After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms with their bags. Some wanted to nap, rest, stretch, wash up, or just relax. We have been working out and playing baseball more than normal. Our bodies were stiff and worn out. I couldn't imagine how I would feel by the end of the week.
After putting our bags down in our room, Noah looked at me with an ear-to-ear grin. His excitement automatically made me nervous.
"Let's get some ice cream from the bookstore!" He exclaimed. He found his wallet and put it into his back pocket of his baseball pants. "C'mon, we'll have plenty of time before our next practice."
"Okay..." I agreed. "As long as Zeke doesn't catch us."
We left the room and headed downstairs. In the common area, there was a tv playing a movie and a few guys playing on the ping pong table.
"We should try out ping pong tomorrow." Noah decided on his own.
"But I've never played before." I told him.
He rolled his eyes. "It's for fun. You don't have to be good at it."
I scoffed. I bet Noah will try to win every game even if it's just for fun.
We made our way to the bookstore that we had been to during Zeke's visit a few months back. It was rather dead besides a student or two, but that was a good thing for us. We each picked out an ice cream, Noah paid, then we headed back outside.
Noah got his ice cream opened first and tossed the wrapper in a nearby trash can. "This is the life. Baseball all day. I can't wait to graduate."
"Do you think college is like this?" I asked, putting my trash in the trash can too.
"No way!" Noah shook his head. "You still have classes in college. You would have to worry about homework, quizzes, tests, and all that other school stuff. That's why I want to go pro immediately. Give me nothing but days of baseball."
"I don't think Mom would like that very much." I told him.
Noah laughed. "Well, she already convinced Zeke to try the college route. And it looks like the twins are thinking college too. Somebody has to ge different so why not me?" He looked at me. "What do you think?"
I shrugged. "I'm not sure."
Noah didn't push me. He just nodded. "Yea...graduation is a bit far from now. Three more years." He sighed. "Only one more year left playing with the twins. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the beginning of this season and soak it all up again."
"I'm happy that I got to join you guys." I told him. It was the first and probably only time Noah would get to play on the same team with his three big brothers. I was lucky to join them this year.
"Do you ever think about playing with Jeremy?" Noah asked.
I shook my head. "Not at all." Hasn't even crossed my mind.
Noah looked at me for a second longer than normal, then turned his attention to his ice cream. We finished our snack in a minute, then chose to spend some more time exploring the campus. We had been here before in the spring, but it looked just as pretty in the summer.
For the evening, we split up. Noah found his teammates to head to practice with, while Rhys picked me up in front of the dormitory.
Our game was at the practice field tonight so it didn't have the same energy as last night. It actually felt laidback as we gathered in the dugout.
The group of pitchers had their bags outside the dugout, ready to head to the bullpen.
"Hey, Jake!"
"Jake, come here for a second!"
"Jake!"
The pitchers called out for me.
I glanced up at Rhys, unsure of what was happening.
Rhys nodded towards them. "Go. I'm going to go speak with Coach Nate for a minute. You'll be fine with them, right?"
I shrugged. "I guess so." The ones from this afternoon were nice. After setting my bag down, I went over to the group, all on my own. "What's up?" I shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable with all their eyes on me.
"I was telling the guys how you only played one season of baseball." Nic explained. "None of them believe me!"
I scratched my cheek. "Well...it's true."
"Crazy!" Some of them yelled out.
"I believe it." Someone laughed. "No other batter would look so bad at baserunning besides one without any experience."
They laughed as I pouted.
"I went on a long run yesterday." I complained.
"Me too! I was there too!" One of the guys jumped up. He pointed at me. "I really thought Zeke was trying to kill us on the run. And there was that one kid that was following him so closely on the way to that park. A bunch of crazies."
I cracked a smile. "Noah Atkins. He's another baseball freak."
The guys laughed and talked about their own hellish experiences during this camp so far. After awhile, Coach Nate instructed us to warm up. I ran and stretched near the pitchers, feeling more welcomed with them with the others. But when it came time to start throwing, the pitchers had to leave me behind.
"Ready..?" Kenny surprised me by remembering that he said he would warm up with me.
I sighed with relief and gave him a smile. "Yea. Thanks."
He grabbed a baseball and headed to the far side. We started to throw back and forth. It was nice to feel included, and I was feeling thankful for the pitchers and Kenny. They took my mind off those who complained about my playing time.
However, I was quickly reminded that my presence wasn't exactly welcomed when Coach Nate announced the starting lineup. I was set to start at second base again, but this time batting second after Kenny.
Coach Nate looked me in the eyes. "Hit as you please. Make sure to pay attention to your fielding."
I nodded, trying to ignore the looks from the other guys.
When I was fielding or hitting, I didn't feel excluded, but sitting in the dugout alone was a little familiar. I was on my own. At least, until, I wasn't.
Kenny came over to sit with me. "Hey, can I sit here?"
I looked down the dugout at the other guys. "Are you sure?" I didn't want him to be excluded like me.
Kenny nodded and slouched, stretching out his long legs. "Yea." He paused for a second, before lowering his voice. "Don't mind them. They're just jealous and bitter."
I grimaced. Yea, I could feel it.
"It's not like you'll see them again." Kenny reminded me.
I nodded. Then glanced up at him. "Thanks."
He nodded. I kind of thought he was more like me, shy and awkward. Okay...he kind of is. But he also gave me the feeling that he wasn't someone who can be pushed around. He reminded me of Noah: good and upright.
The game went well with our team winning by a landslide. Kenny was good about getting on base, while I tried my hardest to send him home. I went 3-4 at the plate, getting my first out; a fly out at the warning track.
Rhys was about to walk me back to the dorms, but I waved him off, motioning to Kenny. "It's okay. I'll go back with him."
Rhys gave me a pat on the head. "See you tomorrow, kid."
I nodded and left with Kenny. We made small talk up until the third floor of the dorms. My room came up first and I stopped at the door.
Kenny stared at my door, looking at the room number. He then grinned down at me. "I knew I had a good feeling about you!" He waved and left.
??
I watched him go down the hall, not understanding what he meant. I glanced at the room number, but didn't see anything special.
Inside the room, Noah was laying on the floor with his feet on the wall. "Hey, Jake!"
I smiled. "Hey, how was practice?"
Noah slapped his thighs. "Brutal. We did sprints for most of the night. I'm so glad that tomorrow I have two games. I want to play play."
I laughed. Noah would play games all day if he could. I put my bag down and sat on my bed for a minute, pulling out my phone.
I had a few texts from Mom and Dad, but nobody else. I tapped on my phone, moving to the baseball app that Noah had downloaded for me.
"Whatcha doing?" Noah asked from the floor.
"Looking to see what Jeremy did today." I mumbled.
"Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero." Noah told me. He sighed. "It was another brutal game for him. 0-4 with three strikeouts." I put my phone down as he went on. "His batting average has dropped so much this last week. Luckily the A's are still winning without his contributions. Otherwise I would call him myself to see what the heck is going on."
"I'm going to call him tomorrow morning." I told Noah.
Noah flipped around and sat up. "Really? Can I listen in?"
I nodded. "I'll probably do it before breakfast."