Chapter 2

I woke up, not from my alarm, but from an interesting dream. I dreamt about fencing against my dad, and him beating me. Which is weird since I've never seen him fence a day in my life. I rolled out of my bed, checking my phone for the time. It was 6:35. I woke up way too late. I instantly jumped out of my bed and turned my lamp on. I needed my uniform and my baseball equipment. I don't even have my backpack for it. Now, I gotta throw it into my duffle bag. I took off my SpongeBob pajamas and threw on my uniform. Alright, now, with the 7 or so minutes I have left, I need to get my baseball equipment. I went through my closet that I left open last night. I managed to pull out my old white duffle bag. It was weighted so I knew I left some of my old baseball gear in there. Hopefully my bat and cleats. Now where is my baseball glove? I looked in the closet for my glove. It wasn't there. I checked the time, it was 6:40. I had about 2 minutes until my bus came. And here I am, my uniform wrinkled, a duffle bag that I hope has my stuff, no shoes, and looking for my baseball glove. This is not that good of a morning. I checked under my bed, and indeed, my glove was there. My pink pitcher's glove from the year before. I tossed it in my duffle bag, zipped it up, grabbed my phone, threw on my white shoes, and ran out the door. I sat in front of my driveway, looking at the stars that would fade into morning light. They were beautiful. The bus arrived at my stop. I got on and sat by myself.I wasn't sure if Liv would sit by me today or not. Maybe I should've texted her. Did she ever text me back? I checked my phone and it turns out, she did text me. I opened the text and read it to myself. "It's a half day today." A half day was such a blessing on a Friday. Only 3 hours of schooling, tryouts, and then we go home. I put my head down just as the bus stopped at Liv's stop. I doubt she'd sit by me back-to-back days. I let a few seconds pass while everyone sat down. Someone sat by me. I glanced to the side not to see Liv, but some other girl. I couldn't get a clear look at her face, but something told me she was the same girl from yesterday. Maybe I'm just being superstitious. I mean, I can't see her face, hair, or anything. Definitely superstitious. If that was her, I would need to get my bag back. The rest of the bus ride went too quickly, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of the school.All I had to do was get through my first 3 classes, then the day was over. I quickly walked into my Statistics class, and surprisingly, another substitute teacher. Was my teacher fired or something? She would never miss class twice. I mean, I can't complain once so ever. The bell rang, signaling the start of the first period. I kept thinking about the black hair girl, only because I needed my bag back. Should I sleep, and hope that the same event happens twice? I guess so. As I dropped my duffle bag on the ground, I rested my head on the cool yet hard desk. My arms blocked all the light, but my mind created a scenery. I was on the mound, the bases loaded, the crowd going crazy."Walk Off!" The crowd constantly cheered, their anticipation mounting as they hoped for the batter to deliver a game-winning hit against me. I turned around, trying to calm my nerves, ignoring the enemy crowd. The count was 3-2. I looked back at the catcher, who was signaling for my circle change. I nodded to him, readying the pitch. The crowd slowly began to settle down. I was never good at throwing a circle change, but maybe this time, it's different. I cradled the baseball, bringing my fingers together, creating a circle with my thumb and index on the ball. I slightly tightened my grip and was ready to throw. I took one look at the crowd, then at the batter, who was ready to swing. I was confident that this would be a strike-out. I lifted my leg into a controlled stride that reached its apex, in a quick pace, I brought my leg down and drove my hips forward. I slightly brought my arm back, and in a quick motion, swung it full force. The pitch was out of my hand, and I watched as it sped to the catcher. I had a weird feeling that this pitch came off as a little bad. The pitch wasn't going down like I thought. It was still hanging. Then, the crack of the bat shattered the silence. I looked up to see the tiniest white particle soar through the air. The ball was up, and up, and up, and gone. I took my glove off in disbelief as the crowd fully erupted. The team didn't come over to support me, they just walked off the field, and I was left, watching them celebrate. Just as I was going to walk, it started raining.I picked my head up, not to see a dark sky, but a white ceiling. Another nap, but this one felt too real. I'm not sure why. As I gained the slight ability to focus on the clock, it was 10:20. Completely missed my second period twice, and still late to my third period. I take a glance around