The Hitting Zone

"Feeling better?" Noah asked Alisha early Monday morning. We had stopped by her house Saturday night, but only saw her mom. She sent a thank you text to Noah and I on Sunday, but this was our first time seeing her since Friday.

She looked pale and tired. But could still muster up a smile. "I am. I'll be at practice today."

"Don't stress yourself out." Noah told her. "Today should be easygoing. Tomorrow is a home game." He looked at her. "Will you be in the dugout for that?"

"Yea. Of course. I like helping when and where I can." She made a face. "I just knew I couldn't survive that long bus ride on Saturday. You don't think the coaches will be mad, right?"

"Nah." Noah laughed. "Maybe if Zeke was still around. If he was still captain...it'd be interesting to see what he would do or say."

Alisha turned red, looking as embarrassed as I felt. "I'm going to class. See you guys later."

"See ya!" Noah waved.

"Later." I echoed. After she was out of earshot, I nudged Noah. "Can you not embarrass her like that? I bet she'll be nervous about joining the team this afternoon."

Noah shrugged. "It shouldn't be embarrassing. Don't you remember taking health class last year? It's a normal bodily function."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm just saying...I wouldn't like it if I was Alisha." I don't even like it now.

"Don't worry. I won't say anything too much now that we know she's okay." Noah said. "I'll even keep an eye on the other guys though I doubt anyone else knows. We didn't tell the twins. Coach won't say anything either. That would be weird weird."

I nodded. We walked to class together and met up with Kaylee.

She was wearing a WHS Softball shirt. And a big smile. "It's gameday."

Noah grinned back. "Good luck! Maybe we'll come by after practice. Kyle will probably want to see Marie play. Do you guys have a snackbar near your field?"

"No official snackbar." Kaylee told him. "But I know students will come by, trying to sell snacks on their own. Drinks too like Gatorade and cold water."

"Does it start right after school?" I asked.

"Game doesn't start until 4pm." Kaylee turned to me. "Gives us some time after school to get changed in the locker room and then head to the dugout. We don't have a fancy club room like you guys."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Our field is the farthest away. Of course we need a clubhouse down there."

The two started to debate and I casually listened.

"You guys get all the good stuff."

"Please. We don't even have showers down there. You can easily use the ones in the locker room."

"Ew. No one uses the school showers. They're so old and gross. They even have mold."

"You just like to complain."

I let out a small smile. I don't think the two realize how much alike they are. Constantly wanting to be right and have the upper hand. Their love for their sports and winning.

The school day finally started. The usual classes with the same classmates and teachers. It was a good feeling as a couple of them congratulated me another good game from the weekend. Some asked if I would play tomorrow, but I could only shrug. No one really knows the lineup except for Coach.

During practice that afternoon, I got my answer: I was in. And so was Noah. It was going to be Garret's turn to sit out.

"I want you and the twins focused on getting ready for this weekend." Coach told the big three. "Don't overwork yourselves physically, but get some time in the bullpen with Mitchell and Oscar. This weekend will be a challenge."

"Do we know who our first opponent is going to be yet?" Kyle asked.

"Not until Wednesday." Coach answered. "However, it shouldn't matter. No matter who it is, we're going in with the same mentality: win. Be prepared for anything."

"What if we got University Prep as our first game?" Bryce muttered. "Wouldn't that suck?"

A couple of guys threw their gloves at him.

Noah included. "Shut up. Don't jinx it." Noah caught Coach looking at him. "I want to save them for the finals, Coach. Then crush them. Show them that we weren't at our best last year." He nudged me. "Right, Jake?"

I nodded in total agreement. That game was one of my worst. I had a nightmare before and couldn't sleep at all. Then I was jumpy all day and couldn't focus. Ended up being taken out early after taking a baseball to the body.

"If Bambi ain't scared, I'm not scared!" Dave declared.

"Fine. You get University Prep then." Garret grinned.

"I will!" Dave looked at Coach. "Give them to me. I'll crush them like they're the JV team."

Coach's lips twitched. "I like the enthusiasm. Really, I do. But we don't even know if we'll meet those guys. Always focus on the game in front of us." He turned to Joey. "You get to the bullpen and get some stretching in. You'll get the start on the mound tomorrow."

"Yes!" Joey pumped his fist.

"Everyone else, practice today like you want to play tomorrow. Only the infield is set. Anyone can play in the outfield tomorrow." Coach clapped his hands and practice started.

Afterwards, with Noah and the twins, we took the car up to the higher lot and parked. As a small group we went to the softball game and started to hunt for seats.

"I see Marie's parents." Kyle told us and gave a small nod in their direction. "I'm going to sit with them. You three make yourself scarce."

"With pleasure." Noah muttered, leading Dave and I in the opposite direction. That also conveniently passed a classmate selling some snacks. "Homemade cookies?" Noah looked impressed.

Our classmate shook his head. "Not really. Just toll house cookie dough that I baked."

"Give me two bags for each of us." Noah pulled out his wallet. "How much?" He didn't haggle and paid as much as the guy wanted. He held the cookies and found us seats up in the bleachers.

Just as we were sitting down, we saw Kaylee coming up to bat.

Noah stood back up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "KILL IT KAYLEE!"

I clapped in support.

Kaylee didn't even glance our way. Maybe she didn't hear Noah. Though I thought he was loud enough, there were quite a few people cheering for her. She got cornered on a 1-2 count before blasting one to the left field fence. She took off sprinting. The ball bounced just short of the fence and the left fielder hurried to throw it in. Kaylee reached second, standing up. We clapped and cheered with the rest.

She looked our way and pointed.

Noah waved with both hands before giving her the thumbs up. Then he sat down.

"When did you guys become such good friends?" Dave asked, already opening a bag of cookies.

"We've been friends since last year." Noah rolled his eyes. "We hang out all the time."

"You fight with her all the time." Dave said.

"You fight with Kyle all the time." I pointed out, opening my own bag of cookies.

"Touché."