The Hitting Zone

Chapter 1155 V4 ch3 Sunday (2)

Noah rolled his eyes. "Don't fall in his trap, Jake. He just wants to use you for his own benefit."

"And what's wrong with that?" Dave questioned. "If anything, it's acknowledging his skills while also giving him a safe space to go to in the future."

I slowly nodded. "I think…I would be more inclined to pick a school depending on who is already there." I looked at Noah. "If you picked a college, I would definitely follow you." Without question. Four more years of playing with my best friend.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Don't say that. I'm not going to college. Even if I go undrafted, I think I would just take a more unconventional route to go pro."

"Mom and Dad would definitely be mad at you." Dave shook his head. "Why are you so against the college path? Look, I'm doing it. Zeke's doing it. So has Rhys. Heck, a lot of pros have. It's like being parallel to the minors if you ask me. Just with school on top."

Noah shrugged. "It's not what I want to do."

"Mom's still going to want you and Jake to commit to a school like we did." Dave pointed out.

"Yea, I'll just pick one and sign. Just for show." Noah said. "Maybe to Vanderbilt like you. No scholarship needed."

"I rather you not." Dave put on a look of disgust. "How embarrassing would it be for me if you signed? Then ran off to who knows where? Mom would think I collided with you."

Noah shrugged again. "I've got a couple years to pick. It's fine. Mom will want me to visit schools anyways."

"Stanford's a good pick too." I spoke up. "It's not too far from home. We know the coach. It's close enough so we could go to A's games. Maybe Zeke or Rhys will still be here."

Noah laughed. "No way. They'll be gone before we graduate high school. They aren't sticking around for four whole years."

"Nothing is set in stone." Dave said.

We talked a lot about colleges, minors, and unconventional paths like playing in other leagues or trying out. Slowly the conversation shifted to next weekend and our upcoming round two tryouts.

"It's a sleep-away kind of thing, yea?" Dave asked. We had long finished eating and were just chilling at the table now.

"Yea, but I think it's mostly for convenience for those that are going to be from further away. Like teens our ages will be flying or driving from the other states." Noah said. "We could probably stay at home if we wanted."

"The drive would annoy Mom and Dad though." Dave nodded, knowing what he was thinking. He turned to me. "Why not stay with Jeremy?"

"He has an away series." Noah answered. "Already looked it up. Zeke and Rhys will have their own playoffs to worry about too. Otherwise it'd be cool to see their games."

Dave looked beyond us and waved his hand. We both turned and saw Mom, Dad, and Grampa coming over with their bags.

"Where's the other two?" Dad asked.

"Where's your bags? It's almost time to checkout." Mom squinted, setting her bag down.

"Zeke's probably packing the room now." Noah said. "He showered last."

"Yea, you can count on Zeke." Dave nodded.

I lowered my head, feeling a little ashamed for not helping to pack up our own stuff. I slowly got up. "I'll go check on them."

"No, leave it to me." Dad said. He pulled out a chair for Grampa to take a seat. "I'll also make sure nothing gets left behind." He went back the way he came.

"Hey, Mom." Dave sat up. "How would you feel if I took the brats to their tryout next weekend?"

Noah kicked him under the table.

Mom looked confused. "Why would you want to do that?"

"So I can watch Zeke's playoff games. It'll be a double elimination this weekend as they play three others." Dave explained. "I've looked it up and they should be the host because of their ranking."

Mom shook her head. "You can come along, but your father and I already plan to be here."

"Okay, count me in. Make sure to get an extra room for me." He grinned. Then looked to Grampa. "What do you say, Gramps? Want to room with me next weekend? Cheer for Zeke on his way to Omaha?"

Grampa pursed his lips. "I think I'll sit this one out."

Dave slowly nodded, showing some sympathy. "Yea, you can take one off. The next weekend will be Super Regionals and we won't know if they'll get to host or have to travel."

"This is about my limit." Grampa sighed. "You boys are just so active and all over the place. It's too much for an old man like me."

Mom put her hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Dad came back with Kyle and Zeke, and all our backpacks with our clothes and stuff.

Dave looked to Kyle. "You coming with us next weekend?"

Kyle was taken aback. "Where?"

"Here of course." Dave rolled his eyes. "Noah and Jake will have their tryout nearby and Zeke's school is hosting Regionals. Double elimination. You lose two and you're out." He glanced at Zeke. "You better win so Grampa can go to Super Regionals."

Zeke looked confident. "We will."

Kyle looked unsure. "Maybe I should stay home with Grampa so he won't be alone then."

No one said anything that could ruin the mood, but Noah did roll his eyes.

With all of us gathered, we started to get up and pick up our bags, heading for the exit. Mom stopped at the front desk to check out and Dad took the lead to get the car so Grampa wouldn't have to walk so far.

With Zeke, we had a packed car. Not a seat to spare. Dad and Mom sat up front, the twins and Grampa in the middle row, while Zeke squeezed in the back with Noah and me. Zeke made Noah sit on the uncomfortable middle spot, but all our shoulders still touched.

"We're getting too big to keep doing this." Dave complained. He also had to sit in the middle seat of the middle row. "I know it's not efficient, but we really should start taking two cars."

"Why?" Dad laughed. "You all are starting to leave the nest. The amount of times we fill up this car will become less and less."

"Are you taking a car to college next year?" Dave looked over his shoulder to ask Zeke.

Zeke slowly nodded. "I was looking into getting a car for myself this summer. I'm committed to playing summer ball in the California Collegiate League and all their teams are in the southern half of the state."

"Do you know which team you'll play for?" Noah asked. "Maybe we can watch you play."

Zeke shook his head. "As a player moving on in playoffs, I'm going to miss the start of their league. I'll be assigned to a team when the playoff run ends. Probably to a team that needs me the most."

"What about the stuff in your dorm room?" Dave asked. "What will you do with it all? Take it home and store it in the garage?"

"No need to go that far." Zeke answered. "We're putting it in Rhys's garage and spare room. We've already started moving things we didn't need anymore."

"Is Rhys joining the same league?" Noah asked.

"No, he's doing some specific pitcher training." Zeke told us. "He can also get insight from his own dad so no need to risk his arm in an inconsequential game."

"Why are you playing then if it's not so important?" Dave asked.

"It's good practice. This summer league is done with wooden bats instead of the aluminum." Zeke said.

The whole ride to the A's stadium was about Zeke's summer plans. The twins especially wanted to know what kind of car he was looking for and if he wanted to buy new. That really opened my eyes because that meant that he had a lot in his savings.

"I'm looking for used and reliable." Zeke said. "Gas efficient would be nice too since I want to drive it up and down a few hundred miles."

"We'll keep an eye out." Mom said from the front, glancing at Dad with an expressive look.

I straightened up, curious as to what that may be about. But nothing else looked off. They just let the twins quiz Zeke on his future car purchase until we reached the stadium.

Dad parked as close as he could and we slowly made our way to the home plate gate, staying at Grampa's pace. Closer to the gate, we started to run into our teammates and their families if they came. A lot of the guys went to Zeke to congratulate him on moving on to regionals, having seen our stories on Instagram last night celebrating.