the class, empty. Is there not usually a class here? That other girl said Geometry, but maybe not. Instead of running to my English class like yesterday, I decided to walk and made sure to walk slowly. But now that I think about it, I'm almost 40 minutes late. Is there even a point to show up? And just as I thought that I turned around. No point in even showing up to a class with only 20 minutes left. But if a teacher asks why I'm not in class, what do I say? Bathroom? I suppose that's my only option, as long as they don't try to inquire more than that. I headed right downstairs, to the lunchroom, which was empty. No students or staff within the area. Since today was a half day, once this class ended, I simply had to go to the baseball field for tryouts. Wait, I just realized, I never told Liv I was doing it. I told her I wasn't doing it. This is gonna be a pleasant surprise for her. After a few minutes of wandering, pondering, and wondering about how tryouts would go, class ended.Students began walking across the lunch room, wanting to hurry and head home. I can't blame them. I honestly would rather be home. The baseball field was down the right across the street. Following the array of students walking outside, I turned left and you could see a pretty big line of students who were trying out for baseball and softball. I followed them down the field. I didn't recognize anyone here, so, I was just hoping I could bond with my teammates easily enough if I made it. Once I got to the entrance of the field, I saw a tall man just standing and writing stuff as we walked.Probably asking for our names or something. I was only a few kids behind him. Looking at these kids, they look much better than I do. They're built, and tall. I'm just skinny and short, which isn't good as a closing pitcher, or any type of pitcher for that matter. As I finally reached the front of the line, the tall man studied me."Name?" He asked, his voice gruff."Thomas Adler," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. He scribbled on his clipboard before gesturing to me to get on the field. "Get warmed up." I started to feel a little determined. This was my chance to prove myself to high school coaches. To show that injuries can't hold me back. With those thoughts in mind, I stepped onto the field, ready to give it my all. The sun was beaming down on me, almost seeming like it was specifically targeting me. I scanned the field, trying to spot familiar faces, but everyone seemed like a stranger to me. This was weird because I was almost certain that Ethan and Cooper were gonna play.Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. There were about 50 kids on the field, with more and more just spewing from the gate. Probably about half of this amount was signed up for middle school baseball. I needed to show these coaches why I deserved a spot on the team. I couldn't see Liv, but it was hard to tell some of the softball players from the baseball players. It seemed far too crowded for all of us to be on the same field. I was hanging around 1st base, while one coach, a short bald man, was standing on home plate. I decided to get a small warm-up in. I stretched my shoulders, and my legs, and just as I was about to stretch my hips, the coach began his talk."Alright!" I've never heard a group of kids go from talking to quiet as quickly as this."If you've played baseball before, raise your hand! And I'm not talking about no tee ball; baseball only!" I could just tell he was a coach that could get me fired up. I raised my right hand and looked around. Probably about 10 or so kids also put their hands up."Everyone who put their hands up, go to the dugout!" I stood up, picked my bag up, and walked over to the dugout.It was a decently large cage, with brick on top and on the sides. A long bench inside, and a soft barricade on the outside, blocking any fast foul balls. I was the first one to it, walking inside, down 2 steps, and sat on the bench. Soon, the others followed along. I took the time to count, and there were only 9. They all tossed their stuff down and started talking. I sat at the end of it and checked my bag to make sure I had my stuff. I opened it, and all my stuff was inside. Glove, cleats, phone, charger, deodorant. Everything except water."Put your cleats on, what are you doing? You're gonna make the whole team look bad." I looked over to the right, where those words came from, and it came from a kid, who was quite defined, and a little taller than me. I wasn't sure how I wanted to respond. I didn't need to respond to him, and so I didn't. He didn't say anything after that. I took off my shoes and put my cleats on. A little tight, but still sturdy. They were completely white except for the Nike logo, which was a gradient pink, and the word "Vapor" across the heel was also a gradient pink. I tied my laces up and tossed my shoes into the bag.A coach started walking up to the