"You know Zeke?" I asked.
"Everyone knows Zeke." Andy cut in to tell me. "He's the best player to come from Watsonville ever. In any kind of sport. We talked about him all the time in middle school."
I held back a laugh. "Didn't you find it weird to play with him this summer then?"
Andy shook his head. "I was a little awestruck at first. But Zeke is very normal for being as good as he is."
I really let out a laugh. "You think he's normal?"
Andy nodded. "Yea. He's focused on training no matter what he's doing. Even if it's just softball."
"I still can't believe you played softball all summer, dude." Andre lightly punched Andy in the arm.
Andy pushed him away. "I didn't just play softball. I trained harder than you guys did with that club team."
"Ehh, we'll see." Andre was skeptical. "I know you said you trained with Jake, and your brother, and god knows who else. But can it really compare to playing on a team and practicing for the actual sport you play?" He looked at me. "Why didn't you play for the local club team?"
I thought about it. "Because I missed the tryout?" Which was true. Just not really the main reason I didn't play for the club team.
Jonah glanced back at us after hearing me. He was the only other sophomore in our group, and had played with the freshmen team in the spring. Once he made eye contact with me, he immediately looked away even faster than me.
Weird. I'm usually the most anxious person around.
The line moved a little faster with everyone knowing what to do for the drill. Korrey and Brett finished their turns and came to the back of the line. This time, neither of them tried to start a conversation with me.
I felt that Korrey was a little strange. Not exactly a bad person, but not really good either. I trust Andy and his opinion of Korrey setting me up. Plus, with how close he and Brett were...I'm not interested in being their friend.
With my second time up, Mr. Miller let me switch the baseball tee's around so I could practice from my left side. I completed it perfectly and went to the back of the line, feeling the stares.
"The bar for being on varsity feels incredibly high." Davin's stare made me feel unsettled.
"Jake isn't the minimum requirements though." Andy assured him. "Just remind yourself that Jake is the best freshman in the league and division." He lifted his brows. "But he could be the role model to follow if you want to be a pro."
They stared at me in awe.
I kicked the grass, feeling self-conscious. "I'm not there yet. No way. My fielding is subpar and my baseball sense is almost nonexistent. Batting is all I've got." I scratched my nose as I thought back to my showdown with those minor leaguers. "Even that isn't good enough yet."
Andre laughed. "Sounding like a real overachiever."
Overachiever? Me? I cracked a smile. I wouldn't say that about myself at all.
"It has to be amazing to be on the varsity team as a freshman." Davin sighed.
"It helped that he's part of the Atkins' family." A senior scoffed.
I nodded in agreement. It definitely helped. Zeke's training. Noah's encouragement. The twins competitiveness.
Andy lightly tapped my foot with his own and shook his head lightly. "Don't agree with that. You got to varsity with your own skill."
I shrugged. "He's not wrong. The Atkins family helped me a lot. Buy me equipment. Helped me train. Taught me the basics of baseball."
"You're too nice." Andy sighed softly.
The drill continued and changed as the group became more comfortable in their swings.
Mr. Miller had us circle up as he wrapped up the last of the exercises. "Okay boys, that's it for this morning. Make sure to eat a fulfilling lunch and drink plenty of water. Be sure to be back, and completely ready for scrimmages, at 1pm. If you didn't pack a lunch, you can go to the cafeteria and get one from there at no cost." He waved us away and walked with another assistant coach.
I started to head back to my baseball bag with Andy. I looked around to see other groups finishing up too, but couldn't spot Noah.
"What are you doing for lunch?" Andy asked me as we changed out of our cleats.
I shrugged. "Follow Noah and the twins. Will probably meet up with Zeke somewhere." I looked at him. "What about you? Want to join us?"
Andy shook his head. "No. I'll be going to the cafeteria with Rami. We already agreed beforehand."
"Oh. Okay." I nodded.
Rami came back soon after and also changed out of his cleats and packed up his bag. Him and Andy left to go get some lunch, leaving me alone with my and Noah's bags.
"Jake!" I spotted Alisha waving her arm from a distance before she came over. "How was your first practice session?"
"It was fine." I answered. "What did you do?"
"I followed Coach Wilcox around with a clipboard." She told me. "He was having me keep track of his comments on the new players and some returning players. He says he likes to keep notes so he can tell if anyone has had significant progress that may have gone unnoticed."
"Wow."
"Wow what?" Dave asked, carrying his bag over.
Kyle was right behind him, texting.
"Just telling Jake what Coach had me doing." Alisha said. She looked around. "Noah isn't back yet?"
"His group is coming from the track on the lower field." Kyle replied without looking up. "I heard from one of the coaches that a few groups focused on conditioning."
I made a face. "Will everyone have to do that?"
Dave laughed. "How can you be scared after spending the summer running with Zeke and Noah?"
I rolled my eyes. "Just because I'm better at it doesn't mean that I like it."
"I'm sure Coach will want all players to at least do it once. Even pitchers." Dave explained. "It'll be worse when the fall semester starts. We ran at least twice a week. Either long distance or sprints."
"I'm here!" Noah hollered as he came running up the hill, gasping for air. He didn't slow up until he got to his bag. He picked it up, without needing to change his shoes. He looked at Alisha. "Hey, how was your first day of baseball?"
"Good." A tinge if pink spread across her cheeks.
Noah didn't notice. He looked at me. "You okay? No one caused you any trouble with you, right?"
Meh. "It was fine. Andy was in my group so I had someone to talk to."
"Let's head to the car." Kyle took the lead, still looking at his phone. "Zeke said he would treat us to tacos."
Noah looked to Alisha. "You good with tacos?"
She was surprised. "I can come too?"
Noah nodded. "Of course. C'mon. There's plenty of space in the car."
"Not too much space." Kyle said. "I told Marie, her and Kaylee can ride with us to lunch so it'll be a tight fit."