The Hitting Zone
chapter-291

We ate our breakfast slowly as Mr. Atkins hurried through his. He was in a rush for an 8am showing, yet still wanted to scold us so early in the morning. I felt guilty, Noah looked depressed, but the twins looked a little defiant and no longer apologetic.

"I'll be back with dinner." Mr. Atkins had taken his dishes to the sink and was getting his coat on. He grabbed his briefcase. "I will call your mom in just a few hours to explain what you boys did last night. When she calls you, you better pick up on the first ring and not a millisecond later. Understand?"

"Yes." Noah mumbled.

"Sure." The twins said simultaneously.

Mr. Atkins looked like he wanted to say more to them, but he held back, shook his head, then left out the front door.

"This is messed up." Dave clenched his fork, stabbing his scrambled eggs with aggression. "We just hung out with friends. It's not like we were drinking, speeding, or vandalizing property. I feel like we deserve some respect and recognition."

"For breaking the house rules?" Noah questioned, skeptical. "Be real. We're lucky he didn't whoop us to high heaven and bury us in the backyard. The disappointment was practically oozing out of him."

I nodded in agreement. "My Mom would- well I don't know what she would do since I wouldn't dare step out so late." I looked down at my plate, and pushed some food around. "Somehow his disappointment hurts more than my moms fists. Bruises can heal, but isn't it difficult to earn someone's trust back?"

The table got quiet. The four of us just slowly munched on the rest of the food.

"Just because we're in the wrong, doesn't mean he's in the right." Kyle muttered. "Dad is treating us like kids. Little kids. Middle schoolers have more freedom." He let out a sigh. "How can I ask Marie out on a date now? Take Mom or Dad with me? Wait till summer break begins? Or just forget about it?"

"I'm pretty sure Marie will kill you if you forget about it." Noah replied with a grin. "Heck, if you don't text her this morning, she might just come over herself to choke you."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Don't even joke. I really don't know what to do."

"All we can do, for right now, is hang around." Noah shrugged. "Mom might call before lunch. That's when we'll know how bad it really is."

The twins nodded in agreement.

"We should super clean the house today." Kyle suggested, making us cringe. "Don't be like that you guys. Just hear me out. Dad said to clean just because we're on our own and grounded. I'm sure if he comes back to see us go above and beyond, he'll be amazed and maybe a little more forgiving."

"Will he start trusting us again?" I asked.

"Ehh, it won't be that fast. We'll just have to be super good this week." Kyle said. "Today, we divide and conquer. I'll do the kitchen: dishes, sweeping, mopping, and the such. Dave, you'll do the living room and stairs. Vacuum and dust down everything. Noah and Jake, you two will do the yard."

I looked over to Noah to see what he would say. I've never done yard work before.

Noah frowned. "But it's still cold out." He glanced towards me. "Yard work is the same as hard work. We'll have to rake the leaves, pick the weeds, and mow."

"It's not that cold today. Plus, you only have to do the front yard. That's what Dad will see first when he gets home. Just think of it as muscle building."

Noah let out a sigh. "Okay. I guess that's better than being trapped in the kitchen."

We finished breakfast and got started on the chores that Kyle distributed. We worked out in the front yard all morning, starting with pulling out the weeds, raking them up with the leaves to put them in the waste bin, then I watched Noah mow the grass. I didn't volunteer to help with that last part; Mostly because I didn't know how to work it, but also because it looked heavy to push and pull.

The chore kept us out of the house for the majority of the morning; only after a few hours did we go back in.

"Did Mom call yet?" Noah asked Dave, who was scrubbing down the banister.

Dave took a break. "No. She sent a text though." He sighed. "She doesn't even want to speak with us. At least, not yet. She said 'just wait until I get back home on Friday.'"

Noah let out a sigh too. "That's not good, but I also feel relieved. I'm not ready for her to be mad. Maybe we can soften up Dad this week, and he'll help us convince her that we already admitted our mistake."

"Don't hold your breath." Dave said. "Best case scenario, is that she's already busy with Zeke's trip. Worst case scenario, she's so mad that she's giving us the silent treatment."

Noah let out another sigh. "I hope it's the former." He looked at me. "Sorry we got you in trouble too Jake."

Trouble? "I do feel uneasy letting them down, but to me, this isn't any trouble." Trouble is fighting for your life against your own flesh and blood.

Noah looked even more upset, yet was able to squeeze out a tight smile. "Okay. Why don't we go watch some baseball? Preseason already started so there must be something on already." He led the way back to the living room and we settled in on the couch. "Or we can watch some how-to videos on playing second base?"

"Is there something on how to cover first base if the first baseman is fielding the grounder?" I asked.

Noah started a search on the web. "I'm sure we can find something. There's nothing in baseball that hasn't been talked about." He got to work, pulling up clips for us to go through so I could learn. It didn't stop there either. Anything that was pertaining to second base was watched and analyzed. I even recognized some of the videos of ones I've seen before, when I first joined the team. They made even more sense after I gained just a few games worth of experience. Not bad for being grounded for the first time. In fact, I felt productive.