The Hitting Zone
chapter-283

We arrived back at school and started to unload the bus. Mr. Atkins, who had been at the game, arrived in the parking lot near the same time, and stood outside his car, waiting for us, I suppose. We ambled over with the twins in the lead.

"Is Zeke not done yet?" Dave frowned, glancing over to the car Zeke drove us in.

"Nope." Mr. Atkins shook his head. "He's still in the library, testing."

"Ughhh, but I'm hungry." Kyle groaned as he held his stomach.

Noah rolled his eyes. "You didn't even play." He pouted at his dad. "But I did! I played super well too so it should be my turn to pick right?"

Mr. Atkins laughed. "Yea, that sounds about right." He moved around the car to open up the trunk. "Let's load up and go eat. Your mom and Zeke can eat on their own when he finishes."

"Shouldn't Jake be the one to pick lunch?" Kyle asked. "He got one more hit than you did today."

Noah shook his head. "No way. Jake is just like Zeke. If we went by those stats, then we would never get to pick a meal again." He said dramatically.

But it worked on the twins. Dave nodded in agreement right away. "He knows what he's talking about. I don't want to live in such an unjust world."

"Okay, okay. Simmer down the dramatics. How about Noah and Jake come up with an idea together?" Mr. Atkins suggested.

Noah looked at me after getting his bag in the trunk. "What do you think?"

I shrugged. "I'm okay with whatever."

Noah grinned and immediately turned to his dad. "Olive Garden. Let's load up on carbs!"

His dad frowned a little. "I don't know...it'll be kind of expensive for just a lunch."

"Come on, Dad." Noah coaxed. "Jake needs to eat a lot more calories right? This will be fulfilling and they have a promotion going! Buy one, take one home! It can be dinner too!"

Mr. Atkins brightened up at the last comment. "Oh! That'll be great! I won't have to worry about feeding you boys dinner tonight then."

"Mom and Zeke are leaving that soon?" Dave asked. "I thought they would wait until tomorrow at least."

"No time to waste. Besides, we don't have to pay for Zeke's flight since it's an official visit." His dad explained. "I'll take them to the airport this evening and won't return until the middle of the night. I'm glad I won't have to worry about ordering you all food or cooking before we go. You know your mom will be busy packing."

"Middle of the night?" Kyle questioned. "What airport are they flying out of?"

"San Francisco. That way it'll be a direct flight to Los Angeles." He headed to the drivers door. "Finish loading up and let's go. We won't have much time if you guys dawdle."

We quickly put all the bags in the back, closed the trunk, and piled in. The twins immediately pulled out their cell phones and started to text as their dad drove us to lunch.

"So we're on our own tonight?" Dave asked aloud as he continued to look at his phone.

"Only for a few hours. Maybe three or four depending on traffic." Mr. Atkins checked his rear view mirror to look at us. "I don't have to call a babysitter or chaperone do I?"

Kyle snorted. "Dad. We're not ten anymore. We can handle being alone for a couple of hours."

Mr. Atkins rolled his eyes. "Could have fooled me. I don't want any of you fighting while we're away. If you do, then you won't be considered reliable for the near future."

"Sure, sure." Dave mumbled, eyes still glued to his phone.

"Don't worry, Dad." Noah comforted. "I'll keep an eye on them. If they even bicker for a second, I'll call you."

Mr. Atkins sighed. "Alright."

He drove us to the restaurant, where we loaded up on pasta. I ate mounds of lasagna, and made sure to order more for my take one home meal. Only after everyone had finished and received their to-go orders, did we head back home.

Zeke and Mrs. Atkins were both running here, there, up and down the stairs, trying to gather anything and everything they might need. Zeke already had his baseball bag packed and waiting by the door, showing off his priorities.

We placed our food in the fridge to heat up later and watched from the living room. Someone turned on the tv to watch the mlb preseason games, but everyone seemed to be more focused on the brother that was leaving.

"He didn't even ask how the game went. Or if we won." Noah grumbled from beside me, arms across his chest.

"He's busy planning for his future. Duh." Kyle scoffed. "Why care about some non league game that has no standing on your future? He's got better things to do."

Dave's phone beeped with a text tone, showing one unread message. He quickly picked it up and read the message in seconds before breaking out in a smile.

"We have better things to do, too."