"You didn’t know?" Noah asked, shocked.
I shook my head. When would have I learned that if Noah didn’t teach ? I knew the very bare basics less than two weeks ago. Most of what I know cos from the videos Zeke made watch and commit to mory.
"Then why did you swing?"
"The third baseman ca in so I knew I could get it over his head." I shrugged.
Zeke eyed . "Five laps." He then took the lead and walked in front of us.
Now it was my turn for my jaw to dropped. Why?? How did I get stuck with laps? What happened to not giving any laps for ga two? Five laps is a whole mile! And there’s still tomorrow’s ga. Thankfully Kyle took my ga one laps or I’d really be crying right now.
I looked at Noah for help.
He shrugged and motioned for us to catch up to Zeke. The three of us found the twins and Mr. and Mrs. Atkins in an open area, but a man with a cara was there too. He was taking pictures of the twins who had their backs up against one another.
"I’d also like a shot of just Kyle. No doubt his perfect ga will be a headliner for the sports section. No NorCal high school player has thrown a perfect ga in the last three decades." The man was saying.
Dave moved away from Kyle and joined us and his parents. "I can do it too." He mumbled.
"Let Kyle have his mont." His mom scolded. "When you do it, we’ll celebrate you as well." She noticed the three of us who stood behind them. "Hey boys, we were wondering where you were. Mr. Caron wanted to do a special article on you kids. Isn’t that sweet?"
I warily took a step back. Another reporter? We just escaped the first one.
Noah laughed at my reaction. He tugged back to him. "Not all reporters are like the guy before. We just have bad history with him. Mr. Caron here is a good guy. He’s the one that made Zeke famous statewide in high school baseball."
I relaxed.
But Mrs. Atkins didn’t. She frowned. "You guys ran into Thompkins?"
Noah nodded. "He tried interviewing and Jake without you present and I even warned him. Then Zeke showed up and said he would report him."
Mrs. Atkins whipped out her phone. "I will right this mont. That guy should know better by now." She went a few feet away and started to make a call.
"Hey guys! You finally showed up!" Kyle was done taking pictures with Mr. Caron and they rejoined our circle.
Mr. Caron’s eyes lit up at the sight of Zeke. "Zeke! How’s it going?" He held out his hand.
Zeke shook it firmly. "Can’t complain. We’re off to a good start."
"Yes, yes. I was able to watch both gas. Three horuns, two intentional walks, and a double. An impressive 1.000 batting average. Definitely living up to your status as the best in the county. Do you mind so questions and pictures? I just finished asking Kyle about his perfect performance."
"I don’t mind." Zeke replied.
Noah smirked. "I know a certain sobody who also has a perfect 1.000 batting average and isn’t ranked in the top of the county."
Mr. Caron’s attention shifted to us. "Ah, right. Noah you had a strong showing as a freshman. And you must be Jake Hollander, the freshman with a 1.000 batting average."
I shuffled my feet and safely found a spot over Noah’s shoulder, trying to avoid his attention. The only reason I have a perfect batting average is because walks don’t count for anything and I only have one hit for one plate appearance. Nothing impressive like Zeke’s multiple hors.
Mr. Caron blinked in confusion with my response.
"Don’t mind Jake. He’s super shy." Kyle explained my reaction.
"Oh. Well are your parents here? I’d like to ask a few simple questions about how you feel playing alongside the Atkins and what it’s like to be one of only two freshman in this tournant."
I backed up even more, almost bumping into Mr. Atkins. Mr. Atkins put a hand on my shoulder for reassurance. Or to stop from running away. Too soon to tell. "Jake is actually staying with us right now. He’s in the foster system. We act as his guardians."
"Oh." Mr. Caron paused. "I’m sorry for being so insensitive. I hope you’ll allow him to answer so light questions. Just a little filler in case we have room."
"Jake won’t talk to you." Noah answered before his dad could. "I’ll answer for the both of us."
Mr. Caron looked confused.
"Jake hardly speaks at the mont." Mr. Atkins explained. "In the eyes of the state, he’s a mute. Diagnosed as selective mutism."
Mr. Caron smacked his own forehead. "I’m double sorry for being insensitive again."
"It’s fine. It’s not sothing you would expect to co up." Mr. Atkins gave my shoulder a light squeeze. "Jake, do you want to answer so questions? I’m sure Mr. Caron can make them yes or no questions. And we can fill in the gaps."
I imdiately looked to Noah. He gave a bright smile. "We can do it together. I’ll answer for you and we can be grouped together."
Mr. Caron sensed my closeness with Noah. "Yes, I can do that. In fact, it’ll be easier to interview the two freshn together. It can be a nice short side piece. Kyle and Zeke will be getting all the attention, I promise."
Mr. Atkins gave a little push to Noah.
Well it doesn’t sound so bad if it’s just going to be a little. And almost unnoticeable next to Kyle’s perfect ga and Zeke’s multiple horuns. I gave one last glance to Noah to confirm. He gave a nod then threw an arm around my shoulder, making us face Mr. Caron head on.
"We’re ready." He said.
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