dugout. It wasn't the same bald guy, but rather he was smaller and had hair. Once he got to the dugout, he asked us for our name and position. I was gonna be the last one he asked, so I waited patiently. There was a first baseman, 3 shortstops, 1 third baseman, and then 3 played the outfield. I was looking over at who he was calling out. He called out the kid who said I made the team look bad."Name and position?""Cole Carter, and closing pitcher." Oh boy, he's also a closing pitcher. Now I have to fight for my spot to be number 1. Coach looked at me and asked the same question."Thomas Adler, and also a closing pitcher." Coach gave me a slight smirk."Guess you two are gonna have to fight for that role." Cole glanced at me, then went back to the coach."Alright boys, if you're fielding follow me, if not, wait for the pitching coach." Everyone except for me and Cole, left the dugout. Cole started to talk but kept facing the field."Thomas, you're not gonna be the closing pitcher.""And why wouldn't I be?""You, Thomas, don't have any idea what it's like facing high school batters. It's different, no one is giving you laughs and giggles." I grabbed my glove out of my bag, and he continued to talk."I would be damned if he gave you the role." I started to zone out after he said that. I put on my glove and ignored everything he was saying. Only a few seconds until this pitching coach came by. At least I hope he was a pitching coach. He was about 6'2, and bulky."You two are our only pitchers?""Yeah, probably gonna need some freshman to play a starting pitcher," Cole said. Coach nodded his head and told us to follow him. He walked down to where the right foul pole was and there were 2 mats, as well as two catchers."Alright, you two. I obviously shouldn't need to give y'all a spiel on how to pitch. I want y'all to take a piece of paper, write down the pitches you keep in your arsenal, and give it to the catcher." As he finished, he gave us both a piece of paper and told us to use the wall to lean the paper on. As I walked to the wall, I thought to myself. What pitches should I write down? I learned a lot, but haven't mastered a lot. Let's see, the first one has to be my four-seam fastball, followed by my cutter and slider, and then probably my sinker. Yeah, I think that's my perfect arsenal. I walked back, handed my paper to a catcher, and walked back to the mat. Cole did the same."Now, I'm gonna call out a number, and you have to throw it into that section of the zone. One is the top left, nine is the bottom right, you should be able to figure that out. Lastly, the mats. You two will stand on the mat, as it's just a practice pitching mound. And if you throw a ball over the head of the catcher, I will personally make you run poles, got it?" I nodded and we began.Pitch after pitch, minute after minute, my arms were getting sore, but I couldn't let up. After about 10 minutes, he told us to try our hardest, because it'd be our final pitch."Cole you first. Throw me your fastest pitch down the middle, and I'll tell you the speed." Coach grabs his radar gun and stands by the catchers. Cole threw the pitch, and it truly seemed like it had some power to it. I was a little worried my pitch wouldn't be as fast as that."Cole, your speed topped out at 74, which is very good. But now it's your turn, Thomas." I winded up, and with all the strength I could gather, I hurled the pitch right at the catcher's chest. I didn't even get to see the pitch that much, as the momentum I gave myself made me swing my body to the right sound, Coach looked at the radar gun."Thomas, you topped out at an incredible 76. For a lefty, that's incredible right there. That's the fastest I've ever seen from a lefty here." Cole looked at me, and whispered one word in my ear,"Lucky." He was all talk, that's all I noticed from him. After this, the coach made us run, stretch, and field. And by the end, we were standing in a line, across the softball girls. I could see Liv! She had on pastel pink cleats. I wanted to wave to her, but something told me not to. My confidence did. Feels like confidence ruins everything."Alright! I want a batter from the softball team up in the box." My pitching coach yelled that, and we didn't know why.After a few seconds of chattering, Liv walks to the batter's box. The pitching coach then comes up to me and tells me to get on the mound and pitch. Here I was, thinking I wouldn't even baseball, to pitching to Liv. Maybe I gotta start believing in fate. I wonder if she knows it's me pitching to her. Probably not since I told her I wouldn't come. And since my head was always facing down, I don't think she'd be able to get a good look at my face. I walked up to the mound, and there was already a bucket of baseballs. I guess I was supposed to pitch to the net behind her for my strike zone. But, pitching baseballs to a softball player doesn't seem to add up."We're gonna show Mrs. Brooks that softball