The Hitting Zone
chapter-617

On Sunday, Mom took me and Noah to a barbershop to get a haircut. She looked slightly unsure as we walked into the small building.

"Why didn't we just go to your salon like before?" Noah asked, confused. He took a look around, making it obvious that he had never been here before.

"Jake isn't comfortable around middle-aged women so we should obviously go to a place that is mostly male." She looked around and made eye contact with one of the men coming out of their restroom in the back. "Hello."

The man walked up to us. "Welcome! How can I help you all out today?"

Mom rested a hand on my shoulder. "My son just needs a trim to get the hair out of his eyes. Maybe a little off the sides too. Or maybe-" She glanced down at me. "Do you want to just tell him yourself? Just pick whatever makes you comfortable. You can even get it shaved like Noah's."

I glanced at Noah, stifling a laugh. He was wearing a baseball hat over his fresh cut. "I just want it out of my eyes." I said, repeating after Mom.

Noah's attention was focused on a binder at the receptionist desk. It had a few pictures of designs shaved onto people's heads. He tapped the binder. "Hey, Mom? You think I can get one done?"

Mom made a face.

"It'll only be for the summer!" Noah pleaded. "I'll get my hair shaved evenly before school starts if it looks bad."

"What were you thinking?" Mom peered at the binder.

"A baseball on one side. And maybe the A's logo on the other?" He asked.

Mom looked to the man who was patiently waiting on us. "Is that something you can do?"

"Sure thing!" He smiled. "Who wants to go first?"

Noah looked to me. "You or me?"

"You." I told him.

Noah followed the man to a chair and sat down. The man got to work, covering Noah with a tarp thingy and then evened out what little hair he had left. He changed tools and started to communicate with Noah on how big he wanted each item to be.

Mom sighed. "This kid..." She shook her head and caught me looking at her. She smiled. "No matter where we go or what we do, Noah likes to be the center of attention. I think it's the symptom of having too many older brothers. Or...we spoil him too much."

"I think it's a mix of both." I told her, smiling a little bit. They spoiled all their children when they could. Even me. Just like Dad said, if it was in their power, they don't mind spending a little extra to make us happy.

The man worked on each side of Noah's head, doing a great job with the designs.

"I love it!" Noah exclaimed as he checked out the finished product. He jumped up and checked himself out in the mirror. Then he ran over to show me and Mom. "Cool, right?"

"Very unique." Mom told him.

I gave him a thumbs up.

My turn now.

I went to the same seat Noah was at, and he's started to spritz my hair with water, and then proceeded to brush out my curls. The guy didn't get too close and started to snip the ends of my hair. I had never gotten my hair professionally cut so it was a weird experience. Especially when he blowed dried my hair and turned the chair in front of the mirror.

I still looked like me. The hair just wasn't in my face anymore, nor was it sticking to my neck. "I like it." I told him honestly.

He gave me a friendly smile and helped me out of the chair. Mom paid him at the small desk and thanked him for his services. She looked down at the both of us as we headed back for the car. "You two are looking good. I have the most handsome kids in the world."

"Mommmm." Noah groaned. "We aren't kids. We're teens."

She laughed.

"I'll be taking driving lessons right after Christmas." Noah grinned, excited.

We got into the car.

"Actually, I think it would be better if you waited until Jake is eligible for lessons too. So you can do it together." Mom told him as she started the car. "it's only an extra few months."

Noah twisted his lips, thinking about it. "I guess. It's not like the twins would let me drive anyways. I just want to be ready for our junior year."

Mom chuckled. "You're always trying to grow up. Enjoy being a kid a little longer."

"Teen." Noah stressed the word.

They kept the conversation going until we got home and went our own ways. Mom still had some house showings to go to, while we wanted to relax and watch some baseball on tv.

Without the twins, Noah was the sole commander of the remote. Zeke was spending his time on his online classes, while I didn't care what Noah picked to watch. I was okay with anything.

The week started with the same old morning routine, but this week I made progress in keeping Noah and Zeke in my sights the whole run. I was catching up. I went to class in a great mood even though my legs were twitching. My happiness clashed with Mitchell's depression and lost out real quick.

He looked at us with puppy dog eyes. "I can't catch for the twins for almost two weeks!?"

Noah scratched his head, probably forgetting how he sent Mitchell home the other day. "Yea...but that's nothing to be sad about."

Mitchell sighed, obviously sad.

"There'll be plenty of time to catch for them!" Noah tried to cheer him up. "Middle of July and then they won't travel much in August. You can come over everyday if you like."

"Everyday that they're there." Mitchell emphasized.

"Sure! They would love that!" Noah told him.

Class started before Mitchell could get anymore guarantees out of Noah.

The 4th of July fell on a Thursday, so Mrs. Lorenz moved our weekly test to Wednesday since we won't be in class on Thursday. It also meant no softball game on Thursday, so the old man had scheduled it for Wednesday night. Back to back nights of fun games, leaving us in a good mood.

It didn't last though, because Mom and Dad had left Wednesday night before we got back from the game. We had already said our goodbyes and wished them a safe trip, but it was the first time I would spend the night without either of them there.

Noah convinced Zeke to let us watch movies in the living room and stuff our faces with popcorn and homemade cookies that Mom had left. We both crashed out on the couch in the middle of the night, yet woke up in our own beds the next morning.

Most importantly, we didn't wake up at dawn. It was still early, but late for us. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. When I came out, I saw Zeke in the hallway.

"No running today?" I asked, yawning.

Zeke flashed me a smile. "It's good to take a day off every now and then. Wake up Noah and get dressed. I'll take you guys out for breakfast today."