The Hitting Zone

He finished and again got up and dug out another coin.

"Come on, man." A guy called out. "You've been in there for six turns now. Let the rest of us have a chance."

The catcher inside merely glanced at the guy, then put his coin in. He then put his mask down and got set again to start catching.

"Shit. This is ridiculous." The guy cursed and left, heading inside.

I flinched and leaned towards Zeke as the guys passed by us.

Zeke switched his bat to his other hand, letting me encroach his personal space. He gave my back a light pat. "It's fine." He gestured to the 90mph cage. "You want to just move on?"

I nodded. We were just here to swing the bat. I wasn't set on any particulars that had to be done. We moved on. There was only a person or two near the 90mph cage and we got in pretty quick. Zeke first. Then me.

I came out just in time to see Mr. Williams, the boss and owner of The Arcade and Cages, walk by. He gave a quick nod to Zeke and stopped at the cage beside ours. The 85mph cage with the catcher. Who was still catching.

"Doesn't his arm get tired?" I asked Zeke as we watched. I couldn't imagine catching such fast pitches continuously.

"Catchers see about 30 pitches an inning and that's just the average." Zeke said. "So he should be able to catch at least 200+."

The catcher finished a round and got up again, heading to the coin slot.

"That's enough, Justin." Mr. Williams raised his voice. He waved at the teen. "Come on out. You know there's an unspoken rule for the cages here. Only three coins at a time per person. Sharing is caring and what have you."

The catcher glanced at the boss. "It's an unspoken rule as you said. Which means I don't necessarily have to follow it." He defiantly put a coin in and got set behind the fake plate once more.

Mr. Williams let out a curse under his breath, before muttering. "You're going to make me make it an official rule, you damn brat."

"Who are you mad at now, Boss?" Noah happened to be coming over with Jeremy right behind him. He spotted the catcher in the 85mph cage. "Wow! I didn't know we were allowed to do that! That's pretty cool."

"You have to sign a liability form and wear your own gear." Mr. Williams stated. Then he clenched his jaw. "And you have to listen to me."

Noah raised his eyebrow, slightly confused and interested. Jeremy moved to me and Zeke just as the catcher ended his session.

Mr. Williams didn't pay any attention to us and made a move to enter the cage. He blocked the coin slot by standing in front of it. "Don't think I won't ban you from the property, Justin."

Justin, the catcher, frown. He put his mask under his arm and stood tall up against the boss. "I'm a paying customer. I should have the right to play as I please. I'm not hurting anyone."

"Yea, Boss, let him play." Noah cheered.

"We couldn't get a turn." Zeke told Noah calmly.

Noah was quick to change sides. He put his hands on his hips. "Dude, do you think you own the place? If you want more turns, then get back in line or move on to the 90mph cage."

"Why don't you move on?" Justin shot back.

Noah glanced at us.

"We did." Zeke said with a small shrug. "Jake said it was okay."

Noah eyed me as if he needed confirmation. We came here together all the time and he knew my routine of working my way up, working both sides of the plate. I gave him a small nod to let him know I was fine.

Noah looked at Mr. Williams. "Ban him, Boss. This is borderline bullying."

Mr. Williams just shook his head. "You kids."

"I could have gotten some more work in by now." Justin pointed out rudely. "If you don't mind." He gestured to the coin slot that Mr. Williams was guarding.

Mr. Williams shook his head. "Three turns at a time. Leave for at least one. Maybe try a different speed." He was looking outside of the cage and made eye contact with me. "You know what? Maybe you should try something different. Something new."

I inched even closer to Zeke. Mr. Williams sounded like he was talking to the catcher, yet he was still looking my way.

"Let Jake foul tip some slower pitches back with this guy playing catcher." Mr. Williams instructed.

"Tch. No need." Justin quickly shot down. Or so I thought. "Let's do it here. 85mph." He smirked my way. "Unless you can't even touch something at this speed."

Noah scoffed. "Dude, please. Sit down. Jake would probably hurt you with the fouls. Bet you wouldn't even be able to catch half."

Justin looked offended then his expression got cold. He glanced at Mr. Williams. "You can't be serious."

"Catch half or move on." Mr. Williams declared, going with Noah's comment. "If you want to do it at 85mph, then that's on you."

"I think we should ask Jake if he even wants to participate." Zeke said, freezing the atmosphere. He looked down at me. "What do you think, Jake? Are you up for fouling some pitches for this guy? If not, we can just move on. Go inside for video games instead."

I started to fidget back and forth. I like batting but hate confrontation.

"Jeremy can do it instead." Noah looked back at Jeremy, who almost started to fade in the background. If it wasn't for the fact that he was attracting a small crowd by being so recognizable, you would have thought he was a spectator. And maybe he kind of is. This isn't his home. He didn't hang here.

I stepped forward. "No. I'll do it."

Noah pumped his fist and then held it out for me to bump. I obliged. "Don't go easy on him. Seven drops and you're done."

"If he can even foul it back seven times." The catcher put his mask back on. "Let's go. If I catch half, I'm going to get as much work as I want in." He moved behind the home plate and squatted down.

Mr. Williams came out of the cage just shaking his head. He made eye contact with me. "Counting on you, kid. Put him in his place and let me have some peace. It's not good to hear a bunch of complaints on such a busy night."

I gave a small nod. Mr. Williams was fairly nice. Even if Noah felt scammed the first time I met him. He's always been polite and greeted us in a friendly manner. Not to be biased, but the catcher didn't sound like the good guy at all in this situation.

I had to be the one to put a coin in and then got set up casually in the righty's box. All I had to do was foul the balls back. It was out of my hands whether he catches them or not. Fouling came easy to me. Especially in the cages where it was only fastballs.