The next morning, everyone gathered around the table once more, but for breakfast. It was Sunday, and that meant that Mrs. Atkins went all out, cooking almost a whole buffet. Of course...that might have to do with her being happy that Zeke was growing up. Last night, while Noah and I watched the game, the rest had apparently planned how Zeke should make his announcement.
"You're definitely inviting the whole team, right?" Dave asked, munching on a waffle. "You kind of have to."
"The whole team? Where would they fit?" Kyle looked around the dining area. "With us, it's already a party. Just invite the coaches and the media."
"Here? Having it here?" Noah shook his head. "Just have it at the school. Their school. Stanford."
"But he might not play there if the draft goes well." Dave shot that idea down. "Zeke said he wanted it here at home. Now it's coming down to the invite list."
"When will you do it?" Noah asked Zeke directly for more details.
"Next weekend." Zeke sipped his orange juice. "We don't have any games. I'll invite all the coaches who got me here, plus a few selected teammates that I'm close to."
"Won't that hurt some of their feelings if they don't get the invite?" Noah wrinkled his nose.
Dave laughed. "Just how many people do you think Zeke is close to? It'll probably just be Mahki and Julian."
"David." Mr. Atkins scolded.
"It's the truth though.." Dave stopped laughing, but didn't stop smiling.
"It's Zeke's special day. He can decide who to invite and to leave out." Mrs. Atkins said, then looked at Zeke. "We can do the official signing on Sat.u.r.day, and then throw a pizza party on Sunday so your other teammates and cla.s.smates won't feel left out. Maybe some place that can hold the whole baseball program. And we'll even take a group picture! It'll be cute!"
All the boys groaned, including Zeke.
"Mom, that's not 'cute' at all...more like lame." Noah rolled his eyes.
"You're only saying that because you don't want Mom and Dad to treat the other freshmen to pizza." Dave said. "I'm saying it's lame because Zeke doesn't even know half the guys in the program. If they aren't on the varsity team, he probably won't know their name."
"Don't be like that." Mrs. Atkins told them. "I'm sure Zeke remembers everyone's name. He's a smart and considerate young man."
Zeke coughed. "I'll be fine. Yet, Noah..." He looked to Noah. "Will you be okay with all the other freshmen there? No fighting. No making a scene." He squinted. "No gambling."
Noah sighed. "It's whatever. Not like they'll bug me with Mom and Dad present."
"Noah, are you still having trouble with your friends?" Mr. Atkins asked.
"They aren't my friends, Dad." Noah answered sharply. "They were just ex-teammates. Friends don't treat you like c.r.a.p." He stood up with his half finished plate. "I'm done." He left for the kitchen.
I looked at him and his lonely back. I started to get up too.
"Don't you even think about it mister." Mrs. Atkins locked eyes with me. She lifted her finger. "You sit down and finish everything on that plate before you get up."
"But Noah-" I started.
"No buts." Mrs. Atkins cut me off. "You have to pay attention to your health first. If I just let you skip meals because someone else is skipping meals, then what am I doing as a parent? We have to make sure you eat properly."
"Noah didn't though..." I muttered and sat back down.
"Noah is not underweight." She countered.
I sighed in defeat and went back to eating.
"Don't worry about Noah." Dave told me. "He just needs a minute to cool down. He always blows up when we talk about his old friends. Ex-friends. Whatever he wants to call them now."
"They aren't making school difficult for him, are they?" Mr. Atkins asked, frowning at the thought.
Kyle shook his head. "Just little run-ins here and there. Nothing too crazy. As far as I know, they just ignore him. And he ignores them."
"Coach settled it just a few days ago." Zeke spoke up. "And, Noah's got Jake." He looked at me. "If they say something that Noah can't brush off, try and hold him back."
I gulped. Hold Noah off? Like if a fight broke out?
"Or find me." Zeke acquiesced with a sigh.
I nodded. That sounds better.
"Why not find me?" Dave asked.
"Or me?!" Kyle echoed.
"You two would just make things worse." Zeke's lips twitched at the corners. "I wouldn't be surprised if you two held the offending party down and let Noah get his justice."
The twins laughed like it was a high possibility.
Mr. Atkins sighed. He then looked down at me. "If you're ever worried about a fight breaking out, please go find an adult. Even if you're scared of getting in trouble, it's always best to avoid injuries. To Noah or to you."
I nodded obediently. Mr. Atkins knew best. He's never steered me wrong before.
I finished up my meal and was able to go find Noah after rinsing the dish. He was in our room, playing his video game.
He glanced at me. "Did you finished all your breakfast?"
"Yep." I gave a nod.
"That's good. I didn't want Mom to get mad at you."
I shrugged, feeling slightly guilty. She wasn't exactly mad, but she did hold me back to finish all the food.
"Do you want to go to the cages today?" He asked.
I started to nod, but quickly stopped myself. Noah didn't look to be in a good mood. It would probably be better if we did something he liked. "Nah, we don't have to. I got some hitting in these past few days. We can do whatever you want to do.."
He took his eyes off the video game to look at me. I tried to hold a natural pose, but then started to fidget.
"If you're sure?" He asked. He got up and put the game down on the dresser. "Let's just go play catch!"
"Sure!" I was happy to see him still pick baseball over anything else.
We went to the backyard with just our gloves and a ball. No cleats, no hats, no set rules. I was content with just tossing the ball back and forth, but it didn't long before Noah started changing things up. He would request that I toss the ball as high as I could. Or try and make the ball bounce as many times as it could before it got to him. Or-and so on. He started to do the same to me without asking, making me dive for fake grounders or sprint back for a 'high fly' ball. It turned into a game of who could field better and who could make the challenges even harder. Noah won both categories. When it came to fielding, I really believe that he can do it all. Like an impenetrable wall, he never let anything through.