The Hitting Zone

The tension within Kyle and surrounding him, seemed to have healed. I knew it would. I trust Mr. Atkins. If he could help me, then I know he could easily help his own kids. They weren't a train wreck like me and him. Him and me. I felt a connection with Mr. Atkins. He's what I want to become. There's quite a bit of work until I get there, but I was sincerely feeling better.

We watched the A's win another game, putting everyone in a good mood. Mr. Atkins worked in the office as Mrs. Atkins started to cook dinner. The rest of us went our own way. The twins went to the backyard to play some catch and Zeke went to his room.

Noah and I also went to our room and got started on our homework. I was breezing through my math, while Noah was just seating a few feet away, tapping his pencil.

Finally, I couldn't take it any longer and I looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

Noah stopped the tapping. "Nothing's wrong."

I raised an eyebrow.

"It's just...do you really want to forgive Kyle so easily? He's been an ass for so long. I feel like we're letting him off too easy." Noah frowned.

"What has he done that is so unforgivable?" I asked.

That made Noah freeze. We stared at one another until he caved. "Alright, I get it. It's not so complicated like your family, but-" He stopped mid sentence and started to tap his pencil against his book again.

"Why don't you just prank him a little more than you do Dave? For tomorrow?" I offered, knowing that Noah wouldn't feel better without getting his revenge. He could easily hold this grudge for months if it doesn't get settled.

"Hmmm, but what to do..?" Noah got up and checked his drawer. "Let's go give this bottle to Zeke while the twins are outside. Come on. Hurry up." He left the room without even waiting for me.

I sighed and set my homework to the side. I chased after him, careful not to make too much noise in case it attracts attention.

When I walked into the big room that Zeke shared with the twins, Noah had already handed over the bottle and was explaining to Zeke that he had to shower before the twins and then add this to their shampoo bottle.

Zeke accepted the bottle and nodded. "I understand." He glanced at me. "Do you have any other ideas..?"

I shook my head.

"Can you tell us what you've planned out yet?" Noah asked in a low tone.

Zeke shook his head with a small smile. "It's not much."

"Do you have any more ideas just for Kyle?" Noah pressed. "Just some extra payback for being mean."

Zeke thought about it. "I do have an idea, but it would require you guys to do it while he's asleep."

"We can do it!"

"You can paint his nails. Go talk to Mom and see if she'll lend you a nail polish." He told us.

Noah grinned. "Thanks, Zeke!" He pulled on my sleeve. "Let's go, Jake. You need to be my lookout while I talk with Mom."

We both left Zeke behind and went downstairs to talk to Mrs. Atkins. She was almost finished with cooking so the kitchen had a very nice smell. Noah left me by the doorframe separating the kitchen and dining room. I could hear him whispering to his mom and eventually they both left the kitchen, together.

Mrs. Atkins winked at me. "I have something even better. You keep an eye on the kitchen, Jake."

Noah followed his mom with a smile, eager to see this prank develop even more. I patiently waited for the pair to return after they went upstairs together. The mother and son returned, both snickering.

Noah grinned at me. "You'll see tonight."

I nodded.

"Hey, what are you guys doing in the kitchen?" Dave asked, wiping his sweat off his forehead. Kyle was right behind him, looking at us curiously.

Coincidentally, the doorbell rang barely a second later.

Noah started to drag me away. "Jeremy's here. We'll go get him."

We made our escape.

At the front door, sure enough, was Jeremy. He greeted us. "Hello. I mean, hey. How are you guys doing?" He shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable.

Noah opened the door a little wider to let him in. "Come on in. Dinner is almost ready."

"Thanks." He cleared his throat and lifted his right hand, holding a grocery bag. "I, uh, brought some dessert for after dinner."

Noah's eyes widened in delight. He snatched the bag. "I'll take it!" He ran away without another look, leaving me alone with Jeremy.

"Soo, uh, how's it going?" He asked again.

I nodded slowly. "It's going."

He put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and looked down at me. "If I had known you were at the game, I would have made some time for you. You had good seats, you could have yelled out my name or something."

I looked away, feeling that the awkwardness between us had hit a high point. "Well...we saw you early on. With...your family. Didn't want to bug you." I glanced up at him.

His expression was unreadable. "You saw them?"

I nodded.

"They would have been okay with seeing you. It's not like you're my illegitimate child or anything. You're my brother. You're their cousin. Their nephew. We're all related."

I frowned. "No thanks." I turned my back to him. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry." I led him to the dining room, where the seats started to fill up.

The twins were staring at Jeremy, but Noah was the one that saw my face. He looked between us. "Everything okay, Jake?"

I nodded slowly. "It's fine." I glanced back at Jeremy. "Remember everyone?"

He nodded. "Yes. Hello. Dave. Kyle. Noah." His eyes shifted to the entryway. "Wayne." He reached a hand out and shook hands with Mr. Atkins. "Good to see you, hope all is well."

Mr. Atkins smiled gently. "Yes, thank you. I've heard how well you're doing on the team."

Jeremy stood straight. "Yes, the whole team is very welcoming and made my transition as easy as possible."

"Good to hear. Well, take a seat and get comfortable. Noah, go get Zeke from upstairs. Dave and Kyle, go help your mother bring out the food." He gave out instructions to everyone, breaking up the group.

Everyone listened.

Mr. Atkins sat at his usual spot and so did I. Jeremy sat on the other side of Mr. Atkins, facing me.

Noticing the silence between me and Jeremy, Mr. Atkins coughed and looked at me. "Do you know if Noah got replies from your teammates?"

I shrugged. Noah didn't say.

"Teammates?" Jeremy asked, looking at me. "Is this for the softball team you were talking about?"

I was surprised he remembered. I only briefly mentioned the softball team to him when I introduced him to Julian on Thursday. "Yea, we're creating our t-shirts so when the games start next week, we match."

He frowned a little. "Are you sure you don't want to play baseball instead?"

"I'm fine." I brushed him off.

Jeremy looked like he wanted to say more, but Mr. Atkins cut him off. "No need to push the matter, Jeremy. We've talked about this at length, with our kids. Jake, Noah, and Zeke will be participating together. It's about six weeks long. As long as they're happy and out of the house, I think it'll be good for him."

Jeremy nodded stiffly.