By dinner time, Zeke had an answer from everyone on the team: hell yes, they'll show up early. He gave me a list of players and parents and told me to take a picture and send it to Jeremy. I complied and sent it. This time I knew there wouldn't be a reply, because we were watching him play on the tv.
"I'm happy to hear that he'll be looking out for you boys." Mr. Atkins told us at dinner when he knew that Jeremy had texted me back during school. "It's a long drive even without traffic. Make sure all your phones are charged."
"I'll have to prepare some snacks tomorrow night." Mrs. Atkins smiled at all of us. "Any special requests?"
"We probably won't have 'all-you-can-eat' seats again so dedicate a whole bag of cookies." Noah suggested.
"Can we have money for hot dogs and drinks though?" Kyle asked.
"Peanuts too?" Dave wanted to know.
Mrs. Atkins nodded. "Yes, we'll be giving Zeke money on his debit card to cover one soda, one hotdog, and one bag of peanuts per a person. Anything else you boys want, you'll have to buy on your own." She looked at Noah. "I'll bake the cookies, but I'm putting Zeke in charge. You can only have them after your dinner."
Noah gave Zeke a look out of the corner of his eye. "Just do you know, you're almost a college athlete so you shouldn't eat too much sugar."
Zeke rolled his eyes. Noah was abnormally defensive when it came to sweets.
Wednesday morning, Noah packed some more release forms with determination in his eyes. As we walked to our class, he stopped a few kids that he knew and asked them their summer plans. A lot of them were going on vacation and the conversation died there. Others, who didn't have plans, quickly refused to play in an adult softball league saying that's not how they wanted to spend their summer.
Noah didn't give up though. He approached everyone with the same kind of excitement that you would expect when making summer plans. In class with Alisha, he gave her a release form and explained that her parents needed to fill it out and sign it. And that he needed it back by Friday.
"..." She smiled wryly. "You guys are really struggling, huh? I don't even own a glove. Or a bat. Or cleats."
"Don't worry about all that!" Noah told her. "You can just wear running shoes and borrow the gear we have on hand. There's nothing wrong with sharing. Come on! It'll be fun!"
She glanced at me. "Didn't I tell you I would be a 'honorary member'? Why is Noah thinking that I'll actually be playing?"
I shuffled my feet, avoiding eye contact. "We don't have enough players..."
She sighed. "Okay. I understand." She accepted the release form. "I'll give it back to you guys tomorrow. What's your mom's phone number in case my mom wants to talk to her?"
Noah gave her the number and she wrote it down. "Thanks! It's going to be fun, I promise!"
She smiled. "When it comes to you Noah, everything is fun."
We went our separate ways for lunch, with Noah and I heading to our usual table and Alisha going off alone. Before we reached our table, a familiar figure could be seen, sitting there, looking impatient.
"Kaylee!" Noah greeted her first, speeding up to reach the table.
Kaylee looked up at us and frowned. "You guys are late."
Noah wasn't bothered by her attitude. He sat down and pulled out a release form. "We were recruiting! This is the release form that your parents have to fill out and sign. Games will be every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Are you any good at pitching?"
Kaylee's frown only became more prominent the more Noah spoke. I quietly sat down beside Noah and pulled out my lunch.
"I didn't say I would play. Yet." Kaylee looked down at the release form without touching it. "And no, I don't pitch. You guys don't even have a pitcher?"
I stared at my sandwich.
"Well, maybe Mr. Miller knows how." Noah said. "He said he has played before."
"Wait. You got Mr. Miller to join you?" Kaylee asked.
"Yep! So far now, it's me, Jake, Zeke, Julian, his younger brother, Mr. Miller, Alisha, and you." Noah grinned.
"Stop including me without my permission!" She raised her voice.
"But I thought you were here to agree...otherwise wouldn't you just ignore us again?" Noah asked, surprisingly calm.
Kaylee's eyes narrowed. "Depends on if you can agree to my conditions."
"What are the conditions?" Noah raised an eyebrow.
"I want a picture of Kyle's summer schedule. When and where he'll be."
Noah nodded with ease. "I can do that. He already wrote it all out. I can take a picture tonight."
"I also want to be invited over whenever Kyle is home. At least once a week."
Noah scratched his cheek. "You'll have to compromise on this. Dave and Kyle have a very packed summer schedule. Going one place to the next. Colleges and camps. I can promise to invite you over when it's convenient and he's present."
She nodded. "Acceptable."
"Your sister still really likes Kyle?" Noah asked.
Kaylee sighed. "She...yea, she still likes him. He dumped her out of nowhere. She's mad, but she still cares. It's so dumb, isn't it?"
Noah shrugged. "We thought it was out of nowhere too. He didn't tell anyone what he was going to do until it was done. Dave thought he was giving up on baseball, but he pulled a complete reversal."
"Thanks, I'm going to tell Marie that." She looked a little better.
"Sure." Noah pushed the form closer to her. "So..?"
"How much does this cost..?" She tapped the table.
"Free! Mom and Dad said they would cover the team fee!" Noah smiled. "We just need the players. Oh, and I guess I'll have to get some softballs and a bat for softball that we can share."
"Give me another." She double tapped the form. "If it's free, then I know someone that might also be interested. She's a sophomore on the JV team. More importantly, she can pitch."
Noah didn't need to be told twice. He pulled out another form from his backpack and gave it to Kaylee. "Let me know if you need more! The minimum roster is ten players and we have to have it in by Sunday."
Kaylee looked helpless. "Most girls have camps to go to. Or play on a summer team. We're not that much different than baseball players."
"You don't have any camps to go to?" I asked, speaking up for the first time.
Kaylee shook her head, but didn't say anything. She got up. "I'll text you later, Noah. See you guys." She waved and left.
Noah finally pulled out his lunch and started to stuff his face in a hurry. There were only a few minutes left of lunch so he didn't have a choice.
"Who else can we ask..?" Noah mumbled with his mouth full. "If Kaylee can get her friend to join, that would be nine. Just one more."
"Why don't you ask Mr. Miller?" I suggested. "If he has played before, then wouldn't he know some other people that play?"
"Good idea!" Noah whipped out his phone and started to type furiously. He must be in a hurry to send the text before it's actual class time to avoid getting in trouble with Mr. Miller again. Noah supposedly owed him laps, but I don't know how, or if, it'll be enforced. It makes sense not to make it worse.