The Hitting Zone
chapter-584

Not much more was said about the Captain situation. Instead, we talked about weekend plans now that school was out.

Noah rubbed his bulging stomach as we got back in the car. "I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow. No school, no workouts, no plans."

"Who said that you get to sleep in tomorrow?" Zeke asked.

Noah paused, holding his belly. "..."

"Better go to bed early, kid." Dave laughed.

"I thought it would be good if all of us went on a jog together." Zeke said, glancing back at Dave before focusing on the road. "We should run every morning we can."

"..." The whole car was silent.

"We don't leave soon enough!" Dave cried dramatically.

"Is this happening all summer??" Noah asked. "What about our summer class?"

"Sunrise is at 5:45am in the summer. We can hit the pavement at 6 and be back in time for you to shower before class." Zeke said.

"Is it too late to regret staying home for the summer?" Noah despaired.

I was also in mourning.

"The price you gotta pay." Kyle laughed. "At least you guys will be in great shape."

"I don't remember signing up for the cross country team." Noah complained. "You can't force me to go running every day. It was bad enough on the weekends."

"No running equals no cages." Zeke said. "Also means I won't be buying any extra sweets when Mom and Dad have to leave. I can't trust you to burn off the calories."

"Fine! Fine!" Noah shouted. "Running it is."

We arrived at the house and took our bags inside. Dave and Kyle changed into workout clothes and went to the backyard to practice some pitching. Zeke also changed, but went to the garage to lift some weights. Noah and I took the lazy option: watching baseball on tv.

After an hour or so, my phone started to ring. Jeremy. I answered, "Hello?" Noah looked over at me curiously. I mouthed his name and he nodded in understanding.

"Hey, Jake. Congrats on your last day of school." Jeremy said. There was some background noise making him speak up a little louder.

I cleared my throat. "Thanks."

"Are you guys going to celebrate? Zeke's graduating, right?" He asked.

"Zeke treated us to some ice cream after school." I told him. "I'm sure their parents will do something tonight or tomorrow or something. Tomorrow night is his graduation day."

"And Friday you and Noah will go to a party?" He remembered..?

I nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see me. "Uh, yea. Alisha's. A classmate and she plays softball with us."

"Softball is Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings." He said softly. "Well, how about you and the Atkins come to Saturday night's game? It might be a little tight depending on how long your softball game, but it's Saturday night fireworks."

"I'll have to ask." I answered.

"Sounds like fun!" Noah yelled, obviously abled to hear what Jeremy said.

Jeremy laughed. "Noah was easy to convince."

"They like the A's." I said helplessly.

"Shouldn't he be getting ready for tonight's game?" Noah asked, getting closer so he could hear.

I switched it to speaker. "Yea..?"

Jeremy sighed. "I'm in the clubhouse getting a massage so I thought I had the time to call. School is out so that's a little special too."

"A massage?" Noah questioned. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

I became a statue, frozen. "You're hurt..?"

Jeremy chuckled. "Don't sound so worried. It's normal fatigue. The long road trip was hard on the body. Tomorrow we have an off day so I'll be ready by the weekend."

"Thank goodness." Noah relaxed into the couch.

"You're off tomorrow?" I asked. "What are you going to do?" I've had a look at the MLB schedule, and sometimes they go weeks without an off day. I wonder how Jeremy is going to spend it.

Jeremy started to cough. He said something to someone nearby and then in a low voice he told us. "I'm going to spend the day with Rose."

"And introduce her to your family?" Noah asked, interested.

"Yes. At dinner." He spoke in a low voice again. "Okay, I've got to go. Later." He hung up.

I looked at my phone, confused.

"He's probably embarrassed." Noah told me. "Don't mind it. I bet he was whispering because the team doesn't really know. So secretive."

I shrugged.

We watched some of the game before Mrs. and Mr. Atkins came home. They told us we would be going out for dinner so we had to change into nicer clothes. The other boys had to shower too so we got to watch a little longer. It was rough. Jeremy didn't do well, and already had two strikeouts by the time we left the house, plus the A's were losing. Noah was frowning hardcore.

At the restaurant, Noah told the table about Jeremy's suggestion to come to Saturday's game. Like before, Mr. and Mrs. Atkins explained that they had a lot of work on the weekends. That's when they held open houses and met with clients. It wasn't easy on them, but they said we could all go together.

"Summer..." Dave grinned. "This is how it starts."

"Technically, Jake and I will start with a party." Noah grinned.

Dave rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's a kid party, only freshmen. We'll just do something with Zeke without you."

"We're no longer freshmen." I pointed out.

"And I'll also be gone on Friday." Zeke said.

"What?!" Dave and Kyle said simultaneously.

Zeke wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It's grad nite. I'll be with all the other seniors for a farewell party on the beach."

"Does that mean Mom has to pick me and Jake up?" Noah asked.

"I'll probably send one of the twins since they don't have any plans." Mrs. Atkins laughed.

Dave looked offended. "What plans do you have Mom??"

Mrs. Atkins raised an eyebrow. "If you must know, your grandparents are coming in town tomorrow for the graduation ceremony. They fly back Friday afternoon so your father and I will stay in the city for a dinner with some old friends."

"This is messed up." Kyle claimed. "Why does everyone suddenly have plans?" He looked at me. "Do you really want to go to a party, Jake? Why don't you stay home with us instead?"

I held back a laugh at his pleading. "Alisha is nice. It's also her birthday celebration."

"Yea!" Noah agreed. "And it's good for Jake to get out more. Don't hold him back because you guys don't have friends."

"We'll hold a party of our own!" Dave declared.

"No." Mr. Atkins said flatly.

"What? Why not?" Dave was crestfallen after being denied so ruthlessly.

"Because no one is there to supervise." Mr. Atkins said. "Alisha's parents will still be at her house to watch out for any problems. Plus, one of you have to pick them up afterwards and take care of dinner. I don't want to hear about you two messing around and dodging responsibilities."

Kyle made a face. "So we have to play chauffeur and cook?"

"It's what Zeke will be doing most of the summer." Mrs. Atkins pointed out. "You two should show kindness to your brothers for allowing you to travel most of the summer. And, Jake even invited you all to see an A's game on Saturday. Why can't you give him a ride home?"

Kyle put his head down. "Okay. I'll get them."

"Can we at least get money for pizza?" Dave asked, no longer groaning.

"Sure." Mr. Atkins agreed. "Maybe a little extra for games at the arcade?"

"Yess!!" Dave and Noah yelled.

I smiled. The parents really know how to handle these boys.