The Hitting Zone



Thursday there was no Kaylee in school, but Marie showed up. She had a lot more to tell about Kaylee and how they planned to take her home that night. She would be in school tomorrow. Probably. It didn't sound reassuring until Kaylee sent a group text to me, Noah, and Alisha.

Kaylee: Hey guys, I have my phone with me now.

Alisha: Great! It's been weird not having you around! When do you get home officially?

Noah: How's the arm holding up?

Me: Are you feeling better?

Kaylee: Will go home this afternoon if I clear the discharge procedures. Arm feels heavy. Got enough painkillers though.

Kaylee: I won't be going to school tomorrow.

Noah: What about the game?

Kaylee: I'm going to stay home then too.

Noah: That's lame. Want us to come over to keep you company?

Alisha: Yea! That's a great idea. We normally hang out on Friday nights so why stop now. I'll come over after baseball practice.

Noah: We'll have to shower first, but then will be over for dinner. Should we bring food or order food?

Alisha: My mom will order us pizza if I ask.

Noah: Sounds good.

I looked up at Noah from across the lunch table. "You know Kaylee hasn't replied yet, right?"

Noah smirked. "Can't give her a chance to say no or turn us down. Five bucks she says something about us going to the girls game with Kyle or something."

As predicted, the next time our phones vibrated. It was Kaylee…talking about us going to the game.

Kaylee: Alisha can come over, but you guys should probably go to the game with Kyle and cheer for Marie and the team. They'll need all the support they can get.

"See?" Noah shook his head. "Too predictable." He started to type on his phone.

Mine buzzed with another text in the group chat.

Noah: Don't tell me how to live my life.

I let out a laugh. Noah was pretty predictable too.

Kaylee: Fine. Whatever.

"See?" Noah smiled. "I knew she wanted us there."

The rest of the school day flew by. Even though Noah and I weren't planning on going to the girls game tomorrow, he still advertised for them, making sure everyone knew that they had made it to the semifinals. He didn't forget to plug in that our finals game was going to be Monday. A lot of people asked where and at what time, but we didn't know yet.

Only to find out at the beginning of practice that it would be at a familiar location. One we've never played at, but had visited more times in the past year than I can count.

Noah's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Don't be lying to me, Coach. A's stadium? For real?" He jumped up when Coach nodded for confirmation. "I'm going to play in an official MLB stadium before I even make it to the big leagues. Pinch me, I might be dreaming."

Kyle obliged, pinching Noah's tricep.

Noah slapped his hand away.

Kyle laughed. "What? You said to."

"Will the A's be there?" Sean asked. "That would be cool to play in front of the pros."

"No, they're playing an away series." Noah answered. He was the A's expert after all. I doubted even Jeremy knew more than him when it came to the A's. Noah looked to Coach. "Are we going to use their clubroom and lockers and stuff? If so, I call dibs on Maberry."

"Wishful thinking." Coach told him. "We will be in the third base dugout. There will be a room for dressing if we need it, but you guys should honestly be in your uniforms when we board the bus. The game is at 6pm, so we'll leave right after school on Monday."

Coach gave a few more details before sending us off for warmups. Despite only having two practices left this season, everyone took it very seriously. We were approaching the end and couldn't let up now.

After Friday's practice, Kyle still drove us home. He and Dave called for showers first though since they had to hit the road for the girls game. They were long gone by the time Noah and I were done with our respective showers. Mom and Dad were still working, but we had Grampa around to give us a ride to Kaylee's. I had only ever been outside her house so it felt weird to walk in.

Alisha was the one to let us in and led us to the living room. "She's a little prickly so take it easy."

"When is she not prickly?" Noah scoffed. "She's like a goddam cactus." He looked around. "Is her mom or dad here? Should we say 'hi' and let them know we're around?"

"Don't bother." Kaylee said with a raised voice. Continuing when we reached the living room. "They both went to the game." Kaylee sat in an old recliner, surrounded by blankets and pillows. Especially her right arm. It was still bandaged and elevated.

"They left you home alone? That's wild." Noah made himself at home, plopping down on the couch.

Alisha gave him a pointed look as she slowly sat on the floor.

Kaylee's lips twisted like she was disgusted. "It's not surprising. They're concerned their favorite daughter might have a freak accident too."

The air felt a little stale. Kaylee was already injured and was simply left at home alone. Both parents went to her sister's game during this time spoke volumes.

I approached the recliner to look over her arm. "Should you have ice on it? Want me to get you some from the kitchen?"

She shook her head. "No. I just finished."

"I gave her ice when I got here like an hour ago." Alisha informed me. She patted the spot on the floor next to her. "Come on, Jake. Sit down. Food should be here in half an hour."

I sat on the floor, next to Alisha, but closest to Kaylee in case she needed something. I looked up at Kaylee. "Let me know if you need anything; I'll do it."

Noah let out a laugh. "You're looking like a little puppy, Jake. Would you like her to pat you on the head?"

I glared at him.

"You're just jealous that it's my turn that he follows me around." Kaylee spoke up, barely turning her head towards Noah.

"Pshh, it's not your turn." Noah rolled his eyes. "Jake would pick me over you any day."

"Okay, okay. Stop fighting over Jake. This isn't a custody battle." Alisha laughed and picked up the remote. "Let's start a movie. Any requests? Action? Horror? Rom-Com?"

"Just put on whatever." Kaylee said lightly.

"We should continue working on expanding Jake's knowledge." Noah suggested. "Anything that's a repeat for us is still new to him."

"I've see all the sports movies." I spoke up. "Some action. And then whatever else when we all hang out together."

"We should work on some cult classics like Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Alisha started to control the remote to look it up.

She started one of her choices and the evening began with no more talk about the girls game. The pizza showed up on time and we ate while watching the two movies. There was some talking throughout, including me asking questions when I didn't get some of the points. Kaylee did ice her arm again after dinner and then one more time as Noah and I got ready to leave.

"You can tell me, you know." Kaylee said, eyes on Noah.

Noah glanced up from his phone. He understood immediately what she was talking about. "Which would hurt you less? They win without you or lose without you?"

"What would you prefer?" Kaylee answered his question with a question.

Noah shook his head. "Losing without me hurts, but it would hurt a lot more other people. At least if they win without me, I can still claim some credit."

She squinted. "I think I'm more selfish than you."

"So you do hope they lose!" Noah snapped his fingers.

"I'll never admit besides to you guys." She looked at the three of us.

"I won't tell anyone!" Alisha swore, raising her hand.

I raised mine too. "I wouldn't tell."

Noah chuckled. "Well. You've got it. They lost. 5-4. Real nail biter. Dave said that Marie gave up two homers."

"She'll be fine." Kaylee shrugged, unbothered. She was no longer the Kaylee from last year that defended her sister with a ferociousness that would make me shake. And somehow…that made me sad.

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