The Hitting Zone
chapter-599

Monday brought some change to our usual routine. After the early morning run and workout session, Noah and I had to take turns eating breakfast and showering. Summer school would start today. Unlike most kids who enjoyed summer break, I liked having a class to attend. It's a sense of comfort even when I'm uncomfortable around strangers.

The twins got to go back to bed while Zeke drove us to the high school. He dropped us off at the front of the school. "I'll be back at noon. If you get out a little earlier, just text me."

"Sure! Thanks!" Noah told him before closing the car door. He waved as Zeke drove away, leaving us alone at a rather quiet school.

"This is kind of creepy." I tugged on my backpack straps as we looked at the near empty school. A random student here and there were barely making it look a little more normal.

"What do you expect?" Noah shrugged. "Not a whole lot of kids sign up for summer school unless they flunk a class." He started to walk. "Come on. I know where our class is."

I followed obediently. "Does that mean our class will be small?"

"Maybe. This is my first time taking a summer class too. I'm just guessing here." Noah led the way to one of the classrooms on the far right of the school.

A girl in front of us opened the door and held it open for us too. Noah hurried up to grab the door from her and smiled. "Hey, thanks."

She smiled back at him. "Sure. No problem." She went in the classroom.

We followed her.

The class only had about ten students so far, only filling up one-third of the room.

"Looks like we get to pick our seats." Noah nudged me. "Pick the seat you feel safe in, and I'll choose the one next to you. Or in front of you. Or behind you. Or-"

"Here." I simply sat down in the row closest to the door.

Noah sat behind me. "Not a good view of the board, but who knows if the teacher will even use it."

Noah and I definitely had different priorities.

A few more kids trickled in as it got closer to 9am. I vaguely recognized some faces just from walking through the halls, but there was no one I knew. Noah was the same way. At least, until a face we did know walked in with two minutes to spare.

"Mitchell?" Noah called out as the teen got into the room.

He turned and looked our way. "Ah, hi..." He took a step our way.

"Sit here." Noah patted the desk beside him, and diagonally behind me.

Mitchell climbed over an empty seat and got to the desk Noah pointed out. "Thanks. I didn't expect to see you guys here."

"And we didn't expect to see someone we know." Noah gave a friendly smile.

I wouldn't say we 'know' one another. More like 'know of' each other. Mitchell made the varsity roster after midseason tryouts and spent most of the time in the bullpen, catching for the pitchers. I know his name: Mitchell Torres. I know his grade level: sophomore. But, if you asked anything else, I probably wouldn't know anymore.

Mitchell looked embarrassed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yea. It's kind of embarrassing, but I failed Spanish II so I have to take this summer class." He looked at us, a little skeptical. "Wait. Why are you guys here?"

"Getting this class out of the way." Noah told him. "Better to take it in a span of a month versus taking it for a whole year."

Mitchell laughed. "I don't know about that. I took it for a whole year and didn't get it. I'm just hoping for a C this time around."

"Buenos días estudiantes." An older woman with dark, wavy hair walked through the door, greeting the class. "I am Mrs. Lorenz and this is Spanish II." She wrote her name on the board, and then faced the class. "Somehow we're going to cram 180 days of class into a month. Three hours a day won't be enough to pass the final so make sure you're studying at home."

"There's no homework?" Some guy across the room asked.

She shook her head. "You don't want to do homework, and nor do I want to grade it. This class will focus on oral and written conversation in Spanish. Listening and reading will be a close second. Lastly, we'll do a few presentation or speeches in Spanish."

There were a few soft groans.

"Don't give me that." She wagged her finger at the class. "I'm not a perfectionist. As long as you guys put in the effort, this should be a breeze. While there'll be no homework, I still have to make sure you all are understanding what I'm teaching. Therefore, tests will be handed out the last hour of every Thursday."

"Will you provide study guides?" The girl that had held the door open for us, spoke up to ask.

Mrs. Lorenz smiled. "Everything you need will be in the book. A book that we will go pick up from the library. So let's get moving. To the library and back. Try not to wander off." She moved back to the door, propping it open.

Noah and I were the first to exit since we were so close to the door. Mitchell joined us on our walk to the library. We lined up and the librarian started to check the books out to us, using our student ID number. We three were the first ones back in the class.

"She sounds like a pretty chill teacher." Noah commented.

I nodded in agreement.

"She's easygoing. Just don't get caught cheating." Mitchell told us. "I know someone who cheated and she gave him an automatic zero on his final."

"That's rough." Noah cringed. "But also a good lesson to never cheat. Do you know what she meant by presenting? What's that about?"

Mitchell looked stressed. "It's about giving a small presentation in Spanish. The whole time. So hard."

Noah shrugged. "Sounds like it's just memorization to me." He looked at me. "Think you could do it, Jake?"

I gulped before whispering, "Maybe..?"

"Memorizing a speech in another language is easy to you?" Mitchell looked distressed, facing Noah.

Noah gave him a look. "You have experience doing so if you think about it."

"What?" Mitchell was confused.

"In baseball, as a catcher, you have to learn all those signs. And some signs will differ for each pitcher. That's kind of like another language, yet you communicate with it all the time. Just memorization right?"

His eyes widened, understanding what Noah was saying. "True. That's certainly a good perspective. Now if only my tongue will work properly during the presentation. Speaking Spanish isn't my strong suit either."

Noah shrugged. "It's not mine either." He gave me a pat on the head. "Jake isn't so good at it either. He barely speaks English."

"Hey..." I glared at him. I was doing better now.

Noah laughed. "Kidding, kidding."

Mrs. Lorenz came back with more than half the class and soon the class was resumed. She took attendance and had us write down a short introduction in Spanish for her to collect.