The Hitting Zone

"I think it's time to bring it up, Wayne." Mom said to Dad towards the end of dinner. 

Dad nodded and looked towards me and Noah. "Jake is officially 15.5 and can apply for his permit. We think you two should start preparing for the permit test so we can start driving lessons."

"Sure." Noah stayed focus on eating. "I don't think I need much preparation. Just read the pamphlets at the DMV, right? That's what Zeke did."

"We took an online course to learn the rules of the road." Dave said. "That's what you should have to do too."

"Zeke did that as well." Mom added, giving Noah a look. "Teenagers can't just walk in and get their permit. They have to do like twenty-some learning hours, either online or in person. Then a total of six hours with an instructor." She turned to me. "Any opinions, Jake?"

I made a face. "I have to drive with a stranger in the front passenger seat?"

She gave a slow nod. "It's not all six hours at once. We could split it up anyway we like. 2/2/2. Six one-hour attempts. You and Noah would do it together so he would be in the backseat and then you would be in the backseat for his."

I loosened up. "Yea, that doesn't sound so bad." I thought of a different problem. "Is the instructor a man or woman?"

"We can pick what you prefer."

"A man." I looked Mom in the eyes.

She gave a small nod and showed a sad smile. "Sure thing."

"Hey, can I ask Kaylee and Alisha what they're doing about their permits?" Noah brought up. "I don't think either of them have mentioned it. Maybe we can do a class and instruction driving together?"

Mom brightened up. "That would be fun. And maybe it would help learning how to drive with friends as a group. You guys can study together and help one another."

"We're going to meet them at The Cages tomorrow." Noah told her. "We'll ask them then."

"You're not thinking about taking some swings, are you?" Dad frowned at Noah. 

Noah shook his head. "Nope. Mostly going for Jake's benefit. Today's game put him in a bad mood. But I figured we could still have lunch there and play some games. The girls said they wanted to come too. Kaylee might go to the cages and get some work in as well."

"Marie said Kaylee was kind of acting distant to her lately." Kyle brought up out of the blue. 

"Gee. I wonder why." Noah said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Maybe it has something to do with her parents uprooting her life so they could watch her sister play softball."

"That's not fair." Kyle said. "Marie has no control over that."

"Imagine if Mom and Dad decided to move us to be closer to Zeke's college." Noah said. "You're saying you wouldn't give Zeke a hard time?"

Kyle's lips thinned with displeasure. "It's not really the same thing."

"There's no saving you." Noah rolled his eyes again.

No one else said anything either way. Dave probably wanted to stay out of it while the other three adults were trying to be neutral. 

"What if Mom and Dad followed Jake to college?" Kyle threw out there. "Would you still be mad at him?"

"Different circumstances." Noah waved his spoon around. "Jake is the youngest. We wouldn't have to move around with them. Also, he's had less time with them so I wouldn't mind."

Kyle pursed his lips. 

"I think it's best if we let them work on their own family matters." Dad spoke up, trying to play referee. "Kyle, you don't have to do mediation for Marie and her sister. If she wants to see change in attitude, she should change her perspective first. Noah, I understand how it can be difficult to see your friend upset, but this isn't something we can help with."

"I'm not the one that brought it up." Noah shrugged. He looked to Dave. "Will you give us a ride tomorrow? We can probably get a ride home from one of Alisha's parents."

"Yea. No problem." He glanced at Kyle. "You hanging out with Marie tomorrow? Or me and the guys?"

Kyle twisted his lips. "Can't we just bring Marie?"

"You can if you want." Dave said nonchalantly. "Don't know of any other girls being there though."

Dinner ended and showers had to be taken. Mostly me, but the other still wanted showers before bed. Once in bed, I checked my phone and found some texts from Jeremy and Zeke in the group chat, both talking about their games and asking about mine. The twins and Noah had all replied saying I kicked butt, two runs scored and an RBI.

I was more blunt and wrote in the chat: It sucked. Three intentional walks. 

Noah quickly added: Going to the cages tomorrow so he can release some of his frustrations. 

Jeremy replied: It won't be like this on the regional team. Definitely not during the NTIS. You'll have something to look forward to this summer. 

Zeke joined in: You can add more camps to your summer schedule. You'll do plenty of hitting drills and matchups then. 

Noah: But that also comes with fielding drills. 

Dave laughed out loud. "Are you trying to discourage him, Noah?"

"Yea, Noah." I looked at him. 

Noah shrugged. "Just being honest. If you just want to hit, going to the cages is more your thing. Don't fall into Zeke's trap of getting you to do other things that you don't want to."

"Oh yea." I slapped my forehead. "I really was think of starting to look at camps."

Dave laughed. "Yea, but are the cages really that fun? It's the same speed. No specialty pitches. No variation."

"He can just get that from you." Noah pointed out. "You'll be home all summer with nowhere to go. Why not just practice with us the whole time?"

Dave gave him a look. "I thought you don't like catching?"

Noah smirked. "Why would I have to catch? Jake would just hit everything you throw. I could work on my fielding instead." He laughed to himself. "I could even put in requests and practice all kinds of different positions. Like grounders to short. Fly balls to the corners."

Dave slapped him with a pillow. "You suck." He then pointed at me. "You're my goal this summer. I'm absolutely going to get you to strike out. Just once. That's the confidence boost I'll need before college."

"Catchers are very important to a battery." I said, thinking of my time against some minor leaguers. "If Noah doesn't want to catch for you, Mitchell would be happy to."

"I don't need you to tell me that." Dave grumbled as he got into bed. 

I gave Noah a disapproving look. 

Noah shrugged. Not bothered that he just put his brother down. 

Dave also wasn't bothered by the time he took us to The Cages in the mid morning. He dropped us off and waved goodbye good-naturedly. The girls weren't here yet, so we walked to the back to where the cages were. I still had plenty of tokens and didn't need to buy any. On a Sunday morning, the cages were fairly popping. I recognized a few regulars, having become one myself. 

"You're really going to wait for the 60's?" Noah asked in disbelief. "There's like five people to go. Can't you just go straight to the 90's? It's already open and ready for you."

"I need to warmup. Plus, I like working my way up. It's easier to feel changes in the slower cages." I told him. 

He made a face. "I'll just wait out front for the girls instead. Maybe you'll be at the 90's by the time they get here."

I wasn't. I did make it to the 80's though. There were less people in line for it too. After every turn finished, I made sure I didn't see anyone waiting before starting again for the otherside. I got into such a rhythm and without a line, I didn't want to leave. It wasn't until someone was waiting that I did leave. Then I realized how long it had been. An hour easy. 

I checked my phone and saw a text from Noah saying they would be inside playing. I was supposed to find them when I was ready to eat lunch. I hesitated between hitting more or going to find them. The decision only got made when I saw a catcher inside the 90's cage. My eyelid twitched. I know that guy from early this year. Just after we came back from Gramma's funeral. Justin. 

I took my helmet off and packed my bag, putting it on my back and went inside. Hopefully that guy will be done by the time we finish lunch. But I wouldn't put my money on it. Last time, it took a lot of complaints and then Mr. Williams had to come out himself. 

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