players aren't as great as baseball players!" my pitching coach continued. I realized two things, one, I never figured out his name, and two, he seems a bit sexist. I wonder how he and Mrs. Brooks even came to decide to do this. As I looked to the side, I instantly felt pressure. I need to strike her out, not only to impress coaches but to show these players that I belong. Liv was a left-handed batter, so that could make things easier. I grabbed a baseball out of the bucket and prepared to throw. It's different without a catcher not telling me what pitch is best, or where to throw it, now, I just have to make assumptions.Knowing she's a power hitter, I really need to catch her off guard. My first pitch was a slider. I winded up and threw the pitch. It was way outside. Didn't even hit the sidebar on the net."Ball!" Everyone yelled out. I grabbed another ball, and this time, prepared my sinker, bottom right corner. I winded up and threw the pitch, and safe to say, this pitch was worse than my last. I grounded the pitch, and it rolled to the net."Ball!" Everyone yelled out, again. I am absolutely embarrassed. I grab another ball ready to throw a pitch more inside instead of the corners. I'll throw a cutter to the right side. I winded up, threw the third pitch, and she swung, and missed!"Strike!" This chant gave me extreme confidence. Liv didn't seem bothered by it though. She gave a practice swing, then got right back into batting position. I grabbed another ball and was ready to give her my best pitch, the four-seam fastball. Down to the bottom middle. I winded up, threw it, and the silence was broken with a crack. I looked up, and that ball was high up. Maybe it's gonna be a pop-up, but it was far past the infield. Maybe it was gonna be a flyout, but no. It went over the fence. I was in sheer disbelief. There was no reaction coming from the people watching us. I didn't look at Liv, but rather I looked down at the mound.Should I even bother looking at her? I decided to, and all I could see her do was run past second base, she was rounding all of them. Turning to the right, I saw the pitching coach walking and shaking his head. He got within a few inches of my face and just spoke softly, uncomfortably soft."Not only did you get a home run hit on you. But it was by a girl, with no baseball experience. How do you think I feel watching that happen?""Disappointed?""You're damn right. Usually, I'd cut a player for letting that happen. However, you're one of the few pitchers we have that has experience. So your chances of making the team may be high but don't think your chances of being the first closing pitcher are. Now get back in the line.I jogged back in line, feeling completely ashamed. I could only imagine what the players were thinking, especially Cole. He might just get on my ass again about it. The sun was getting covered by the clouds, letting a nice cool breeze blow across my face.All the coaches had us run around the field for the rest of practice. From jogging to intervals to suicides. Once that finished, the pitching coach decided to make an announcement."Everyone here did good. A few of you were great, a few of you should never touch a baseball or a bat again. We will email you for who makes the team. Have a nice weekend, and we will see who makes the team next week!" By this point, I was dragging my feet across the field just to make it to the bullpen where my stuff was. Tryouts felt good, except for that homerun that got hit on me. Most of the players were crowding the gate to leave the field. The girls were in the bullpen on the other side of the field.Once I got to our bullpen, I sat on the bench, took my glove off, and dropped it in the bag, exchanging it for my phone. I opened my messages to see that Liv texted me. "If you want, we can do the project at my house. Easier to communicate since I'm usually not on my phone." Go over to her house!? I definitely would want to! But, I gotta play it cool. I should probably call my mom and let her know I'm gonna go over to her house. If Liv decides that I can't come over because she's busy or such, I'll just come back home. I dialed my mom's number and pressed the green call button. It rang twice, then she picked up."Hey, mom. Me and L-, my friend, are gonna do a project. Do you think I can go over to his house? It's... Landon's house. Okay, great! Thanks, Mom. I'll see you soon. I love you too." I hung up and smiled."Who the hell is Landon?" I whispered to myself and chuckled. I put on my shoes, threw my bag over my left shoulder, and began walking to the gate. I'll just text Liv, and see if her offer still stands. "I don't mind doing the project at your house." If Liv hasn't left yet, maybe I can meet her at the gate. Or I guess wait until she texts back, whichever is faster. I stood outside the gate, and waited, watching as everyone left. It seems weird not having Cooper or Ethan show up. Usually, they'd