The Hitting Zone

We talked with Mr. Cameron more about our playing and games we looked forward to. Then it was time to go home. On the way, Noah told Mom about us going to Alisha's to hangout.

Dave raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to Garret's? He sent out a text. He's having a small get together to celebrate his perfect game."

"We'll go to the next one." Noah shrugged. "It'd be too mean to bail on Alisha and Kaylee now."

"Bring them with. I'm taking Marie." Kyle said.

Noah made a face that Kyle couldn't see. He still had some feelings about Marie and he wasn't alone. "No. It's okay." He looked to the front of the car where Dad was driving. "Dad, can you pick us up later tonight?"

"The twins can pick you two up on their way home." He suggested.

Noah rolled his eyes. "I don't think Alisha's parents will let us stay over until midnight."

"Then I'll shorten their curfew to 10pm."

"Noooo." Dave groaned.

"On a Saturday night, Dad?" Kyle protested.

Dad looked to Mom. Mom took over, twisting her body around to look back at us. "Okay, we'll pick up the younger boys, but I expect you two to be home by midnight. Not leave Garret's at midnight, but be in bed by midnight." She squinted. "And no drinking. Alcohol mixed with teens is bad news."

"Garret won't be throwing a party-party." Dave said in a hurry.

Mom gave a small laugh. "I know how teenagers can be. There might not be alcohol to begin with but that doesn't mean someone won't show up with it. You kids get in trouble and see if I let you leave the house ever again."

"Okay." The twins agreed.

Back at home, Grampa went to take a nap. Mom and Dad went to their office. Noah and I fought the twins for a shower first, ultimately winning since they didn't even play in the game today. Once we were ready, Mom drove us herself to Alisha's. She parked and came to the door with us, wanting to talk to her parents for a little bit. Alisha and Kaylee took us away revealing that pizza was already here. We started eating as Alisha picked a movie I haven't seen before.

Mom popped in twenty minutes later to confirm a pickup time at 9:30pm. She asked Kaylee if she wanted a ride home, but Kaylee said she was staying the night with Alisha. Mom smiled, waved, and left us to our small party of four.

"You're not going home?" Noah asked Kaylee while the movie was still paused.

Kaylee shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Friends stay over at their friends all the time. Besides, this way Alisha and I can meet up with you two tomorrow at the same time. Good planning."

I remembered something important. "Don't you go to church on Sunday mornings?"

"Giving it up." She shrugged. "Why be a part of a church community that we're going to leave soon? It's fine. I'll have to join a new one down south."

The room got quiet. It felt a little more real the more Kaylee talked about moving.

I scrunched my brows together, trying to catch a fleeting thought. I frowned. Then it came to me. Something I had a small look into when thinking of escaping my mom. "Have you thought about...boarding school?"

All eyes went to me.

"You know...like a private school you live at..?" I gave a small shrug, unsure of myself.

"Yea!" Noah joined in. "That's not a bad idea." He looked to Kaylee. "You're good at softball. Good grades."

Kaylee started to slowly nod. "That's not a bad idea."

"Would your parents really let you go for that?" Alisha was skeptical. "They don't seem the type to let you be off on your own."

Kaylee grinned and her eyes nearly disappeared. "Maybe if I find the right one. All girls. Maybe religious. Like a female version of Servite." She pulled out her phone. "You guys can push play. I'm just going to look some more into this."

We left her to it. After the movie finished over an hour later, we started to pull out a board game. Kaylee had to leave her google search, but from the way she talked about it, it seemed like she had some insights on what to look for. She even talked about reaching out to some of the coaches. To that, Noah told her to put together a highlight reel of all of her best plays and her stats from last and this year. Alisha immediately volunteered to help with the highlight clip by taking some video at her upcoming games.

It was a fun night despite the fact that we were talking about Kaylee leaving us. But at least this would be on her terms. If she could get into one of these specialized schools, I'm sure she would be happier there than with her parents.

The twins didn't get home until after we fell asleep and they stayed asleep when we woke up for a morning run. Even after our run, small lift session, and big breakfast, they stayed in bed. We walked to the park with our baseball bags after telling Grampa. Mom and Dad were busy with open houses and wouldn't be back until dinner, so he planned to have a bbq for lunch. He even let us invite the girls.

It was a decent way to end spring break. I didn't hate fielding that much when it was just us and the girls. The few mistakes I made were laughed at before being corrected. I definitely think Noah kept it casual with Alisha trying to help which made it easier on me. After practicing, the girls did go home with us, walking back with all the gear. We ate Grampa's bbq with the twins until Marie showed up. She hung out with Kyle for the afternoon until it was time for her to take Kaylee home. Alisha caught a ride home with them, clearing out the house a little.

The end of March and the start of April mixed in a lot of baseball. Jeremy's season was officially starting. Mom and Dad missed our Tuesday game to go see Zeke's game at Sacramento, staying the night up north and leaving us with Grampa.

Tuesday's game against Soledad was a nice 5-0 win. Bryce did five innings, giving up two hits and one walk, while earning five strikeouts. Tyler finished the game, giving up only one hit while earning four strikeouts in two innings. He was really turning into a closer. Noah went 2-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base. I went 2-2 with two RBI's and one run scored.

Thursday we won by a couple of more runs, beating Foothill 7-0. Brian did six innings, giving up two hits and two walks, earning five strikeouts. Coach let Matt close this one out and he didn't give up any hits or walks. Noah went 2-2 at the plate, with another two runs scored and added another stolen base to his stat sheet. Coach pulled him midway but not as quick as he pulled me. I had only one at bat and I made the most of it by hitting a two-run shot to left field.

Dave also had a good week even though he didn't see any time on the mound officially. He got cleared to run by Drew and soon he was pitching in the bullpen. Wednesday, he got to pitch three innings against the JV team, giving up no hits and proving that he was ready to go. The JV and freshmen teams seemed to be struggling a little less, winning a couple of close games.

Thursday night we packed up and made sure we were ready to go on Friday morning. It was time for our trip to Nashville, Tennessee. We had to leave early to beat rush hour, getting to the airport with a lot of time to spare. Which happened to be planned by Mom and Dad. We ran into Zeke and Rhys with their team. They were leaving for Arizona again this weekend, this time playing at University of Arizona.

"It would have been perfect if we were playing Vandy at all this season." Rhys laughed. "But we're more likely to see them in Omaha at the end of the season."

I stared at him confused.

"Omaha, Nebraska is where the College World Series is held." Zeke explained to me. "Where the top eight schools go after winning the super regionals."

Sure. I nodded along.

"Sounding real confident for someone with two months of baseball left." Dave smirked. "A lot of league play for you guys. This weekend. Next weekend. The weekend after that. No pressure."

"Psshh." Rhys scoffed. "Our team is hot. I'm not worried about the weekend games. It's the weekday random games we play that stress me out. It doesn't look good skipping class the next day, but I have to if I'm the one that pitched."

"That's why Coach Leroy is sticking you on Fridays and Saturdays only." Zeke's lips twitched.

Rhys laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yea. It's for the best. I wasn't made to multitask like you and some of the others. I have a one-track mind."