232 Stanford University: Friday 8

The best out of five wasn't as close as I thought it would be. The twins were right to say that experience mattered most. Noah didn't let anymore balls pass him by, but it was rendered useless. He stopped three with two hands and one with one hand. Shawn was ruthless to him, but just as much to Nick. Nick also didn't let any balls pass, yet he was able to grab three grounders one-handed. Score of of 8 for Nick to Noah's 5.

Noah wasn't filled with resentment towards concerned citizen like I thought he would be. He had been pretty hostile to Nick in the multiple encounters we've had. But Noah took this opportunity to bug him for tips on fielding. I tried to listen in to improve my own craft, but it was like they were speaking another language. I wanted Noah to translate, but he was too absorbed to see my distress. Which wasn't a bad thing. I could always have him break it down for me when we get home after this trip.

"Anything you want to compete in?" Shawn came over to where I stood by the twins. He smiled gleefully as if it was him that had just beat Noah. And Nick for that matter. He was definitely the competitive type. I remember what Nick had said about Shawn not even being able to make his freshman high school baseball team. Then he had a crazy comeback year and made varsity as a sophomore. What a jump. You have to have a competitive spirit to get there. He even changed positions and excelled some more.

I looked at the fake home plates, wishing this could be a real field, where I could show something that I excelled in.

"Jake would probably like to see the cages." Kyle stood up and told Shawn. "He's more of a batter than anything."

"Yea, according to Noah, Jake practically spent all of his free time in a batting cage." Dave added, standing up as well.

Shawn blinked. "Oh? I thought Jake was your brother too." He looked at me. "So you grew up in the batting cages?"

I shook my head. "Not really 'grew up'. I just spent a good couple of years only practicing in a batting cage, because I wasn't allowed to be officially a part of the team."

Shawn looked more confused, but I didn't elaborate. "That's weird. Well, I can take you all to the cages. No one should be using it right now. Most of the guys would be in class or in the gym working with weights." He looked over to where Noah and Nick were going over techniques. "Hey! I'm gonna take these three to the batting cages in the back. Are you two coming or not?"

Noah lit up. "Of course! I can't wait to see your faces when Jake gets in there to show off." He bounced on over, not even thinking about his loss. He sent me a grin. "Don't hold back. It's just cages and it's not like we have to worry about these guys spreading info on us to other high schools. That would just be petty."

Shawn raised an eyebrow as his lips thinned. "Holding back? Do you hold back on a normal basis?"

Do I? Not really? Well maybe. Kind of. When Zeke tells me too. Or I'll choose to fight for a walk rather than a hit. I settled on shrugging in response.

"You have to see him in action." Noah declared.

Shawn looked doubtful.

Nick headed for the exit of the bullpen. "Let's go then. We've wasted quite a bit of time already so Zeke and your parents might almost be done."

We all made a move.

"Did you know Jake isn't actually one of the Atkins brothers?" Shawn asked as we filed out of the bullpen. "The way Zeke spoke about them, I thought Jake was included."

Before Nick could reply, Noah jumped in, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Jake is my brother. An unofficial brother. Not all brothers have to be blood related."

"He's our foster brother." Kyle explained Noah's defensive remarks.

An awkward pause from Nick and Shawn made me feel uncomfortable.

"That's chill." Shawn gave a nod, not making me feel any more relaxed.

Nick gave a tight smile. "More like, that's rough. Foster kids never have good backstory's. UC Irvine had recently completed a study suggesting foster kids are at a significantly higher risk for mental and physical health issues."

"What?!" Noah exclaimed. "Is that true?"

"I'm actually studying to be a sociologist." Nick said with a little embarrassment. "Last summer I worked with child protective services and it wasn't a pretty sight. There are plenty of issues with California's foster care system." He looked at me with a slight frown. "Jake...you do look a little small for 14. How long have you been with the Atkins?"

The twins and Noah didn't get what he was implying, but I did. During my hospital stay, I heard about how malnourished I was compared to a normal kid my age. My height could even be stunted because I didn't have enough nutrients. Nick was implying that the Atkins weren't feeding me very well or maybe that they were even starving me.

I cleared my throat. "I've just been placed with them about a month ago. I was worst when I first came to them. The Atkins are very nice people."

"Awe!"

"So nice!"

The twins pulled me away from Noah and tugged me back and forth, messing with my hair and pinching my cheeks. Their antics didn't block my view of Nick visibly relaxing, his shoulders fell for a second before regaining his perfect posture. Nick really was the definition of a concerned citizen. He even picked a profession that helped others. Wait.

"Sociologist?" I asked, making the twins release me. "Does this mean you're not trying to go pro after college?"

At this point we had walked towards the back area they had spoken of before. The batting cages. It was well hidden and a private area that was not only fenced off, but also had the tarp woven with it to block curious cats just like the bullpen.

Nick opened the gate to let us in. "It's a fallback career. If I become I pro, great. If not, I still have something that I want to do. Besides, not all pros will last 20 years, so it's good to know what to do afterwards. Always have a plan and what not."

Noah glanced at Shawn. "And you? What are you studying?"

"Kinesiology. I would like to be an athletic trainer. That way if I can't play baseball anymore, at least I could still help athletes like me." Shawn said with pride. I could definitely imagine him becoming someone like Drew, helping athletes get into shape, prevent injuries, help with injury recovery and so on. Or torturing kids like me. Shawn waved his arms out. "Well, this is it. We have three stations so multiple players can practice. We adjust the speed of the machines as needed. There's also a random function to help players not to get accustomed to one speed."

"That also helps with reaction speed." Nick added. "Being able to time your swing to an unknown speed really helps with decision making at bat, in games."

"Awesome!" Noah exclaimed. The twins said similar words of agreement as we looked around. The three stations were divided evenly and had protective netting everywhere. Before entering any of the stations there was a cubby that held a wide assortment of bats, helmets, gloves and even new tape to help with the bats grip.

"Jake, you can choose first. I'll help set up a machine for you." Nick offered generously. "You're the only one who hasn't really gotten to do anything."

"I got to eat ice cream." I chirped.

Everyone laughed at my reply, yet I don't think they really understand how happy I was with that. I never got the chance to eat ice cream before arriving to the Atkins. It was a luxury I couldn't afford and not something my mother would ever buy.