The Hitting Zone

A few minutes later Zeke came back to a much more lively atmosphere. The twins started to look up more of the draft picks and made fun of their stats because they couldn't even compare to a high schooler, aka Zeke. It wasn't rare for high school players to be drafted, but it was uncommon for them to be a higher pick than college players. That is...unless they have more talent and skill.

Another high schooler was picked even higher than Zeke, as the third pick. He was a pitcher from Southern California. Later on, more high schoolers popped up. From Georgia, Florida, Texas, and New York. The first round ended and Mrs. Atkins brought in two pizza boxes. "Thought you boys could use some food."

"Thanks, Mom!" Noah was the first to jump up and take the boxes. He set them in the middle of the floor and opened one. He took a pizza out and ate freely without caring about a plate or napkin.

For once Mrs. Atkins didn't seem to care. She just smiled. "I'll get some waters and a few napkins."

"Thanks."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Okay."

The boys all spoke at once, slightly distracted by the pizza in front of them. All five of us sat on the floor with the tv on and with pizza in hand. It felt like it's been awhile since all of us were together and relaxed like this. So much had been going on, even today with the pranks and the draft, but now it was a feeling of normalcy.

"By the way, Zeke, how did you take all our clothes without us noticing?" Dave asked during a commercial break.

Zeke shrugged, nonchalant. "I started with the clothes you hardly wore. Then when you slept, I packed the rest. I packed mine even earlier, because I know you two wouldn't have any problem taking my clothes without asking."

Kyle frowned. "Says the guy who legitimately took allllll of our clothes. I didn't realize how small Noah was until I tried on some of his sweats." He shook his head. "You need to drink more milk, boy." He aimed at Noah.

Noah rolled his eyes. "I drink milk all the time. I'll catch up to you guys in a few years. It's not like you were six feet tall as a freshman either." He looked at me. "Jake's the one that should be drinking more milk." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Jake has an excuse." Dave told him.

I stuck my tongue out back at Noah.

"Jake, you have to put on more weight to build up muscle mass." Kyle remarked. "Otherwise, who else would be hitting homers for us now that Zeke is graduating?"

"Garret hits homeruns and he's a pitcher." Noah pointed out.

"Not everyone can be dual-talented, okay." Dave scoffed. He aggressively bit into his pizza. "It's okay for high school, but it's a waste to practice. In the majors, only the National League has their pitchers bat. And they're always at the bottom of the order."

"Garret just likes to be good at everything." Kyle said. "Such a show off."

"Everyone wants to show off." Noah pointed out. "Name a player who doesn't want to be in the limelight." He paused. "Besides Jake."

"If you boys are done watching the draft, then I suggest you go make sure your homework gets done." Mr. Atkins said from the doorway.

"Ah, man!" Dave mumbled, throwing his head back. In the process, his hat came off and his pink hair was plain to see.

Noah laughed outright.

Dave caught on quick. "You think this is funny?" He picked up his hat and threw it at Noah. "You punk. Let's see if I don't get you back."

"You won't be around!" Noah gloated.

Mr. Atkins chuckled. "If you want the color to fade, hurry up and shower. Make sure to get rid of contaminated shampoo though. Get a new one out of the cabinet. You're lucky all the attention was on Zeke today. I don't know what the scouts would have thought of you with pink hair."

"That he's a rebel?" Noah suggested.

Zeke stood up. "I'll shower first."

"No you won't!" Dave took off. "Like I would trust you to shower before me again!" We heard him yell up the stairs.

Everyone laughed, watching him go.

Zeke sat back down and shrugged. "Such a scaredy-cat."

"What if he leaves the contaminated bottle for us to use?" Kyle stressed, pulling on a strand of bright pink hair.

"What difference would it make to you?" Noah laughed. "You'll be pink no matter what."

Kyle looked to his dad. "Can I go to a salon to get it dyed back to blonde?"

Mr. Atkins raised an eyebrow. "You have the spare money to do that?"

"Dad, I can't just go to school with pink hair for the last two weeks!" Kyle cried out.

"Why did you leave the soap in your hair for so long anyways?" Noah asked. "It would have been similar to Dave's."

Kyle glared at him. "I put the shampoo in my hair first and then wash my body. Rinse my body. Then I brush my teeth in the shower. And then I rinse my hair."

Noah snorted. "What a weirdo."

"If it really bugs you, try a $5 box of store bought dye." Mrs. Atkins joined her husband, looking down at us. "It won't be the blonde you had before, but it's the best I can offer. That, or just shave it all off."

Kyle pointed at Noah. "You owe me."

Noah pointed at Zeke. "Settle scores with him. He did the hard part. I just bought it, okay."

"It's just $5." Zeke rolled his eyes. "I'll pick one up tomorrow or something."

Kyle looked relieved. "Thank goodness. I really don't want to spend my summer looking like that one girl from the movie, 'Grease'."

Mrs. Atkins laughed. "Alright, now that it's settled, and you guys have ate, start cleaning up. Homework, shower, and bed. You still have finals to worry about." She looked to me and Noah. "I'll call the school district tomorrow to see what I can find. Is Spanish the only class you're willing to take? No backup plans?"

Noah shrugged. "I think after Biology, we take Chemistry our sophomore year. That might be okay."

"You're taking summer classes?" Kyle was surprised.

Noah and I nodded.

Kyle looked a little ashamed. "Sorry."

Noah waved his hand. "It's fine. Zeke is taking online classes, so maybe if we do a summer class, he'll be able to do his work in silence. It all works out. I'm just excited for softball next week." He looked to his parents. "Did you guys order the shirts yet?"

Mr. Atkins nodded. "I saw the paper on my desk. Very organized. I submitted it to my friend. He said it'll be ready by Saturday."

"Noah, text everyone to gather on Sunday for lunch." Zeke commanded. "We'll pass out the shirts and I'll go over some of the rules. And we should be able to pass out the schedule then too."

Noah nodded. "Will do!"

"What color are the shirts going to be?" Kyle asked, curious.

"A bright blue." Noah explained. "My idea. Hustlers will be written in cursive, in black, on the front. Names and numbers on the back."

I looked to him. "But...I didn't give you my name or number."

Noah laughed. "I just put 'Jake' down for you. It's not like we call you anything else. As for the number, I picked the same one from the team, zero. I did Zeke's too."

I glanced at Zeke. If he didn't have a problem with it...then I guess it's fine.