The Hitting Zone

Tuesday morning, we followed along the same routine of getting dressed and eating breakfast with everyone. Mom and Dad headed for the office downstairs after a few words of encouragement. They even double checked on my leg, frowned at the bruise, but seemed okay when I told them that it didn't hurt to walk.

Zeke walked us out to the car, making sure we packed our bags and had remembered to grab some water bottles. "I'll bring lunch to you guys."

"What will it be?" Dave asked.

Zeke shrugged. "Haven't decided yet. Might make something with Mom's help. Or I might buy something."

"Whatever you do, bring enough for Marie. And probably Kaylee too." Kyle said.

"Alisha too!" Noah shouted from his seat. With all eyes on him, he shrugged helplessly. "What? She's our friend too."

"Your special friend?" Dave lifted an eyebrow.

Noah rolled his eyes. "You don't have to be so weird about it. She's a friend of Jake's too."

"I'll bring enough food for ten, just in case." Zeke cut the fight short. He tapped the car. "Get going. Jake still needs to get checked out before camp starts."

Kyle in the driver's seat gave a mock salute and started to reverse out of the driveway. He took us to the school, parking near the top of the parking lot, close to the gym.

"Noah, you taking Jake?" Kyle asked.

Noah nodded as he unbuckled his seat belt. "Of course. You guys just going to hang out at the field?"

Kyle got out of the car. "Nah. I'm going to the softball for a second. Hopefully get to see Marie before I have to be at the field."

"Ugh. So annoying." Dave said as we all bunched up near the trunk. He opened it and started to pull out the bags. "I can't believe you sometimes. You get together, breakup, now you're following her like a fly."

Kyle shrugged. "You wouldn't understand. You don't have someone you like." He picked up his bag and tossed the keys to Dave. "Here, you can hold them." He left us for the softball field.

"You shouldn't give him a hard time about it." Noah told Dave as he put his bag on his shoulder. "Jeremy told us that sometimes, high school relationships work out."

"You would like to think so." Dave smirked at Noah. He put his bag on his shoulder, closed the trunk, and locked the doors. "Later losers." He waved and left us too, heading in the direction of the fields.

Noah twisted his lips, but didn't say anything about Dave's comment. He just pulled me in the direction of the gym and school building "Come on. Let's go see Drew."

Drew's office was actually the size of a classroom, but with no desks and chairs. Instead, held a few athletic training tables including a massage bed. There were cabinets all around holding his equipment and even an ice machine in the corner.

Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones in there. There were an assortment of athletes spread out, taking up all the free space. Noah and I stood in front of the door, looking for open spot to sit.

"Noah! Jake!" Kaylee waved from one of the tables.

Noah took the lead and went over. I followed behind.

"You're a little late to the party." She said, making room on her table. "Come up. You guys can sit."

Noah sat in the middle and I sat on the open end.

Noah looked around. "I didn't expect Drew to be so busy in the mornings."

She scoffed. "This isn't even that busy. These are just the usual suspects. Most of us here either need an ankle taped up or maybe a short massage to help get the body going."

"What are you here for?" I asked, peering around Noah. I couldn't see anything visibly wrong with Kaylee.

She lifted her right leg and showed a swollen ankle. "Rolled my ankle sliding into third base yesterday. Happens more than I would like. I usually get my ankle taped up to prevent myself from getting hurt but I was too cocky."

"You need to do some strengthening exercises like I told you to last year." Drew came over with a handful of stuff. He motioned for Noah to get out of the way. "Non-patients have to stand."

Noah rolled his eyes but still got up for him.

Drew sat down and had Kaylee stick her leg straight out. "Doesn't look like you iced it when you got home like you said you would."

She shrugged. "I was busy."

Drew started to tape her ankle, practically locking it up in place.

"You can run with your ankle like that?" I asked, curious.

She nodded. "Yep. It actually feels good. More stable."

"That's not good." Drew continued to scold her. "You need to strengthen your ankle and the muscles around it or you'll be a frequent guest in my office. I don't like repeats."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Drew sighed and finished the taping. He stood up and looked at me. "Turn over and let me see your hamstring."

"What happened to your hamstring?" Kaylee asked as she got up, giving me the whole table.

"He took a fastball to the back of his leg." Noah told her. Noah explained yesterday's accident as I laid out on the table on my stomach.

Drew grabbed my ankle and bent my leg at the knee. "Just want to make sure it's just a bruise." He tested my leg, stretching it a few different ways. After confirming that I was just sore, he went and got a heating pad, wrapping it in a small towel. He placed it on my hamstring. "Just fifteen minutes with it on. Make sure you stretch properly when you get back to the field." He moved on to the next athlete.

I rested my head on my arms, turning to Noah and Kaylee, who were talking about the drama after I got hit.

Kaylee grinned when she caught me looking. She got closer and lowered her voice. "If you hit two homers off of me, I'd probably hit you too. All part of the game." She laughed at my look of despair. "I'm joking. I'd probably just walk you."

I relaxed. "How's your camp going?"

"It's alright. Nothing too exciting." She shrugged and leaned against the wall. "No one is going to jump to varsity anytime soon. I'm actually thinking about pitching like my sister."

"Why?" Noah asked, leaning against the table I was on. "Isn't your sister the best in the league?"

"Best in the state." She corrected. "But, you have to think two steps ahead. Or in this case, what happens after she graduates? We don't have any super amazing pitchers like her. I don't want to be on a losing team my junior and senior years."

"Hmm." Noah thought about it. "That's smart. You can probably do it. Get some tips and tricks from her. Start practicing now and be ready for next year."

They talked a little more about the camps and teams until my fifteen minutes were up. I got up and put the heating pad back and the towel into the dirty basket. We left Drew's together. Near the softball field, we had to split from Kaylee.

"See ya at lunch." Noah waved.

She nodded. "Sure. Do you know where we're going today?"

"Zeke's going to bring food to us today!" Noah answered cheerfully.

She was surprised. "Alright. I'm sure Kyle will text Marie on where to meet." She waved and split away from us.