***
Back at the house, Ken and Ai went up to the room, their minds still reeling from the revelation that they were now having two babies instead of 1.
Apparently it wasn’t that uncommon for twins to not be detected in the first scan at 8 weeks. But even after being shown all the proof in the world, Ken still had trouble believing it.
For a while, the two didn’t speak, too busy absorbed in their own thoughts.
Ken was holding the envelope in his hand, staring into the distance.
“Twins…”
“Yeah, who would have thought?” Ai replied.
“When should we break the news?”
Ai let out a laugh, “Maybe we should wait until the gender reveal? Can you imagine what kind of faces our family will make?”
“That’s just cruel… I like it.” Ken added.
The two discussed for a while how they would execute the plan.
Soon, Ken was interrupted by a phone call.
“Tom House? Is he good?” Ken asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Listen here Ken… You asked for the best, would I come to you with anyone less?” Barry replied on the other line, seeming annoyed.
“You’re right, sorry. When can he start?”
“You seem to have skipped something. You didn’t even ask how much money he wants.”
“It doesn’t matter, just pay the man. I need to get better as soon as possible, otherwise I’ll be out of the league by the end of the season.” Ken replied.
Barry went silent on the other line before letting out a sigh. “Alright, I thought you’d say that so I went ahead and drafted up the contract already. Tom should be there at tonights game to watch you pitch.”
Ken was a little surprised, but he soon smiled, “What would I do without you Barry?”
“Nothing great.”
“Hey, what’s that meant to me—”
BEEP BEEP BEEP
“He hung up on me…” Ken muttered in disbelief.
Ai saw his bewildered expression and couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
“I guess that’s what he really thinks about you.” She said, poking her tongue out.
“Yeah yeah, he doesn’t really mean it.” Ken said, waving it off.
Some time later, Ken, Daichi and Rohan made their way to Comerica Park for the game tonight against the Cleveland Indians. Apart from the shock he received today, Ken was filled with expectation about tonights game.
With his new signature skill: Over the Speed Limit, he should be able to finally finish one of the tasks he set for the season. The moment he did, the media storm would soon follow.
As the trio walked into the locker room, they were greeted by a few team members who had arrived early.
“Yo, it’s the rookies.” Samuel said.
“You mean the Three Amigos. They’re always coming and going together.” Jake added, wearing a grin.
Ken could tell that the guys were messing around, so he didn’t bother retorting.
“Hey Ken, when are you planning to beat the record for the fastest pitch?” Jose asked from across the locker room.
At this, Ken grinned. “Tonight… I might even breach 106mph.”
“Huh!? No way.” Jake exclaimed in disbelief. “You barely scratched 105 but you think you can throw 106? Did you do it in practice or something?”
Ken shook his head, “Just have faith man, I’m a man of my word.” He said with confidence.
“What’s this all about?” Mark walked into the locker room and caught the tail end of the conversation.
“Ken reckons he’ll break the record tonight Coach.”
“Oho?” Mark raised his eyebrow and looked at his grandson. One look was enough to realize that the boy was confident. A smile crept onto his face in response.
“If he says he’ll do it, then he will. I’ll talk to Cheryl and see if we can drum up some hype before the game.” Mark said, flashing him a grin.
“Why don’t you post on your social media Ken? Say you’re definitely getting the record tonight. I’m sure you’ll go viral whether you actually do it or not.” Jake said, letting out a laugh.
Ken raised his eyebrow, “That doesn’t sound like a half bad idea.”
“W—Wait, I was kidding.” Jake exclaimed, his face turning pale. “Don’t you care about your reputation man? Your stunt on media day was enough to get you plenty of haters, this will just make it worse if you fail.”
“Well I better not fail then.” Ken replied, grabbing his phone from his pocket.
“Coach! Are you really going to let him do it?”
However, Mark already turned towards the door, “I didn’t see anything.” He said, as if it was none of his business.
“Don’t worry Jake, Ken knows what he’s doing.” Samuel said, placing his arm around the guys shoulder.
At this, Jake could only shake his head and drop the matter, “It’s his funeral man…”
Meanwhile, Ken was busy logging into his instagram. He opened up the front facing camera and pointed it at him, Rohan and Daichi.
Daichi and Ken gave the peace sign, while Rohan stood there like a deer in headlights, unmoving. Without any fanfare, Ken captured the photo and typed a few words before adding it to his story.
This was something that Tara had taught him since she wanted him to interact with his followers more.
“H—Hey, did you post that? I wasn’t ready.” Rohan stammered.
“It’s fine, you look great.” Ken said, tossing his phone back into his bag.
On the other side of the locker room, Samuel burst out into laughter. “Look at this guys face! Hahaha.”
“Show me.”
Soon enough, the others also began to laugh, their gazes moving to Rohan who was now beet red. He quickly got out his own phone and went to instagram to see.
As he expected, he was wearing a dumb expression, causing him to let out a sigh.
However, it was then that he saw the text on the bottom of the photo that Ken had written.
“2 hours until I break the pitching speed record.”
‘This cocky bastard…’