The Hitting Zone

Drew wasn't mad that I admitted to not putting my all on the practice field. He was happy that I reached out to him and became more clear on what I needed help with. I expressed to him clearly that I didn't like running in the beginning because I was out of shape. Now my fear lied in the fact that I have to willingly fall onto the ground and potentially get hurt when you collide with someone.

Drew worked with me with the alloted time we had. I could only pass up on hitting and not fielding. When I did shift to fielding, I saw that Noah had lost his gloom and doom attitude. He was back to normal, pushing himself on every play. I knew if that Coach could inspire me, then he could definitely reach through Noah.

As soon as we got home, no one showered right away. Everyone split up in different directions. Zeke stayed in the garage to work with weights, the twins went to the backyard to play with their mechanical backstop, while Noah and I went to our room.

Noah whipped out one of his school notebooks and used a pen to start writing down his goal and plan.

I copied his actions and wrote my own list. Remembering what Drew told me, I put down all aspects that needed improvement in order for me to become a better player. Drew wasn't so narrow minded to only help me with running. He mentioned that what could help me the most, was working on my core muscles. It could help with balance overall and improve my hitting and fielding. Being more balanced would help me feel secure and maybe a little more confident.

"Same!" Noah's shout surprised me and made me jump.

I found him looking over my shoulder, probably reading what I had been writing.

"I only want to improve my core muscles." He patted his stomach. "Gotta build up some nice abs."

I laughed.

"I'm serious." Noah stated. "Coach suggested that it would make me a better batter. It would smooth out my swing and not make it so erratic."

"How can we improve our core muscles though?" I asked. "Drew said running helps. Especially if I run and practice tightening my abs."

"There's plenty of exercises we can do!" Noah opened up his laptop and turned it on. "We'll look up some and decide on a routine. We can do our ab workout after every practice and game, then shower. It won't take too much time either."

"Better than running." I nodded.

I watched on as he searched through the web trying to find something we could use. We compared a few pre-planned sets that trainers had put out there, before finally deciding on one. We tried it out, completing three sets before collapsing on the floor.

"This is good." Noah huffed. "This is what we need."

I grunted in agreement. A weak agreement. But if I wanted to get better to catch up to Noah and his brothers, then this is what I'll do.

"You boys haven't showered yet either?" Mrs. Atkins came into the room, finding us sprawled out. "What have you two been doing in here?"

"Ab workout." Noah answered for the both of us. i was too busy trying to breathe without making my stomach hurt.

Mrs. Atkins lightly smiled, and shook her head. "Okay, I'll start making dinner a little later from now on. I don't want a bunch of smelly boys at my kitchen table. Hurry up, and shower. You still have school and a game tomorrow." She left.

"Ughhh." Noah groaned. "School. Crap. We haven't even done our homework yet." He pushed himself up. "Do you want to shower first? Or me?"

"You." I told him, forcing myself to get up as well. "I'll start my math homework."

"Are you still letting the twins copy?" He asked as he grabbed his pajamas.

I shrugged. "I'm just helping."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Sure you are. Okay, I'll go first." He left.

I pulled my backpack closer to me, getting out the necessary materials. Book, notebook, pencil, and a calculator. I started on it, making it halfway through before looking away to rest my eyes and brain.

I was still sitting on the floor, doing my homework, so when my eyes started to wander, they came across the laptop on Noah's desk. I've never needed it so there wasn't a reason to use it. Yet...right now...I could think of something that I wanted to look up. I never got a chance to ask Noah about that player, but now, I wouldn't have to. I could do my own private research. He wouldn't be suspicious and it would really calm my heart and brain if I could just reaffirm that the guy isn't related to me.

I stood up slowly, and moved to the desk. His computer was still on, showing the exercises we had just done. I hesitated. Just as I reached out, I heard noise from the hallway, making me jump away from the laptop.

Noah was in the room within seconds, a towel around his shoulders. He was saying something to someone else in the hallway, but stopped when he came in the room. "Freakin Kyle. So annoying." He mumbled. He then noticed that I was just standing around. Awkwardly. In the middle of the room. "Uh, Jake? What's up?"

"Just....stretching." I lied. Then, to make it more believable, I started to really stretch.

"Oh. Taking a break from your homework?" He glanced down at my stuff.

I nodded. "Yep." Then I started to gather some clean clothes from the dresser. "I'm going to shower now."

"Okay." He said. He moved to his desk and started to get his own homework out.

I sighed with relief once I got to the bathroom. That was a close one. I'll have to find another opportunity to look that player up when Noah isn't around. It would probably be better to ask for Noah's help, but what if...what if that's really my brother? Wouldn't Noah look at me with pity? A rich brother that never reached out...didn't even send a card or write a letter.

Then there's the matter of telling Noah that I have a brother. Would he be mad that I didn't tell him?

This would be the right time to have a phone of my own. A smartphone. One that could help me use google.

I tried distracting myself the rest of the night. After showering, everyone gathered in the kitchen for dinner. After dinner, it was time for homework. The extra homework that I had missed really helped to distract me.

It was when I was finally in bed, my thoughts went back to the matter. Research. Research. Research. I'll have to look him. It's the only way to be at ease. Otherwise, I'll just be thinking 'what if' my whole entire life. With some more thinking, I came up with an idea: use the school library. They had computers in there for student use. I wouldn't have to sneak around to use Noah's laptop. The only other option besides those, would be to ask the Atkins for a phone. That seems a little needy though. The only person I would contact, already lives with me.