It only took us a little over an hour to get to Stanford. There wasn’t any traffic on a Sunday night. As soon as we pulled up to the school, Noah sent a text to Mom saying that we had arrived.
The school wasn’t as busy as the last ti we were here, but it also wasn’t as dead as I thought it would be. There were students walking across the campus on a Sunday night; most probably going back to their hos or sothing.
Zeke found a parking spot and we got out in ti to see the sun setting over the campus. Noah was quick to snap a picture with his phone. Then we grabbed our bags and Zeke took the lead. We ca across other teens, either alone or with their parents, all heading to the sa dorm building.
The line was rather long, leaving us outside.
Zeke glanced down at us. "You guys stay here and follow the line. I’ll go in and see if I can et with Coach Leroy." He held both of his bags in on hand, over his shoulder, and headed for the door.
His movents grabbed the attention of those in line. He made it to the door, but was held up by those standing in the doorway.
"I think they’re accusing him of cutting the line." Noah told as we watched from afar.
"Because he is." The guy in front of us remarked. He spared a glance back us before snorting. "Too good to stand in line? How naive."
I imdiately took a step back.
Noah did the opposite, taking a step forward. "You know what? You’re right. He is too good to stand in line. After all, he’s already one of the players for Stanford." Just as Noah had finished, we could see soone co out of the building and shook hands with Zeke. Then they went into the building together.
"He’s one of the counselors for the camp?" The teen asked, sounding surprised. He turned back to give Noah his full attention.
Noah nodded. "All current and forr players of Stanford’s baseball team act as camp counselors and coaches."
"You guys showed up together? He’s your brother?"
Noah nodded.
"So you got in through the backdoor?" The teen smirked.
Before Noah could lose his cool, soone comnted from behind us. "College camps are opened to anyone and everyone." It was Rhys! He stood beside us and continued speaking. "College camps are about getting exposure. There is no ’backdoor’."
The teen in front of us snorted and faced forward.
"Don’t mind him." Rhys told us. He wrapped an arm around Noah’s shoulders and pulled him back closer to . "How’s the leg, Jake?"
"Good." I did a few calf raises to prove it. "No pain."
"That’s good." He reaches out with his free hand to pat on the head. "I was worried you weren’t going to be healthy in ti for the camp."
"Don’t worry about him." Noah told Rhys. "Zeke made us run, workout, and play baseball yesterday. We are still sore."
I nodded in agreent.
Rhys laughed. "You must have done sothing to get on his bad side."
"That’s not true!" Noah quickly explained what had happened during his birthday.
Rhys laughed the whole ti as Noah recalled all the pranks he had to go through. "Wow. I always miss all the excitent with you guys. Sorry I couldn’t make it to the party, by the way. I had to co here a couple days early to et up with the pitching coach."
"Was it your first eting? Did you show him what you’ve got?" Noah asked.
Rhys nodded. "It was the first ti eting, but with Coach Leroy standing behind , there wasn’t much he could say. He didn’t have any disagreents after I showed him what I could do, too."
"Are you going to be a camp counselor for the week?" I asked.
Rhys nodded. "A lot of the localish players will be helping out. That’s not all though. There’ll be so other coaches and their assistants from so of the smaller schools helping out."
"Are they getting paid?" Noah asked.
Rhys shook his head. "Not really. They use this more as a recruiting tool to help their own schools."
"But doesn’t everyone that co here, want to go to Stanford?" Noah asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not. The thing is though, Stanford can’t accept everyone." Rhys explained. "Thats where the smaller schools co in. At the end of the week, they can exchange contact information with the players that might fit their program. Especially community colleges. They can only have a player for two years. Maybe they’ll convince the players that if they co to their school and help their program, then they can transfer to a bigger school like Stanford after improving their ga." Rhys knew a lot about how college camps work. There was a lot of give and take between the host school and the other coaches. And even between the players that co here. "Not necessarily all players here want to go to Stanford. Coaches aren’t the only ones looking at prospects. So are professional scouts."
"Scouts!?" Noah’s eyes got wide. The MLB is his dream. He wasn’t interested in going to college like the twins were.
"Not all players get to be on good teams or go to good high schools. They co to their biggest local college and try to showcase their skill in hopes of getting their na out there." Rhys explained. He glanced at . "I’m sure your na will be at the top of everyone’s lists by the end of tomorrow."
I looked away, feeling unsettled.
"Hey! What about ?!" Noah demanded, pretending to be offended.
Rhys laughed. "You’re gonna have to work a little harder. Jake has a special skill. Your special skill is your work ethic."
Noah rolled his eyes. "I have fast reflexes too, okay?"
"Not fast enough at the plate." Rhys joked.
Noah pushed him away. "Jerk. I’ll show you. By the end of this camp, I’ll have a few college coaches showing interest in . Maybe even a scout or two will take note."
"Who knows." Rhys answered.
As we were talking, the line was creeping forward towards the dorm building. It wasn’t long before we walked inside, entering the common room. There were a couple of ping pong tables, a pool table, and a lounge area with a few rows of couches pointed at a tv.
Dead center of the room was a long table with so old and young n behind it. Teens and their parents would go to an open spot in front of one of them and get a packet of papers and a small envelope.
As soon as it was our turn, Zeke ca out from behind the table and gave us our packets. He handed Rhys the envelope. "Take them to their room for . It looks like we’re going to be busy even after lights out."
Rhys accepted the envelope and nodded. "Sure. I’ll co back to help once they’re settled."
Zeke looked down at and Noah. "Go to bed early. Tomorrow morning starts with evaluations." He turned away without explaining, helping other teens get their papers.
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