuted. "Shouldn't he give us a suite? Food, drinks, good tickets."

"He would still have to pay for that out of his pocket..." Kyle sighed. "He's still in his rookie contract from the Padres so his pay isn't high. I guess we'll be stuck in the outfield."

Dave shrugged. "Good enough. I'm just happy we were included."

"I wouldn't have gone without you guys." I spoke up.

Dave and Kyle both looked down at me. They shared identical faces, but the way they smiled was really different sometimes. "We know." They said simultaneously.

"You're still the same big, old baby." Dave reached out to give me a noogie, messing up my hair and making my head hurt.

"You've graduated from Noah's puppy to his loyal dog." Kyle mused.

I frowned at him, not liking his comment.

Kyle lifted up his hands as if to defend himself. "I mean, you're one of us now."

I calmed down.

After math, was health with Noah and he was still bouncing around like a pinball. It only got worse when we got to the car after school. As soon as we got home, he rushed out.

"It's his first game of the season." Dave told me as I stared after him. "You thought he was a baseball maniac when watching the games on tv. Just wait until we're there in person."

"Don't forget to bring a jacket or sweatshirt." Mrs. Atkins told us as we came into the house. "We'll leave in thirty minutes to beat the traffic. Tonight's low will be cold." She glanced at me. "Tell Noah to find you a beanie and some gloves. You get cold the easiest."

I nodded then followed the older boys upstairs.

"Which jersey are you going to wear?" Kyle asked.

Dave replied with a name as they went back and forth, trying to decide what to wear. The three of them turned into their room and I went to the one I shared with Noah.

He was already dressed and ready. He had jeans with a green A's shirt on, and then a white A's jersey over that, but unbuttoned. He held another jersey in his hand. The one we got for me when we went to Stanford for Zeke's college visit. "Here! Hurry up! There's no time to waste." He tossed it to me.

I held back a laugh. "Your mom says it's going to be cold tonight. And since I'm always cold, I should probably bring gloves. And a beanie?"

"Blasphemy." Noah scoffed. "We only wear baseball hats to baseball games." He pointed to his desk where a handful of A's hats were. "I'll let you have your pick. I'll go find you some gloves." He walked to the closet and started to dig through it. He glanced back at me, seeing that I was just standing there. "Just put the jersey over the long sleeve you're wearing. We'll pack sweatshirts into this bag I have."

I did what Noah said, sliding the jersey over my long sleeve. It didn't match as well as Noah's since my long sleeve wasn't the same colors, but I didn't mind. Noah found a pair of gloves and stuffed them into a clear backpack. Then two sweatshirts that had the A's logo. Noah picked one of his hats off the desk, putting it on, then handed another one to me. "Come on! Let's go!"

His excitement was contagious. I hurried after him as he ran downstairs, making a racket. We were the first two down, meeting his parents in the foyer.

Mrs. Atkins lips twitched. "I see that Noah took charge on what to wear." I nodded and she sighed.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Noah pouted.

"Nothing. Since you're bringing a bag, go pack some waters for everyone." She instructed.

"Ughhh. But that'll make my bag so heavy, Mom." He groaned.

"And to think that I made a big batch of cookies for us to bring." She sighed. "Guess that's too heavy for you too."

"I'm going!" Noah rushed to the kitchen.

"I swear..." Mrs. Atkins shook her head in dismay. "This boy..."

I stifled a laugh.

Soon, the other three came down, all decked out in green and white and some splashes of yellow. Everyone had some kind of A's logo on them. It started to feel more real. I was actually going to a game. A professional baseball game.

Noah came out of the kitchen, his bag now completely packed.

Dave started to laugh as he looked from me to Noah and back again. "I can see that Noah had a hand in picking out what you should wear."

Kyle started to laugh too. "I really feel like Jake is looking more and more like Noah every day. But this takes the cake."

Noah stood proud. "So what if we look alike." He looked at his dad. "Can we go now? I want to be able to see their batting practice. And maybe get a ball."

Mr. Atkins smiled at him. "Alright. Let's load up. Everyone get in the car."

We did so. Me and Noah squeezed into the last row, with the three older boys sitting in the middle row. Mr. Atkins drove and his wife was in the passenger seat. We were able to leave the house on time, and only had to fight a little bit of traffic as we got closer to the stadium.

"I think we left too early..." Kyle said, looking around the near empty parking lot. "The game isn't until seven; we still have over two hours to go."

"Do they even let people into the stadium this early..?" Dave asked as Mr. Atkins drove through the parking lot, getting a good spot close to the stadium itself.

"They do." Mr. Atkins stated. "They open the gates two hours before game time so we're right on time."