The Hitting Zone
chapter-645

"What did he mean by evaluations?" Noah asked Rhys as he took us up two flights of stairs to the third floor.

Rhys took a key out of the envelope and opened the door to our room. He handed Noah that key and then handed me the envelope with the other key. "Don't lose these or you'll get in trouble."

I nodded obediently while Noah just stuff his in his pocket.

"As for the evaluations, it's pretty standard among elite camps. Especially as you get older." Rhys explained. "So what will happen tomorrow is that they'll grade you on your skills. That will give them a starting point of where you stand. Usually from there, you'll be divided up on your skill level so when we do drills, you'll be with those on the same level. It'll also help even the teams for scrimmages. At the end of camps, they usually will give you your evaluations and what you need to work on. Kind of like a report card."

"So cool." Noah sounded excited. "Will all the coaches and scouts have access to it?"

"Yea. Of course." Rhys grinned. "They'll be the ones to help the grading." He waved and headed for the door. "I better get back and help them. I'll see you kiddos tomorrow. Make sure to go to bed early."

"Yea, yea, whatever. Later!" Noah waved him away, closing the door after him. He looked back at me. "Wanna call Mom while I start unpacking?"

I pulled out my phone and dialed.

"Hey, Jake, how was the ride? Are you boys settled yet?" Mom picked up right away.

"Yea." I answered. "Noah's unpacking right now."

"And Zeke?" She asked.

"He had to help out with check-in." I told her. "But Rhys stood with us in line and took us to the room."

She sighed with relief. "Good, I'm glad. Do you guys know what you're doing tomorrow? Like what the schedule is?"

"Zeke said we're doing evaluations."

"Oh, ok. Well, stay calm and just play your game, alright?" She told me.

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Okay."

"Are you guys going to bed soon?" She asked.

"Zeke said we should. Rhys too."

"Good. Sleep tight and call me tomorrow. Now let me speak to Noah?"

"Sure." I held my phone out to Noah.

Noah paused what he was doing and accepted the phone. "Hey Mom." He paused. "Yea, we're good here." Another pause. "Okay, love you too, bye." He hung up and tossed the phone back to me. "I'm surprised she didn't want to talk our ear off."

I nodded. It was a rather short call. With it out of the way, I moved to my luggage bag and unpacked it too. The dorm room was small with only two twin beds, a closet with drawers, and a shared desk. It was kind of like our room at home though so it didn't make me feel uncomfortable. After putting our clothes out, we pushed the empty bags under the desk.

I reached for my pajamas.

"Hey, wait." Noah told me. "Let's go explore a little." He grinned and showed me his wallet. "Maybe we can find a vending machine before going to bed."

I hesitated. It was getting late and I think Zeke wanted us to go to sleep right away. "Are we allowed?"

Noah tapped the top sheet of the packet we were given. "Lights out isn't until 11pm. And it's not like I'm suggesting we leave the building. Just explore a little. Look at what the shared bathroom will look like and see if there's a vending machine somewhere. That's all. I promise."

"Okay..." I gave in. Neither of those tasks sounded like making trouble.

We left our room, locking the door with the key. First we strolled half way down the hall and came across the bathroom. As soon as you entered, it split to the left and right. One went to the sinks and stalls while the other way was the showers.

I gulped. There were two curtains for each shower stall, but it was still a shared shower in my opinion. I glanced at Noah, worried.

Noah frowned. "Don't worry. We can figure something out. Maybe shower after everyone else? We'll see what the situation looks like tomorrow."

I nodded slowly.

On our way out, we came across a few other guys, but didn't say anything to one another. Noah just nodded and they nodded back.

We continued down the hall, pass an elevator and reached the other end of the hall where another stairwell was.

Noah glanced at me. "Should we go up or down?"

"I think a vending machine would be in the common area." I told him. "Would they put them anywhere else?"

Noah frowned. "Yea, I think so too, but I don't want to run into Zeke."

I gave him a look.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Of course Zeke wouldn't be happy to see us downstairs. But don't worry, I have an idea." He led the way down the stairs, passing by other kids trying to find their rooms.

On the first floor, hiding in the stairwell, Noah waited. For what? I don't know. I just stood with him.

The door to the stairs opened and a couple of teens came in with their bags.

"Hello! Welcome!" Noah greeted friendly. "Can I interest any of you in a candy bar or a small bag of chips?"

Half the kids ignored him and went up the stairs. A few hung back.

"How much?" One of the bigger guys asked, suspicious.

"It's free!" Noah pulled out his wallet. "I supply the money, but you have to get the food."

"Why can't you get the food?" He wasn't convinced.

"It's probably because he doesn't want to look bad in front of the coaches and counselors." Someone else said.

The bigger kid was enlightened. "That's true. No one wants to make a bad first impression." He waved and headed for the stairs. "Sorry dude, but I can't risk my future for something dumb like that."

Noah sighed as we watched the rest of the group go.

"I can help you boys out." A tall and thin young man came down the last flight of stairs. "I heard you offering free food?"

Noah happily handed over a few dollars. "Anything chocolate for us. The rest will be yours."

The guy laughed at how quick Noah was with his money. "You must be desperate. Just trusting a stranger like me to get you a snack? I could just pocket your money or even do something to your food."

Noah looked him in the eye. "As long as my older brother doesn't know, then I'll take my chances."

He laughed some more. He left the stairwell and returned a couple of minutes later with a handful of candies. "I bought what I could."

Noah took two, handing one over to me. "The rest is for you. I really appreciate it, man. My name's Noah. And this is Jake."

The tall guy put the rest in his pockets. "I'm Landon. I'll be a senior in the fall. Are you guys also local?"

Noah opened up his bag of candy and started to climb the stairs with us behind him. "We'll be sophomores. And kind of. Only an hour away for us."

"Same." He stated. "What floor are you guys on? It'll be nice to know a few people before tomorrow. Maybe have someone to sit with at meals and hang out with during free time."

"Three." Noah told him our room number. "You can head back with us, if you want. I just don't want to be caught by my brother with candy in my hand."

He chuckled. "You really fear your brother, huh? I'm assuming he's a coach or counselor from the way you're acting."

"A counselor." Noah told him. "And I'm not afraid of him. I'm just afraid of what will happen if I get caught."