The Hitting Zone

Chapter 1142  V3 ch376

The rest of the week was back to the basics. No parking near the field in the lower lot. No more practices after school or seeing all the guys in the clubroom. But…we did see Joey a lot more. He intentionally went out for his way to mention football to Noah at least once at every break. It got to the point where Noah changed up our Friday lunch spot to join Kaylee and Alisha in the quad.

Kaylee had skipped Wednesday like she said she would. Thursday she came and stayed the whole time, looking better mentally. But by Friday lunch, she was back to looking drained.

"The car ride is going to be rough if you're already looking like this." Noah commented between bites.

Kaylee shrugged. "My mom will bring my pain meds with. I'll be able to take one as soon as she picks me up during our cooking class. Those usually knock me out real quick so the ride shouldn't be too bad." She looked at me. "Tell Jeremy thanks again for me."

I opened my bag of carrot sticks. "I'm sure he knows. He said Dr. Shanfield is the best in the bay so hopefully you don't need all that work done to your arm." I glanced at it. "It still hurts though? Usually the first week is the hardest but you should feel some improvement."

"It wasn't exactly a normal break." Noah pointed out.

"The pain meds run out after the weekend." Kaylee said. "So a couple more days and then it's probably not as bad? I don't know what I'll do if it is like this though."

"Maybe the doctor today can prescribe some more pain meds just in case." Alisha offered. "Depending on the situation."

"Even if he does, it would be hard to convince my parents I need it." Kaylee pouted and glanced at her arm. "They think I'm faking the pain for attention."

"Honestly surprised that they're willing to take you to a doctor so far." Noah commented.

"It helps that he has a prestigious title working with a professional sports team." Kaylee said. "Another thankful point for Jeremy."

"Speaking of which, do you want to go to his game on Sunday with us?" Noah offered. He glanced at Alisha. "You too, Alisha. So far it's just me and Noah going with Dave, so you would have to make sure your parents is okay with him being the driver."

I nodded, happy with that idea.

"Sounds good! I'm in." Alisha happily accepted. "My parents would be cool with it."

They usually are. If Alisha had the coolest, most relaxed parents around, then Kaylee was the dead opposite.

"Kyle's not going?" Kaylee asked.

"Wants to go on a date with Marie." Noah answered while rolling his eyes.

"Now that baseball is over, he's looking forward to spending more time with her." I added on.

Kaylee let out a short laugh. "I guess I should be happy that she didn't just ditch me. I bet she planned to just babysit me on Sunday with him around."

"So what do you say? Come with us or be a third-wheel with them?" Noah grinned.

"If I come, wouldn't they just come too?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Not if we don't tell them." Noah's grin looked deceiving.

Kaylee brightened up like she wanted to partake, but just as quickly as that smile came, it left. She sighed. "Nah. It won't work. If I ask my parents to go, I'm sure they would either say no or would want Marie to come with. I'll just stay home."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "We can take them too."

"Yea, it's fine. My arm is bugging me anyways. No promises that I would be good to go on Sunday. When it's better, you can invite me again."

"Any word on when you guys might move officially?" Noah asked.

"It's constantly changing. But the idea seems to be after July 4th holiday and before the start of August when Marie needs to report for her summer camp."

"We'll get some games in still then." He nodded confidently. "As soon as school lets out, we'll have a lot more freedom on the weekdays."

"What about the regional team thingy?" Alisha asked. "Weren't you guys going to North Carolina sometime?"

"Not til August." Noah said. "We have round two of tryouts coming up soon. That's an all weekend thing. First weekend in June. Then we, I mean I." He grinned my way. "I don't find out if I made the team until mid July when they finalize the roster. Jake already knows he in."

"That's a bit of a big gap."

"They have to host round two in a lot of places to make sure they see all the players that want in. It's got to be hard work to narrow down a roster from thousands of applicants."

"You going to be okay if Noah doesn't make it?" Kaylee suddenly asked me.

I coughed and started to choke on my snacks. Alisha handed me a water bottle and I drank some to clear my throat. I wiped my mouth. "He said they would still go with me if he didn't make it." I looked to Noah for reassurance.

He nodded. "Of course I'll be there to watch you dominate the best of our age. Dave said he'll definitely come too. Mom and Dad wouldn't miss it either. Now Grampa…there's a good chance he stays home."

I showed a small smile. "Yea."

"Is that all you have planned this summer?" Kaylee didn't sound impress. "Why does it sound even less than last summer?"

"Maybe because not all the details are ironed out?" Noah shrugged. "We're definitely doing the Stanford summer camp again at the end of July. But after that, there might be regional team commitments for practices before the tournament. As soon as we get back, we'll have our high school team camp." Noah scratched the back of his head. "Guess you can say we're free at first, and then packed at the end."

"Perfect!" Alisha clapped her hands together. "Means we can spend all the time we can with Kaylee before she goes. We can hang out at my house all summer." She paused. "And at the arcade and cages. We'll just have to be more careful with Kaylee at first."

"Yea, gotta see what the good doc has to say first." Noah said.

Lunch ended and we four went to class together, still shooting around ideas of what we can do. Going to the beach and baseball games seemed to be at the top of the list. Just minutes into our class, Kaylee was called to the office for early release. She grabbed her bag by the handle and left with a small pep in her step. She was looking forward to her appointment for sure.

Alisha let out a heavy sigh, drawing both mine and Noah's attention. She pouted. "I feel so bad for Kaylee. I really hope she gets the answer she wants from this doctor. I know she doesn't want all that metal in her, but if it's for the best and stops the pain…"

"We're not medical professionals. Let's not speculate and just leave it to the pro." Noah said.

"I just feel bad and want her to get better faster." She repeated. "Our driver's ed starts tomorrow morning and it's sad knowing that she has to sit this out. We were looking forward to learning together. I even started looking at cars to hint at it for my parents and Kaylee had some good ideas."

I made a face. "Driver's education starts tomorrow?"

"Just the learning class." Noah scrunched up his nose. "Four hour class of just learning the rules of the road. No actual driving until who knows when."

"Should be our third lesson." Alisha offered. "Like I said, I've been looking into this for awhile. Unlike you guys, I don't have older brothers to take me places. Everything would be done by my parents. So lame."

"But your parents are so nice." I said, surprised.

"I know, but it's not the same, Jake." She complained. "You don't know what it's like to be with your friends while your dad is cracking dad jokes or when your mom wants to talk about boys. It's soooo embarrassing."

I really couldn't relate. Whenever Mom and Dad were driving, it usually meant we already had a full car. Plus…I only had a few friends.

"So you're hoping they gift you a car for your sweet sixteen?" Noah sounded interested. "Do you think that'll really happen for you?"

"Of course! I'm their only child! Their baby! They have to love me." She giggled. "Though some of my requests were a little out there. Like wanting a pale pink convertible. I told them I won't be nitpicks about the color, but convertible would be best. I want to drive along the beach with the wind in my hair and the radio blasting." She spent the rest of the class talking about her dream car and her other birthday wishes. She was definitely going to do another end of the year party to celebrate the end of school, the start of summer, and her sweet sixteen.

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