The Hitting Zone



Mr. Miller wasn't the only one to ask about Kaylee. As soon as we started walking through the halls, we were greeted by some of the people, asking if we knew about her condition. Noah was the one to do all the talking, explaining that we stayed for her surgery and that she had started the long road to recovery. It happened throughout the day, especially in classes that we had shared with her. Everyone wanted to know. Noah decided to text Kyle to tell him that Marie should send out an update.

I felt a little numb throughout the day, tired from the lack of sleep, and just a little unwell from the thought of Kaylee's arm. Surprisingly, Coach addressed her injury just before practice started, asking us to gather around.

"I know quite a few of you went to the girl's game last night." Coach said, looking around. "It's tough to see a friend or classmate get seriously hurt like that, but I want to assure everyone that she went through surgery and it went well."

"But like well enough for her to play again?" Logan sounded skeptical.

"Of course! Kaylee's not a quitter." Noah said with conviction. "She just needs the summer to heal. She won't be missing anything."

"She'll be missing the semifinals on Friday." Logan pointed out.

Noah froze. His shoulders dropped. "Oh. Yea. That's a tough game to miss out on, but at least it's not multiple games or a full season."

"I hope she has the same kind of optimism as you do."

Noah glared at him.

Logan lifted his hands up like he was surrendering. "I meant that in a good way. Her injury was really scary. I can't imagine playing after something like that."

"It's certainly a long road before her." Coach said. "Alisha here, has brought a card for everyone to sign and wish her well. She'll bring it around during practice. I'm not asking you boys to write an essay or anything. There's not enough space for that, but try to include some words of encouragement."

"I'll sign it first!" Noah jumped up and went over to Alisha. "I know exactly what to say."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Noah took the card and pen from Alisha and used the bench as a table top. He only took a few seconds before capping the pen. He showed off the card. Dead center, he wrote in all caps, 'YOUR COMEBACK IS BEGINNING'. Then his name below it.

My lips twitched and some of the guys laughed.

"Damn, man. That sounds aggressive." Jason was among those who could laugh.

"That's probably what she needs to hear." Alisha commented, sounding a little sad. She took the card and pen. "I'll try to get you guys to sign during water breaks and stuff."

"Sure."

"Yea."

"Of course."

"No problem."

Coach clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright, I know the mood is a little somber but we have to push through. We have one last game to prepare for."

"I'm ready, Coach!" Noah stood tall. "Who we facing? When and where is the game? Definitely can't be at Stanford this year. Zeke has a home game versus Gonzaga."

"Shut up and sit down." Garret dragged him back to the bench and forced him to sit. "Coach doesn't need you acting like a reporter. He'll give out the information he knows without you acting like a fool."

Coach grinned. "It's good to be eager. Give this dugout some energy. We're playing a familiar opponent."

"How familiar?" Noah asked, ignoring Garret's look of annoyance.

"We've played them at the end of last year, during the Christmas tournament." Coach tried to refresh our memory. "Branham High School. We beat them in the semifinals 2-1." He looked at Garret. "You've held them down well before, but don't get too complacent. They've had all season to improve."

"And so have I." Garret smirked.

Coach looked towards the twins. "You two will practice this week with the intention of playing Monday. Just in case."

"Naturally." Dave nodded.

"Of course I'll be ready to go." Kyle folded his arms over his chest.

Coach's eyes drifted to me. He lost his smile and turned serious as he spoke to the team. "Last time, Branham completely avoided pitching to Jake. All intentional walks. No matter if there was a runner on before him or if there were two outs. I can't say that they'll have the same mindset, but we should be prepared. Everyone will have to step up." He looked towards the juniors. "Bryce and Brian will be in the starting lineup. They have good swings and we need the offensive power." He moved back to Garret. "Let me know if you need to be at the back of the lineup."

"No way." Garret immediately declined. "Put me behind Jake. If he gets on, we'll make sure they pay for it."

"Yeah!" The guys chorused.

"Better work on your baserunning this week." Noah laughed as he slapped me on my back.

"Alright, as for time and place, we should have an answer in the next day or so." Coach said. "Garret, lead them in warmups, but then you and Mitch hit the bullpen."

Practice got officially underway. During one of the water breaks, it became my turn to sign the card for Kaylee. I checked to see what a few others had written to make sure I wasn't a repeater and to get some ideas.

Have a speedy recovery! Best wishes! Hang in there! Get plenty of rest! Take care! We're praying for you.

It seemed like a get well message needed caps or an exclamation point. Like you could forcefully cheer someone up. I found a small empty corner to write my message. It wasn't anything profound or special. It's just something I used to tell myself when I was in the most pain. Physically and mentally.

'There will be better days ahead. Don't give up. Don't give in. Hope to see you back in school soon.'

My message was definitely the longest, but it was out of the way. I left enough space for the others. I handed the card and pen back to Alisha and went back to practice.

We were doing little stations here and there. Hitting and fielding. Practicing in the cages and on the field. Bunts and baserunning. Nothing was left out. We ran a few situationals near the end.

Runner on first. One out. A fast ground ball came at me. I fielded the ball and looked at Noah covering second base already. It wasn't the smoothest transition, but I got the ball out of my glove and threw to Noah. Noah threw it to Sean at first.

"Out at second." Coach declared. "Could be questionable at first. Let's run it again." He got a new baseball. "Runner on first. One out." He smack a ground ball within my range.

I moved to the ball, but my glove in the dirt. Transitioned ball from glove to throwing hand. Threw it to Noah at second base. He threw a rocket to first.

"Better." Coach gave his seal of approval.

I sighed with relief. That restless night of sleep might have gotten to me a little bit. I tried to loosen up, shaking my arms and hit my fist into my glove a few times. I can't afford to mess up. Noah can't get hurt like Kaylee.

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