After dinner, we all got back in the car and Mr. Atkins started the long drive home, fighting a bit of traffic as we moved out of the city.
The twins, who sat on either side of Zeke in the middle row, both leaned against the windows and started to fall asleep. Noah wasn't too far behind them. Even Zeke leaned back, looked at the roof of the car for a minute, then closed his eyes. I guess they must be tired after such a fulfilling dinner.
I leaned against the window too and felt refreshed by the cold pane of glass. March in Northern California was still cold but I didn't mind it so much now. It rarely got this cold where I used to live.
"Wayne, have you found an opportunity to talk with the twins?" I heard Mrs. Atkins asked in a low voice, almost whispering as if she was afraid we would wake up.
"Not really. It's hard to get them alone. I don't want to speak with them together on the off chance that they have differing thoughts on the matter. How did Zeke take it? Has he been acting weird about our decision?" Mr. Atkins replied.
"Zeke's okay. No need to worry about him. Definitely no need to worry about Noah." A pause. "Tomorrow after the games, we should get an opportunity. Maybe Zeke can drive the younger two home, and we can each take a twin."
"Isn't that a little suspicious?"
They were doing something suspicious? Something they don't want us to know about? Wait. That's not right. Zeke has been spoken to and they said he was okay. Maybe Noah too? I should ask him tomorrow. I kept my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep as the parents continued to talk.
"I'll just say I need to go to the grocery store and need a helper." Mrs. Atkins suggested. "You could do the same."
"We both need to go to the grocery store?" He asked with skepticism.
"No." She laughed. "You pick somewhere else. Like the hardware store. Or go to O'Conners for baseballs or something."
"Hmmm, I've been looking at something we can put in our backyard for the boys. Going to O'Conners isn't a bad idea."
"Okay, but the goal is to speak with each twin separately so don't get sidetracked."
"What if they can't keep silent about the matter before we're ready and get clearance? Would Jake get upset?"
Would I get upset? I resisted the urge to open my eyes, and tried to look as natural as possible in case they glance back at me. What could I get upset about? Only one thought came to mind: family. My family, specifically. Are they trying to make me see my mom or something? But that doesn't sound right either.
I fell asleep thinking about what I could get upset about. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't get to hear if Mrs. Atkins thought I would get upset. Actually, I didn't get to hear anymore of the conversation. I had my worries to attend to. Like what if they want to do some kind of social gathering? Because, that's also something I would get upset about.
***
Saturday's doubleheader was held at a neutral site, which meant it wasn't at our high school or the opponents. It was held at a public park somewhere between our two schools.
American Christian Academy was in our conference and counted as important league games, yet no one took it too seriously since they weren't very good. ACA was a small, private school, that didn't even have the funds for giving out athletic scholarships. They simply made do with what they had; and what they had, wasn't a lot. They didn't even have a JV or Freshmen team. It was just barely twenty boys. They had four freshmen on their team, but they didn't really have the same skill set as me and Noah.
The first game went smoothly, with Garret getting the start on the mound. He pitched a complete game, getting all 21 outs in 7 innings. He gave up two hits and a walk, but didn't concede a run. He also averaged a strikeout an inning, working his stats up. More impressively, Zeke dominated with his return, going 4-4 with two home runs.
I wasn't far behind in terms of hits with three of my own, but I wasn't able to drive in any runs like Zeke. Noah had struggled to get on base; he kept hitting grounders within the infield, not even earning a single.
It didn't matter to the team though. We won the first game 8-0, just shy of getting the called game.
Both teams and umpires took a couple hours in between games to settle lunch and to rest. Especially for American Christian Academy who didn't have as many players as us to rely on. I agreed wholeheartedly. I had done well at the plate going 3-3 and a walk. So even though I had experience playing two games in one day, it wasn't the same. For the tournaments, Zeke mostly asked for me to get walked, while now I was trying my best to get on base by hitting the ball.
The second game really tested my endurance as more grounders came my way. I don't want to use that as a reason for going 2-3, but in the batting cages I wouldn't have this problem. I wouldn't have to worry about fielding, throwing, positioning, base running, and what type of pitch would come my way. The batting cages were a constant speed and pitch type.
It was hard to feel bad about myself when Noah had a worst day. We had practiced fielding and positioning all week, and that might have had an effect on his batting. For the day he went 1-7, and that one was a bloop single over the first baseman's head. It wasn't pretty.
