The Hitting Zone
chapter-574

"Sorry..." I told Noah. Somehow I felt guilty that I got some interest from coaches, but Noah didn't. It wasn't fair. Noah worked hard and was a great player overall.

Noah was taken aback. "What are you sorry for? For being a great hitter? Don't be!" He laughed, looking a little bit better. "Only you would feel sorry for doing well. It's a good thing that colleges are already interested in you! If you say sorry, then that actually makes me feel worse."

"Sorry." I said again.

Noah started to wag his finger at me. "Don't keep saying 'sorry' all the time. This is life. Sure, I'm upset, but it isn't your fault. Hitting isn't my strong suit, but it's what coaches look at first. I'll just work extra hard this summer to change that."

I nodded this time, not saying anything.

"Really, Jake, I'm not mad at you. In fact, I'm happy for you. Once you're officially adopted, we'll probably get tons of mail for you just like Zeke. It'd be even cooler if you got more than he did."

I gulped. College was a bit far in the future. I rather not think about leaving and being on my own. Maybe I could just follow Noah? Like how the twins are looking at colleges together. "Are you thinking about going to college first? Or go pro..?"

Noah grinned. "The dream is to get drafted right away. I can't just follow Zeke's footsteps, I have to make my own way to the pros."

The school bell rung. Lunch was over and it was time to get back to class. We packed our school bags and got up.

"What about you?" Noah asked. "Do you think you'll go to college or go pro?"

I shrugged, a little unwilling to tell him that I just wanted to follow him.

Noah smiled. "Don't worry about it then. We still got time. We'll get to go to Stanford again this summer and you'll see what a college is really about. We'll stay in the dorms and get to be on campus for the whole week. Pretty cool, right?"

I nodded. "I liked it there."

We parted ways for math. Sitting between the pink-haired twins, I felt like we got more looks. It could be because Dave was no longer ashamed of his hair and just owned it like he was actually happy with how it looked.

Kyle was a different story. He kept his hat on class, but luckily Mr. Petrus was a teacher that didn't mind the little things. After school, Kyle demanded that we stop by some kind of store to get the dye.

"I'll take everyone home first." Zeke said. "We shouldn't make them wait in the car when they could be studying for finals."

"Actually, Jeremy asked if Jake and I would be watching the game tonight." Noah said. "Guess who they're playing?!"

"Minnesota." Dave said, flicking Noah on the head. "We know. We check the scores and schedule too, dummy."

Noah rubbed his head. "Rude."

"See? They can just wait in the car." Kyle pointed out.

Zeke still refused. He took us all home. Noah and I went to the living room and did our homework in front of the tv, watching the pregame show, while Dave went upstairs to work on an essay. Kyle didn't leave the car, claiming that he couldn't trust Zeke to go alone.

"I'm also going to stop by The Cages to get the schedule." Zeke told us. "You guys don't cause any trouble while we're gone. You don't want our parents thinking you can't be trusted."

Noah nodded and waved him away. "We're fine here. We'll do our homework during commercials. Easy peasy."

He left, leaving us alone.

The first thing Noah did was sprint to the kitchen and then came back with a package of cookies. I started to laugh. Noah definitely can't be trusted.

"Hey!" He said, offended. "Do you want some or not?" He sat back down, placing the package between us.

I nodded and grabbed two. "Thanks." I turned to my homework and started with my math. Finals were coming and I was slightly worried. Not for myself, but for the twins. They copied my homework all the time in math so I was nervous that they might not do so well on the test. So I started to show all my work and write down every step for every problem. Hopefully it'll help the twins next week.

Noah occasionally asked me questions for his math homework, which I easily answered and then rewarded myself with a cookie for being so helpful. Noah just ate cookies freely without a worry.

"And we're back!" The analyst on the tv said cheerfully. "We have a special guest with us today, Jeremy Patterson, the kid himself."

Jeremy overtook the screen, sitting on a stool in the grass as batting practice was taking place for the Twins. He gave a small laugh at the announcement. "I don't know if I qualify as a kid, but thanks."

Noah and I both watched in silence, no longer paying attention to our homework.

The analyst laughed. "I'm sure to some of these men, you qualify as a kid. You're even younger than the average age of 24 for the MLB debut. You showed some crazy impressive numbers last year, and even took home the Rookie of the Year award."

Jeremy looked a little self conscious as he laughed and put his hands together. "It's called an average age for a reason. I'm definitely not the youngest to make his debut."

"Very true." The analyst agreed. "Speaking of young stars, the draft had started last night and completed the first two rounds. Do you have any advice for these young men following behind you?"

Jeremy grinned. "For the college grads, I can only congratulate them. Good work on getting that degree and working hard. You've made it."

"Interesting you would say that given that you skipped over college yourself." The man said. "Do you regret not going?"

"Of course not." Jeremy smiled. "I was a horrible student. Everyone has their different path to the MLB. I even personally know a draftee that will be going to college even after being a first round selection. I applaud those who can balance athletics and education. You keep doing you."

"Are you possibly talking about Zeke Atkins, the thirteenth pick for the Minnesota Twins? I know that he's from the Bay Area, but I'm surprised you know him personally. Can you shed some light for us on his decision? I don't know how he can shrug off a first round pick like this. I heard he didn't even check the Twins offer."

Jeremy laughed. "It's a bit complicated, but he's a brother of my brother." Noah poked me. "I can't claim to know him the best, but I've seen him practice and I've shared a meal a couple times at their house. I saw his interview this morning and knew that he wasn't going to change his mind. Zeke is a very serious kid."

"Wow. What a lost for the Twins. Are you going to be rubbing it in tonight?"

He grinned. "Every chance I get. Gotta do my part to throw them off their game."

The analyst laughed. "Just your presence alone is good enough for that. You've been on a quite a hot streak lately. Heard you have an early lead on the all-star voting?"

The conversation shifted back to Jeremy.