The Hitting Zone

Zeke stopped grabbing the campers when our small group reached twelve. He separated us from the bigger group and started to record our sticker numbers on a small piece of paper. He went to give it to Coach Leroy and then came back to us.

"How long are we running for?" One of the guys asked Zeke.

Zeke glanced at him. "Does it matter?"

The guy frowned. "Doesn't it?"

Zeke looked down at Noah. "Does it matter how long we're going to run for?"

Noah shook his head. "No! I'll run until you tell me to stop."

Zeke glanced at me. "Will it comfort you if you know how long the run is?"

I'm going to hate the run no matter what, so I shook my head.

Zeke checked his watch. "Dinner is at 6pm. It's a little after 2pm right now, so I'm going to declare that the run will be less than four hours. Any objections?"

A different guy raised his hand. "Not an objection, but what about using the gym for weightlifting? Didn't the coaches say we would be switching?"

"That's up to the counselors discretion." He looked around at the group. "I don't feel like being closed up in a gym on such a nice day. Don't worry, I'll let you guys have a change of pace at some point." He turned his back to us. "Keep up. If you can't, come back here on your own and report to Coach Leroy." He pushed a button on his watch and started to jog.

Noah and I automatically took after him, almost out of habit. Noah almost sped up to join him, side-by-side like a race, but remembered that Zeke's in charge of others right now. It wasn't a race. It was going to be a long run.

"Hey." Landon joined us. "Do you really think Zeke would leave us behind?"

I nodded. He leaves me all the time in his race with Noah.

"For sure." Noah said under his breath, trying not to get Zeke's attention. "You heard him, if you get left behind, come back on your own and report it to the head coach. Doesn't that sound like a taunt?"

I took a look back and saw that our whole group was keeping the same pace.

"It makes sense." Landon's friend said. "Zeke is the best. Who wouldn't follow him? Try to beat him? It feels like Zeke is challenging us. If we can't even see his shadow, we have to go back and report that back to the head coach? That's just cruel."

That's the Zeke I know.

The group followed Zeke throughout the campus, throughout the neighboring stores, and along the streets that made up this town. An hour and a half later, I could see water beyond the street, right next to a park. It was the bay. Zeke waited for us at the last intersection before pressing the button.

The team all bunched up at the street corner, trying to catch their breath. I was no exception. I had fallen back to one of the last runners, but I could still see Zeke and that meant a lot to me.

I put my hands on my head, trying to ignore the side ache.

The crosswalk lit up and Zeke started to walk across. Seeing him walking made everyone sigh in relief. He took us to an open grassy area, looking over the water. "There's a water fountain about 15 yards over there." He pointed.

Some of the guys immediately took off, sprinting and racing to get some water. Noah was among them.

I stayed behind. I was more tired than thirsty.

Everyone gave Zeke space so I felt comfortable approaching him on my own.

He glanced down at me and smiled. "Tired?"

I nodded.

"You did good. It was exactly six miles. The run back will be even harder, try not to fall behind." He told me.

I knew it was going to be harder. My legs were already exhausted and energy was gone. I'm going to be dragging myself back.

Zeke wiped the sweat off his face and then pulled off his shirt. He wiped more of his sweat off before tucking some of the shirt into the waistband of his shorts.

My shirt was soaked in sweat too, but there's no way I could take my shirt off. Not in public.

Zeke caught me staring. "It's not a big deal if you want to take your shirt off too."

I shook my head and refused. He could get me to play on a new team, but there was no way I would willingly walk around with my scars showing to everyone. That's too much out of my comfort zone. That was beyond it.

Zeke sighed. "Don't worry. You'll be able to see that doctor after the high school camp. I know dad rescheduled your appointment to be right before school." He paused before saying, "I won't be there for it. I'll have to go to school."

I nodded, feeling a little sad. The idea that Zeke wouldn't be around was surreal.

"I'll be a phone call away." He said suddenly. "If you're feeling sad, scared, or whatever. You can call me any time, any day." He glanced to Noah, who was jogging over to us with a smile. "You'll have to make sure Noah doesn't get in too much trouble. I can't trust the twins with him."

I laughed.

"What's funny?" Noah asked, stopping before us.

I shook my head.

Zeke sighed. "I was telling Jake that we can't race back, because I know if I leave you behind, you'll get lost."

"Not true!" Noah exclaimed. "You wouldn't be able to leave me behind."

I laughed again. "So you would get lost?"

Noah stuck out his bottom lip and put on a sad look before me. "Jake...why do I feel like you're not my best friend anymore? You don't want to play on the same team and now you're cracking jokes about me with Zeke."

"You left me on the run." I pointed out.

Noah rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault you're so slow. I'll run back with you, okay?"

I smiled.

Zeke looked at the pair of us. "Try not to fall too far behind."

Noah stuck his tongue out at Zeke.

The jog back to the school was long and took more time, but that was only because everyone slowed down considerably. Back in front of the dorms, Zeke dismissed us, letting us shower and have some free time before dinner.

I was dead on my feet, dragging them up the stairs, using the handrail. "I don't know how I can play tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Landon scoffed. "I'm scared for tonight."

"What's tonight?" Noah asked.

"We find out our teams." Landon said. "Do you think they're really going to give us the whole night off? Our parents pay hundreds of dollars for the best training this camp can provide. They wouldn't let us waste any time becoming a better player."

"What's the point of showering then?" I groaned, not liking the idea of showering twice in the same evening.

"Because you smell bad." Landon said. "Who's going to be able to eat with you stinking up the place?"

Noah laughed and I sighed. He was right. I reeked.