Rose came back to get us and walk us to our seats even though we knew where to go.

"After the game, just sit around awhile and I'll come back for you.

" She instructed.

After she left, a person in a bright neon shirt came and asked for our order. Knowing that Jeremy was picking up the tab on this, we didn't go too crazy. Just drinks, hotdogs, peanuts, and some cotton candy. I knew it was very costly to do something like this, but Jeremy had assured me multiple times that he could afford it, especially with that new high-earning contract. He's a multimillionaire.

I looked to Dave and Noah.

"Do you guys know how much Mom and Dad make?

"

"They make bank.

" Dave rubbed his thumb and first two fingers together, the universal sign for money.

"Why? Do you need something?

" Noah asked.

I shrugged.

"I was just wondering. I guess it just felt weird from having nothing as a kid to needing nothing now.

"

"Yea, Mom and Dad has expenses covered pretty well.

" Noah nodded.

"They don't tell us explicitly how much they make, but you can kind of guess by just looking at our material possessions.

" Dave said.

"We live in a big house in a nice town near the coast. We have three cars, not including Grampa's. All of us play baseball and up until recently, we would spend a lot of money on camps or like when Noah did travel ball. We're talking in the thousands. Normal families probably wouldn't have so much to spare on extracurriculars.

"

"They have budgets though, and wouldn't necessarily overspend unless there's a good reason.

" Noah added. He patted me on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll never want for anything again.

"

Dave laughed outright.

"Trust me, that's not true at all. You'll always want something you don't have. Like right now, I want to take a car to college.

"

"You don't need a car your freshman year.

" Noah repeated something Mom and Dad had said many times this past month.

Dave shrugged.

"Wouldn't that make me cooler? And more popular? Having a car is freedom. Without it, you're telling me to stay on campus and don't explore the city.

"

"You really shouldn't.

" Noah laughed.

"You've got to work on your pitching to make sure you're a starter freshman year first. Or you're going to be an embarrassment.

"

"The point is…

" Dave stressed.

"Is that I want a car. My parents aren't just going to buy me one because I want one. We're well off, but we're not rich rich.

"

I tilted my head to look over at Dave on the other side of Noah.

"Can't you buy your own car? Like with the money that Gramma left us?

"

"Nah, that'd be a waste a money.

"

Noah laughed and I frowned, confused as heck.

Dave explained after seeing that I didn't understand.

"It's a different situation if I buy a car with my own money. I don't have as much as Mom and Dad. I can't just be throwing that around. I need to save it. Invest it. It's my fallback in case something happens in college.

"

"You're smarter than you look.

" Noah complimented him.

"I don't want to hear that from you, brat.

" Dave knocked him on the head.

"What would happen in college?

" I asked, curious as to why Dave thought he needed a fallback plan.

"I don't know.

" Dave shrugged.

"What if I don't like college at all? What if I fail my classes and get kicked out? If they take away my athletic scholarship? If I don't follow the normal path, it's good to have some funds so I don't have to rely on Mom and Dad in an emergency. They would worry or worst, want to ground me and control my life.

"

Noah and I laughed at his strickened face.

"Yea, if you flunked college and had to come back to live…you would get no peace.

" Noah nodded.

"You would find yourself enrolled in the community college as soon as you got back.

"

We spent the rest of pre-game time talking about money and what would be the smart thing to do. Dave was interested in investing what he had, but Noah was pessimistic, saying he didn't know anything and would probably lose it. Dave rebutted Noah, pointing out that he knew more than him. Besides most of it would sit in savings to grow for now, but he could still take a class pertaining to money while in college.

It's only when the game started, did they give it a break. I was a little sorry for bringing it up, but still thought it was enlightening. My money from Gramma sat in the bank for now too. I really didn't have any wants or needs. Mom and Dad covered more than anything I could ever imagine. Grampa too. Even Jeremy contributed a lot.

The A's didn't have a good game for us to see today. It was a warm Sunday afternoon and the whole team just looked sluggish. A lot of strikeouts and little mess-ups. Jeremy didn't even get a hit, and worse, the A's lost.

Grampa probably muttered 'idiot' a lot if he was watching this game. Which I imagine he would since he knew we would be here.

After the game ended, the A's had some kind of promo where the kids 12 and under could run around the bases. Not all of the bases though. They would line up near first, sprint to second, then sprint to third where they would exit towards the stands. It was kind of cute seeing how excited the kids were.

"Want to go down there and join them?

" Noah jokingly asked.

I shook my head immediately. Falling down amongst a bunch of kids…probably ranks in my top ten of things that will kill me from embarrassment.

"It's lame if you can't do it the traditional way.

" Dave said.

"Like first to third is just half the trip.

"

"They're kids.

" Noah shrugged.

"How much do you really expect them to run?

"

Dave gave him a look.

"Kid you would definitely fight to have run the bases properly.

"

As the line of kids got smaller, the stands were emptying out. Rose came up and got us, bringing us down to the secret tunnels that led to their clubroom. We didn't even get to see it when we had played our finals game here. They kept us in the conference room and that's it.

We still didn't get to go in. Jeremy had come out just as we were getting close. He lifted a hand in a wave and joined us in the hallway.

"Yo, you looked like ** today.

" Noah stated plainly.

I elbowed him.

Jeremy winced.

"Definitely not my best. But hey, you can't get them all, can you?

"

Noah stood tall with pride.

"Unless you're us. Two time champions that didn't lose one game this season.

"

Jeremy laughed and reached out to push the cap of Noah's hat down over his eyes.

"High school is a different ballpark. Wait until you become pro and have to lose one-third of your games at least.

"

"Pshh. I'm ready.

" Noah fixed his hat.

"I have some history in losing before. It's Jake who would have a reality check.

"

Jeremy nodded thoughtfully. He looked at me.

"Don't focus too much on it. Just think of all the hitting the future you will do. You will not see intentional walks for 162 games.

"

Hm. I liked the sound of that.

Jeremy said a few more words about not taking the loss to mind as we headed out together. He wanted to treat us to dinner, but having ate so much, we settled on getting something light from a smoothie place. He supplemented his with an extra fruit bowl and some other snacks.

"Rose told me about Zeke's upcoming playoffs.

" Jeremy brought up.

"I think you all have the right idea. Bring it to your Coach and team. If they all can come Sunday, we can work something out like last year where you could watch batting practice on the field. Heck, maybe if I talk to my own manager, maybe they'll let you shag the balls.

"

Noah's eyes sparkled.

"That would be best.

"

Jeremy grinned.

"If it doesn't work out, then I can just arrange you boys to do it some time this summer. Is it just going to be you three hanging around? We can host you guys at our new place for a long home series or something.

"

"That would be nice. Thanks, Jeremy.

" I smiled in appreciation.

"Yea, extremely cool.

" Noah agreed.

"This is why I said I wouldn't care too much about celebrating on the field. Being around you is like having a back door access pass.

"

"I do what I can.

" He said.

"When's round two of your regional tryouts? If I'm in town, I could go watch the day parts of it.

"

"Next weekend.

" Noah answered.

"I already checked, you're back on the road. We're spending the night at this place anyways. Everyone that made it has to. I think it'll be a secret test to check on team chemistry.

"