The Hitting Zone

Our seats with the team was not as good as last week, but it was a different kind of experience. I was surrounded by my teammates on my left, on my right, in front of me, and behind me. And for once, my claustrophobia felt under control. It helped that my only choices was to be surrounded by my teammates or by complete strangers. Plus, it was a week night and not a weekend so the stadium wasn't really that full. Far from being sold out.

Zeke was in full adult mode, playing babysitter to me and Noah. He got the food and drinks, sitting right behind us to watch over us. He had separated the twins into two different sides of the seating section to discourage any bickering. He still made sure to enjoy himself by sitting with the other seniors though, and I overheard them talking about graduation plans.

Noah kept me entertained throughout the game, talking about every player that came up. What position they played and whether they were good. It was funny to hear him talk about Jeremy with reverence and respect in regards to his playing. Jeremy didn't let us down at all during the game. He made some excellent catches in the outfield and was just as good at the plate, hitting two doubles for a couple of RBIs.

After the game we parted ways with the team as everyone went back to their own car. A few of the guys stopped to tell me thanks, even though I didn't do anything besides speaking with Jeremy. It didn't feel right for me to say 'you're welcome' so I kept silent and just nodded.

"I call shotgun!" Dave raced to the front passenger door of the car.

"No way!" Kyle argued.

"You had it on the way here." Dave pointed out.

"So what?" Kyle scoffed. "That means nothing."

Noah frowned. "What's your problem Kyle? Dave called shotgun first, and you already sat in the front."

Kyle rolled his eyes.

"Sit in the back." Zeke told Kyle, completely stern and in control.

Kyle groaned as he climbed in the back of the car as the rest of us shared a similar expression of confusion. Kyle had been just fine during the game, but back with us, he was kind of being a jerk.

Noah scrunched up his nose and looked like he was about to go on a rage.

Zeke held up a hand to stop him. "Let's just get home. It's a long drive and we have school tomorrow. It's probably best if you four go to sleep." He lowered his voice. "Don't antagonize Kyle right now."

"Us?! Don't antagonize him??" Dave rolled his eyes, then got in the front seat without saying more.

Noah nodded in agreement and whispered to Zeke. "Kyle has been hot and cold for weeks now. It made sense for him to be mad about the finals, but isn't this a little too weird?"

Zeke's lips thinned into a straight line. "He's probably just angry and stressed. Don't worry too much about him and ignore it. He'll be gone most of the summer so it's not worth it to fight with him right now. He'll come to his senses."

"Yea? When?" Noah didn't wait for a reply and got in the car next.

Zeke looked at me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "It's not like I was going to sit in the front."

He cracked a smile. "I meant, with Kyle?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't bother me." I've been through worse. And who was I to butt in with his problems when I can't even solve my own. I thought about something Mr. Atkins had told me once before and repeated it. "We're all a work in progress."

Zeke reached out and tweaked the hat on my head. "If he gets to be too annoying, come and talk to me first."

I nodded and got in the car.

Zeke was last in, getting settled in the driver's seat. He turned on the navigation system and made sure we were buckled in before he started to drive.

There was a weird tension in the car, mostly coming from Kyle in the very back. Just because I didn't mind his erratic attitude, didn't mean I didn't notice it. Like Noah said, he's been weird all month. Whether that was coming from baseball or somewhere else, who knows?

I couldn't sleep in the car like Zeke said, but Noah and Dave passed out soon enough. I closed my eyes and leaned against the window, thinking of what Sunday night dinner would be like with Jeremy around.

"Zeke?" Kyle called putting from the back, raising his voice just enough for Zeke to hear.

Zeke turned down the radio to silent. "Yea?"

"Do you think I could be as good as Seth?" Kyle asked. He caught me by surprise since I was expecting him to apologize for being rude.

"If you set your mind to it, you can." Zeke answered.

"That's not true though." I could hear Kyle moving around and leaning forward. "It's not always about effort. You need a perfect mix of effort, talent, and luck."

"But there's only one you can work on."

"Effort." He sighed. "Do you think I tried any less than Dave? He got to pitch in the finals over me. Is there something I'm lacking?"

"It's not about what you're lacking. It's about what coaches are looking for. You and Dave are not the same. You may have a lot of similarities, but at the core, you're you and he is him."

"Wow, so deep." He snorted. I heard him lean back.

"If you're mad at yourself, you shouldn't take it out on others." Zeke spoke up. "I understand that you feel pressured, but it's not a race of how fast you get there. It's a marathon on how long you can last."

"Don't act like you didn't want to go pro right after high school." Kyle let out a short laugh. "You didn't even put colleges in your eyes until these last few months."

"And I changed my mind." He paused. "I shouldn't have written it off so soon. Mom was right to push me this way. Without college, could I guarantee myself another chance to play with Rhys? I looked up the average age of rookies that made their MLB debut. It's 24. 24. I would already be done with my four years of college at 22."

"So? That's just the average. There are a lot of players that debuted young. Look at Jeremy. He's only 21. Last year, he won rookie of the year. Don't you want to be like that?"

"Not everyone travels the same path." Was all Zeke said.

"So you're really going to stay at college for all four years?"

"I'm leaning that way."

"Dumb." Kyle muttered. Probably too low for Zeke to hear. He went quiet and Zeke said nothing more, leading to a quiet hour ride home in the dark.

If I knew what to say, I would say it just so they would know that I didn't intend to eavesdrop. I just couldn't sleep. It really sounded like Kyle was going through some kind of indecision and turmoil. I wonder if Dave knew that Kyle was leaning towards going pro? Better yet, I wonder if his parents knew? I guess there's always the chance that he might change his mind like Zeke did. I don't know what it would take for that to happen though.