The second game was a lot closer compared to the first, but we still won 5-1. Coach didn't let Zeke play with the excuse that he did well in the first game despite having multiple tryouts this past week. Noah explained that he just didn't want to waste Zeke against a crappy school like this.
Of course that set the twins off. They started to give Noah a hard time, asking him why he was batting so poorly against a 'crappy' team. Noah didn't roll over and take their insults. He made sure to read off their pitching stats for the second game. Kyle started, going three innings, giving up four hits, zero walks, and a run. Dave pitched the next three, giving up three hits, two walks, and zero runs. This just made them pick on each other, talking about who had the better pitching performance, comparing strikeouts as well. Kyle has four and Dave had three.
Bryce closed out the game, pitching the last inning, giving up two hits, without giving up a walk or run. He's really looking good for a sophomore, in my opinion, but then again, I don't know many sophomore pitchers besides him, Theo, and Brian. The latter two haven't left much of an impression on me, but coach announced that Theo would start on Monday.
"Spring break starts for the school, but not for you boys." Coach told us after the game as we put our stuff in our bags. "Monday's game will be at 8am, and Theo will get the start. Dave and Kyle, you both did well to stay under the appropriate pitch count so be prepared in case we need you. Garret, you had a good first game. Rest well, you'll be starting Thursday. As for everyone else, not bad for the day, but don't get complacent. Monday we play OLU. Be mentally prepared."
"Coach." Kyle interrupted. "Will we still have practice Monday afternoon even though we have a game?" That got everyone's attention. The guys on the team looked at Coach with some excitement.
Coach smiled, but not all the way. "Depends on how you play Monday. If I like what I see, we won't have practice. If I don't, be ready to run all evening. Don't even bother bringing your bats and gloves."
"We've got this." Dave flexed a bicep. "Just call on me if it gets close."
"Who says we'll even need you?" Theo snorted, making the guys laugh.
"Theo has one clean inning against Lassen and suddenly thinks he's a star." Dave rolled his eyes.
"You guys just hog all the opportunities to pitch!" Theo didn't laugh anymore, looking pretty serious.
"Okay, that's enough." Coach intervened. "I'll see everyone in our clubhouse at 6:50am. Any later, and you'll get penalty laps." He looked to Zeke. "Anything else to add, captain?"
Zeke stood up, gaining everyone's undivided attention. "Just because tomorrow is Sunday, don't just laze about and slack off. Stay active. Some of you looked mentally slow out there." His eyes swept across the lot of us. "Let's continue to win."
"Yea!"
"That's a given!"
"No problem!"
The team got rambunctious with his words and it suddenly felt like the dugout had more energy even after playing two games. It took more time to put away our gear and make way to the parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Atkins stood more off to the side, waving to get our attention. The five of us walked on over.
"Great game, boys!" Mrs. Atkins said cheerfully.
"Don't lie, Mom. I was awful out there." Noah sighed, dropping his bag to the ground.
"Yea you were!" Kyle laughed.
"No worse than you." Dave snickered. "You didn't get a hit and you gave up a run."
"Let's not get into it here." Mr. Atkins shook his head at the bickering. "All of you did just fine. Nothing to hang your head about. And you won." He looked at Dave. "Since you still have so much energy, you can help me get something from O'Conners."
My eye twitched as I recalled their talk in the car last night. This is their plan. Expectantly, I glanced to Mrs. Atkins, who had her eyes trained on Kyle.
Kyle was laughing at Dave's plight. "Too bad. Guess you're the real loser of the day."
"Looks like you still have energy too." Mrs. Atkins smiled at Kyle. "You can come with me to the grocery store."
"But Mom-"
"No buts." She then smirked. "Plus, I want to hear more about this girl that you want to go out with."
Kyle groaned.
"Zeke, take Noah and Jake home." Mr. Atkins instructed. "Make sure they shower. I'll bring some dinner home from Lucilles so the table better be cleared off."
"Got it." Zeke nodded in the affirmative, sending the four of them off with a wave.
Noah pouted, watching the twins walk away with their parents. "Why do I feel like we're being ditched like children?"
Because we are, I answered in my head. This was completely orchestrated last night on the ride home from dinner. I glanced to Noah, wanting to tell him about it, but Zeke was still nearby, waiting on us.