The Hitting Zone

We got home and split up from Zeke after he gave us our shirts. We took them upstairs to our room and hung them up.

"First game is Tuesday." Noah grinned at the bright blue shirt. He gave himself number one, with 'Noah' written above it. He really liked being number one. "We should practice throwing a softball around. It's lighter but bigger so it's better to get used to it before Tuesday."

"Want to practice after school tomorrow?" I asked.

Noah nodded. "Just for a little bit. I don't want Mom and Dad thinking that we aren't studying for finals."

"Should we invite Alisha?" I suggested. She doesn't have experience and...I think she would like to be around Noah.

Noah pulled out his phone. "Yea! I'll invite her and Kaylee. Kaylee can ask KJ to come too if she wants." He started to type away.

Okay, not what I expected. "Should we also ask Julian and his brother too then?"

Noah was more hesitant. "Meh. I'll tell Zeke, but I don't think Andy is the type to participate in such an informal practice."

"I think he would come." I shrugged.

Noah paused to look at me. "Really? Want to bet on it?"

Errrr. It was my turn to hesitate.

"If you're not willing, then that just means you aren't confident in your opinion of him." Noah said.

"Well...it's not that I doubt him." I told him. "I'm actually more concerned on what you want to bet."

"It wouldn't matter if you don't doubt him." Noah grinned, knowing that he cornered me.

I scratched my cheek. "Okay. What do I get if I win then?"

"What do you want?"

I shrugged. There wasn't anything I was lacking.

"What about a bat?" Noah asked. "We never got to look at used ones at The Cages. How about I use my own money to buy you a spare bat? And in exchange, if Andy doesn't show up, you buy me new batting gloves?"

I liked how it sounded, but... "I don't even have money though..."

Noah grinned. "Guess you'll have to ask for an allowance."

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that qualifies as my own money..."

"What does it matter if you believe in this kid so much?" Noah asked.

"I guess..." I looked up at him. "Alright. You're on. You better tell Zeke. I don't want to find out that you didn't even send an invite."

"I'll text Julian myself." Noah came closer to show me as he sent the text to everyone on the team, even Mr. Miller.

Satisfied we went back to studying for our finals for this week. There would be finals for periods one and four on Monday. Two and five on Tuesday. And three and six on Wednesday. Thursday was no school, just clean out lockers and then the seniors graduation at the football stadium that night.

Monday was definitely the hardest with English and Spanish finals the same day for Noah and me. It was a relief to put that behind us and then go to the park with Zeke after school. The twins also came along just to play around.

Kyle started to regret as soon as he saw Marie's car in the parking lot. He looked to Noah, accusingly. "What is she doing here?"

Noah, who had just finished tying his cleats looked up. "Oh. Probably just dropping off Kaylee. Maybe KJ too."

Kyle shifted around uncomfortably until he saw two girls get out of the car, and then the car left. Marie really came just to drop off the girls. Kyle was more relaxed knowing that Marie wasn't sticking around, but it didn't last.

"Oh wow." Kaylee was close enough to be heard. "It's the jerk douchebag who dumped my sister for no reason." She turned to KJ. "Be wary around him. He's a selfish, egotistical prick."

KJ chuckled lightly, probably already knowing the drama.

"Hey Kaylee!" Noah greeted. "KJ, you know of the twins right?"

"Who doesn't?" She put her bag down and started to put on some old cleats that had visible holes in them.

Noah noticed and frowned, but a simple glare from Kaylee kept him from saying anything. He looked to the parking lot and saw a few more familiar faces. "Damn."

"What? What is it?" Dave asked.

Noah made a face. "Nothing. Just surprised that everyone could make it today on such short notice.

"That didn't sound like a happy 'damn.'" Dave pointed out. He looked at me and caught me smiling. "And why are you grinning like that?"

"New bat." I said, staring at Noah.

Julian was here with Andy. Alisha was right behind them, talking to Mr. Miller and Stu. All ten of us were here. Plus the twins.

Noah sighed in defeat. "Okay, maybe I was quick to judge."

"Judge what?" Dave asked, poking Noah. "Why are you guys talking like this? No one can understand what you're saying."

"Let's warmup." Noah ignored him completely and spoke to me. I nodded and jogged with him. Then stretched.

This was just for fun so everyone had their own way to warmup. Noah and I followed routine though to prevent injuries. Zeke took it a step further and was doing the full warmup from the baseball season. The one that used to make me tired. I had a bad feeling that we would be doing it all summer too.

After everyone did some type of warmup, Zeke led us through some basic drills, just getting us baseball players accustomed to catching and throwing a softball. It wasn't a big deal now, but something like this would have been a stumbling block for me. Now, I fit right in, only a little less accurate than Kaylee.

Alisha had the most trouble, but that was just due to her lack of experience. Mr. Miller and his friend, Stu, helped her out though, giving her more advice and attention.

"Hey, KJ." Andy spoke up during a water break. "Do you want to try pitching against us? So we get a feel of real, up close pitching? And you can get some practice in before tomorrow?"

Noah frowned at him. "Do you really want to use our pitcher for batting practice?"

Andy shrugged. "Yea. So what?"

"I don't mind!" KJ said. "I'm actually very interested in how my skills hold up against others." She glanced over at Zeke.

Zeke nodded. "Alright, then whoever wants to face KJ, grab a bat and take some practice swings. And if you don't, then help me shag balls."

"You don't want to practice?" Andy asked, losing some of his indifference.

Zeke shook his head. "I'm good." He looked over at me. "Jake, you'll help me collect the balls okay?"

I nodded obediently.

"I'll shag balls in the outfield too." Julian smiled at KJ. "Maybe another time we can have a face off."

KJ was a little less enthusiastic with the seniors bowing out.

"I'll definitely take you on!" Kaylee claimed. She then threw her glove at Noah. "Him too. Noah might be the weakest on the varsity team, but he still counts as a varsity player. It'd be great if you make him miss a few times."

"Hey!" Noah was immediately offended. "I'm not the weakest! I just excel more in fielding than I do batting."