The bus ride back to school was filled with happiness and excitement. We defeated another good team in a close battle.
"Settle down." Coach commanded as we got closer to our school. He was standing up as the bus moved and gripped a seat to keep his balance. "It was a good win today, boys."
The team got a little rowdy again. But with a glare from Coach, the team zipped it.
"I shouldn't have to tell you that the season is coming to the end. Only six games left and four are league. Most importantly, two are against Servite. We face them on Thursday." Coach continued.
I reflected on the game I saw with Zeke and Noah. Golden West at Servite.
"I definitely shouldn't have to tell you that we can't afford another loss." Coach went on. "Our record is second to Golden West. They beat Servite just a few days ago. So not only do we have to win the rest of our games, but we should also beat Golden West with multiple runs. We have to be sure that if we end up with tied records, we'll beat them in run differential."
I was slightly confused, but I got the gist of it. Win. That's all he's demanding from us. No more losses and there won't be any problems.
"Garret, we won't be using you on the mound." Coach announced, drawing some protest from the team. "Listen. Garret is a lefty. Alex Sanchez is also a lefty. Sanchez has completed the mandated rest days for pitchers so there's a good chance he'll be used against us." He looked directly at Garret. "I would like you to throw batting practice this week. Two days. That's all we have to get accustomed to a fast left-handed pitcher."
Garret looked a little reluctant, but he conceded. "Okay, but it's not like I throw exactly like him. I throw a cutter as a specialty, but he has a curve."
"And a slider." Zeke added. He looked at Garret. "You don't have to try hard to throw those pitches. Just show it a few times so we batter's know what to expect."
"Okay, I can show it. Just not as proficient as his." Garret nodded. Then his eyes narrowed. "Who's going to pitch on Thursday then?"
"Me!" Kyle jumped up.
"Sit down!" Coach hollered.
Kyle immediately sat down.
Coach shook his head is exasperation. "How are you going to be pitching if you get hurt when standing in a moving bus." But you're standing, Coach...
Kyle grinned, focused on what he was saying. "So I'm pitching?"
"You'll get the start." Coach nodded, but then took a look around. "That doesn't mean the rest of you have the day off. Be ready to go, no matter what."
"Kelvin!" Dave called out. "What was my pitch count today? Can I play on Thursday??"
"You twat." Kyle tried to push Dave off their seat.
"Sorry, Dave." I heard Kelvin say. "You finished with 77 pitches today. Just enough to require a three day rest. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. You can't pitch against Servite on Thursday."
"Ah, man." Dave groaned and slouched in his seat.
"Ok, enough fooling around." Coach commanded. "Tomorrow, after class, we'll start the preparation for facing Servite. You'll get in groups of four to face Garret. All pitchers will be working in the pen for the next two days." He glanced out the window. "Looks like we're back. Go home, do your homework and get some rest."
The bus pulled into our school parking lot and let us out near the field. I followed the Atkins to the car and we loaded it up. Zeke, surprisingly, wasn't trying to make us walk home even though the twins had given him a hard time for his birthday.
Noah explained why as we sat in the very backseat. "It's because we're going out for dinner. It's his birthday so Mom and Dad will let him pick his favorite restaurant. There wouldn't be enough time if we were forced to walk home."
Sure enough, as soon as we got home, Mrs. Atkins rushed all of us to take showers and put on something nice that didn't involve athletic wear. I grabbed jeans and a polo shirt before going to the bathroom.
The other boys had the same idea with jeans and some kind of button up top.
Once all of us were ready, we piled into the car and went to some fancy restaurant that passed out cloth napkins. The twins used this opportunity to order steak, but Mrs. Atkins was quick to make sure they also ordered a side of vegetables. When I ordered a bowl of soup, she did the same for me, except I was ordered to get a baked potato too.
"You have to keep the calorie count up." Mrs. Atkins told me as the waitress left our table. "You've grown so much these past two months, but you're still lacking behind."
I scratched my cheek, feeling a little shy at her concern.
"Yea, Jake. If you grow taller, I'm sure you can hit even more homeruns than Zeke." Noah told me happily as he munched on a breadstick.
I glanced towards Zeke. I coughed. "Uh, I don't know...Zeke is way taller than me. I don't think I can grow that much even over a course of a few years."
