The Hitting Zone
chapter-770

Noah wasn't bothered by her silence. I was also a quiet student so it wouldn't be right for us to give her a hard time.

Mrs. Langford started class after the final bell rang. It was an easy first day based on going over the syllabus and introducing ourselves to the class. She let us stand where we sat and just say our name and a little about ourselves.

"Hey! I'm Noah and I like to play baseball."

"My name is Kaylee and I'm on the softball team."

When it came to me, I stuttered a little bit, feeling my anxiety rise. "I am, I mean, my name is Jake." Mrs. Langford nodded encouragingly. "Uh, and I play baseball too." I sat back down in a hurry.

Cassie had to go next. She stood up and said softly, "I'm Cassie. I'm part of the yearbook committee." She sat back down and focused on the planner that she had in front of her.

The hour flew by with nothing else going on but introductions. I paid attention to taking in everyone's name though. Noah may have gone to school with most of these classmates, but I haven't so I always feel anxious when I don't know their name yet they know mine. It was a good opportunity.

I recognized a few other baseball players in our class, but thankfully, no one that was outright mean to me and Noah.

After the bell, Noah and I parted ways with Kaylee and went to our lockers to change books.

"Want me to walk you to your class?" Noah asked as we zipped up our backpacks.

My second class of the day was going to be the toughest. Socially. I was put in a Spanish III class without Noah. Kaylee and Alisha were only taking Spanish II so they couldn't be in my class either.

I hesitated to answer Noah. I didn't want to sound like a wimp, but...I wasn't going to know anyone.

"I'll just walk you there." Noah decided. "It's not out of my way. Let's go over and maybe we'll see someone you know before walking in the room."

We walked to the according hallway and stood just feet away from the entrance of my class. Noah studied every face that walked by, especially those that walked in. He gave a small cough. "Something we didn't consider is that Spanish III is normally for juniors and seniors." He frowned.

I shifted from foot to foot.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sean gave us a small head nod, stopping to speak with us. "Don't know which class is yours?"

Noah brightened at the sight of Sean. "Hey! No, no, we know." He reached out to hold onto Sean's shoulder. "Sean, you're a junior right?"

Sean gave a slow nod, looking skeptical. "Yea. Why?"

"Are you taking Spanish III?"

He glanced at my classroom door. "Well, yea. I'm going there now. Coach Luis is actually my teacher."

"Coach Luis is Mr. Martin?" I blurted out.

"Yea?" He raised an eyebrow. "You guys didn't know?"

Noah continued to hold Sean's shoulder. "I didn't know, he's not my teacher. But, Jake has him next. And you have him next. So keep an eye out for him, okay?"

Sean loosened up and laughed. "Oh. Okay. Sure thing. Man, you had me scared like something was about to go down." He checked his watch. "We should head in before the bell rings."

Noah let him go and smiled at me. "Success! You have someone you know." He started to back up. "I'll see you at break. Meet me at our lockers!"

I nodded.

Sean smiled at me. "Ready?"

I nodded.

We went into the classroom together and sure enough, Coach Luis was behind the teacher's desk looking at something on his computer.

"Look, there's Mitchell. Let's go sit near him." Sean motioned for me to follow him.

"Hey, what up?" Mitchell gave Sean a high five as Sean sat beside him. He looked at me. "Hey, Jake." He laughed. "Can't believe we're in Spanish together again. I'll be counting on you for tutoring."

I looked around, trying to decide between sitting in front of them or behind them. And which side do I pick?

"Sit here." Sean had sat sideways in his chair and patted the empty desk behind him.

I obediently sat down just as the bell rang.

Coach Luis waited as a few stragglers showed up and found some empty seats to sit in. After giving an extra minute or two, he stood up in the front of the room. "Good morning and welcome to Spanish III. I know a lot of you are excited to be back in school but please keep your talking to a minimum." He waved a stack of papers. "I'll pass out the syllabus and we'll go over it as a class. I don't care whether you pay attention or not, but don't interrupt another classmate's learning experience. Grades are dependent on you, not me."

I wasn't surprised by the mixed signals Coach Luis was sending. It was a mix of being strict and relaxed. I felt it on the team. In the beginning I was scared of him, but came to realize that he just liked winning in baseball. He's not unreasonable.

Coach passed out the syllabus to those in the front row. "Take one and pass it back. Let me know if I missed anyone."

He went to the whiteboard and pointed at some pre-written work. "You can address me by Mr. Martin, Coach, or Coach Luis. Do not flat out call me just Luis. Show a little respect. Being a coach and teacher is something I take pride in." He went on to talk a little about himself before going over the rules of the classroom and major assignment due dates. "I don't believe in tests. We'll do Friday quizzes to review what I've gone over throughout the week though. Then a midterm and final to comply with school and district rules, but as long as you pay attention to my lessons and read your text book, you'll be fine."

"Is that all?" Mitchell snorted under his breath.

Sean stretched his leg out to kick him. "Don't slack unless you want to repeat again."

I smiled at the actions of the two. This wasn't so bad. I didn't have Noah, but I still had friends from baseball. I really like how this school year is shaping up.