be the first ones to come. Ding! I checked my phone, and Liv responded. "We can meet at the baseball field. I just finished softball tryouts."Well, this is gonna be weird, since I'm already here. Maybe she won't question that I decided to try out despite having a weak UCL. I'm surprised it didn't tear twice after throwing a 76 mph fastball. "I'm at the gate of the baseball field actually." That's what I texted back with. Still a bunch of kids at the gate. Liv won't notice me that easily. From the gate, I walked back to the field. Seeing three softball girls walking. None of them were Liv. So I waited a bit more. Then another softball player left the bullpen, tall, noticeably dark hair, Liv. What do I say once she gets here? Do I tell her I did try out? Do I just say I watched? What would even be the point of lying to her? Just as I was considering, there she was. Only a few feet from me. I waved, and she waved back."I thought you weren't gonna do baseball?""I'm not. I was just watching." Yep, I just lied. It might work out in the long run. Not needing to worry about her questioning."You're sweating an awful lot.""Waiting out in the heat. Coaches wouldn't let me sit in the bullpen if I were just gonna watch." Something told me that she could see through this lie."Right. And, the duffle bag?""I lost my backpack, so I took my old duffle bag.""Ah, that makes sense. Well, I guess we shouldn't wait any longer." Liv's tone was soft and sweet. I could listen to her talk for hours upon hours. We began walking to the gate, and I decided to strike up a conversation about today."How did tryouts go?""It went good. I hit a home run off a baseball pitcher. I think that really boosted my ego and confidence as a batter.""Why did they have you face a baseball pitcher?" At this point, I just wanted to hear her side of things."I'm not sure. A coach called for any softball batter, and I guess some random pitcher too.""I guess that is pretty weird. Hey? How far is your house exactly?""Only about a 10-minute walk. Why?""No reason, just curious." We walked from the gate, and onto the sidewalk. Beginning a journey to her house.I'm very curious about what her neighborhood is like. Maybe she has a small house. What about her parents? I need to make a good impression. Not in a weird way or anything. We weren't talking during this whole walk. Her hair was in a plait, resting upon her shoulder. I'll say this, one thing that feels a little awkward is being the short one. I feel like someone's gonna call me her little brother or something."My house is just up the street." Her house must've been pretty big, considering the houses on this street were pretty big and modern."Liv, should I be worried about your parents?" Liv stops walking, turns to me, and laughs."I'm sorry! I didn't mean to laugh but, what do you mean by 'worry'?"I don't even blame her for laughing. That's just a dumb question."I mean like, is there a certain way I need to act or dress around them?" She thought about the question for a few seconds."Not at all. We're not a fancy family. We won't kick you out of the house if you're not wearing a suit or something. Oh, and by the way, I have a little sister. But she might not be there because her school doesn't have a half day." We began to walk again. So close to her house. The day was becoming more sunny. Once we crossed a few houses, she stopped me."This is my house. Welcome yourself." Her house was big. two stories tall, a beige color, and she had a basketball hoop in the ground next to her driveway. No cars were in the driveway. Most likely in the garage. I can't believe I'm actually gonna walk into her house. She opened the door, and the interior almost reminded me of my home."I'm home!" She yells out. I'm gonna be able to meet her parents. Not sure if I should feel excited or nervous, maybe both.Someone walked out of the living room. It was her dad."How was prac-" He stopped mid-sentence and stared at me."Who's this boy you brought here?""It's just my partner for a project." Harsh that I couldn't just be called her friend or something."Huh, well alright. You know how I feel about letting any boys in my house.""I know. It's only for the project, nothing else." Her dad then went back into the living room. I took my shoes off and left them at the side of her front door, she did the same."Here come on, let's get some work done," Liv said. The interior was incredibly clean. The nice hardwood floor, I could see a little bit of the kitchen. It was big. We walked up the stairs, and to the left, down the hall."My room is dirty Thomas, so don't you dare call me out for it."She opened the door, and it was surprisingly not as dirty as I expected. Sure, maybe a piece of clothing here and there, but not as bad as mine. And the smell, it smelt so good. It had a peach-type of smell. This is her house, and now, here I am. How did I even get to this position? I will forever question myself.