"Such a pessimist." Noah rolled his eyes. "I'm serious here. You have a good eye and a good swing. You're not even using an aluminum bat which would help your power problem."
I gulped.
"I'm going to the restroom." Zeke stood up. "Noah."
"What?" Noah asked.
Zeke tilted his head.
Noah sighed and stood up. "Guess I'll go too."
That's weird, I thought to myself as they both left the table.
"Jake." Dave whispered, leaning towards me. "Here. Take this."
I held out my hand so Dave could hand me something. I looked down. Then immediately looked up at him. "We're doing this again??" I was handed a party popper.
"Yea, of course!" Dave nodded like it was a given. "After dinner, they'll bring out ice cream and sing 'happy birthday' to Zeke. As soon as they finish, we'll catch him off guard."
Feeling unsure, I looked to Mr. and Mrs. Atkins. "Is this really okay? What if we get in trouble? This is a pretty nice place to eat."
Dave waved away my worries. "It's fine. Dad will be recording the whole thing!"
Oh. So he's in on it?
"Quick, put it away. Zeke and Noah are already back." Dave sat up straight and broke out into a random conversation with Kyle.
I stuffed the party popper in my pocket before the two of them came back.
With a full table, it reminded me of being at their house, just in a fancier setting. It didn't stop the twins from bickering or Noah's bragging. Mr. Atkins would scold them accordingly, but overall, dinner was still harmonious. My mother and I never sat down and celebrated my birthday, let alone eat out together like this.
After the food came out, it calmed down until everyone finished eating. Then it came time for dessert.
Mr. Atkins had us get up and surround Zeke as he stayed seated. Mrs. Atkins joined in as well as Mr. Atkins started to record using his phone. A couple of servers brought out the ice cream and laid out one with a candle right in front of Zeke. Then we sang.
Zeke smiled and even laughed as the twins fought to be the loudest. Mrs. Atkins looked extremely embarrassed as the whole restaurant was looking our way. I was fidgeting with the attention, but being surrounded by the Atkins helped.
As we got towards the end, Dave nudged me with his elbow. I stealthily pulled out the party popper that I was given earlier.
Right at the end, with Dave's signal, me and the twins lifted the poppers and pulled them. A loud bang followed by the fall of streamers made Mrs. Atkins jump back in surprise. Even Noah flinched.
Noah looked at me and I looked at him. We were both equally stunned.
"What just happened?" He asked.
"You didn't get one?" I slowly lifted my broken popper.
Noah started to laugh, joining the twins who were congratulating Zeke on breaking his own homerun record on his birthday.
"David and Kyle." Mrs. Atkins pulled an arm of each boy. "What were you two thinking?? We're in public! Can't you two behave yourself?"
"Jake did it too, Mom." Dave sold me out.
The broken popper in my hand felt like a twenty-pound brick.
"You probably tricked him into it!" Noah defended me.
"Hey, hey. Equal treatment." Kyle smirked. "You do the crime, you do the time."
"I'm glad you know that." Mr. Atkins walked over. "Because you two are in so much trouble."
Dave put his arm around my shoulders, pushing me forward. "Start with Jake."
Mr. Atkins looked down at me, making me feel small. It's always hard to remember that he's taller than Zeke. It's like facing off with a statue. "No cages this weekend." He looked to the twins. "You both are grounded and no tv for one week."
"What!"
"That's not fair."
"Why doesn't Jake lose his tv privileges?"
I shifted my weight back and forth, feeling guilty. Guilty for not being punished the same amount as the twins. It made me feel excluded like I wasn't on their level.
"Because you two are older and know better." Mr. Atkins said. "Plus you contributed to the delinquency of a minor. You're teaching Jake bad habits."
"Dad, it's not that serious." Dave scoffed.
"And it was pretty funny." Kyle added.
"Rules are rules." Mr. Atkins shook his head. "Now sit down and eat before the ice cream melts." He glanced at Zeke. "Why can't you boys be more like Zeke?"
Zeke wasn't paying any attention to us and was solely focused on eating his ice cream.
Everyone went back to their seats and started to eat.
"Who would want to be a robot?" Dave muttered.
Kyle looked to his dad. "Can I see the video? I want to know if Zeke even flinched."
"Same!" Noah nodded, stuffing his mouth with a scoop of ice cream.