A sense of warmth had overcome me after being told that I was different. I was long term. Someone they plan to keep for longer than a month or two. I didn't realize how much it bothered me until Mr. Atkins had settled the matter. Now the only conflict within me was my dad. Do I try and find him? Will he find me? Maybe I should talk to Mr. Duncan...

After spending some time at the beach, Mr. Atkins drove us back to the house. Only the boys and their mom were left.

"Jake's back!

" Noah called out as soon as we came through the front door. He ran into the foyer first. Followed by the twins and then Mrs. Atkins.

"Are you feeling better?

"

"Somewhat. Yea.

" I answered with a small smile. It was childish of me to get jealous over parents that care for their children. I should be happy for them. Happy that not every mom out there is like mine. Happy that some kids have dad that will raise them and support them just like Mr. Atkins.

I glanced back at him as Noah and the twins started to pull me away. In a way...it's good to hear that I won't turn out like my parents.

"Where'd you guys go?

" Kyle asked as we walked into the living room. Zeke was sitting on the smaller couch by himself, watching a baseball game on the tv.

"You guys were gone for hours.

"

"We went to the beach. And talked.

" I sat down with Noah and the twins did the same. Even though this was the biggest house I've ever been in, the room felt cramped with the four boys. They really took up space.

"Talked? About what?

" Dave asked, lifting an eyebrow.

I shrugged.

"Parents. Baseball. Ice cream.

" I thought for a minute.

"Driving?

"

"Driving..?

" Noah echoed.

"Yea.

"

Him and the twins gave me weird looks, but it was the truth. I just didn't know how to explain it to them. I also didn't feel comfortable telling them that their grandfather was abusive to their father. It seemed personal and something that Mr. Atkins would want to share with them on his own.

We spent the rest of Saturday lazing around in our matching shirts. After dinner, Mrs. Atkins had all of us watch the news in support of Zeke. It was slightly awkward to watch myself on tv. Luckily all the attention was on Zeke. The news broadcaster just talked about how a local high school star had finally made his commitment, yet they shared their own thoughts on if he'll go pro.

Sunday morning, we slowly got a move on with the day. Mrs. Atkins put us in charge of helping set up for the party at the park, while Mr. Atkins was in charge of getting all the pizza. They really prepared for such a big crowd, bringing multiple ice chests filled with drinks. There was also plenty of snacks laid out on the tables. Mrs. Atkins was organized in setting up. She made sure there were plenty of plates and napkins.

After everything was set up, the first of the baseball players started to show up. Most of those that showed up first was the varsity teams players along with their parents. Then some of the rest trickled in.

Mr. Atkins showed up just as everyone was arriving. He made multiple trips to his car and back, laying out the pizzas on the tables. Mrs. Atkins started suggesting everyone to help themselves.

I followed Noah as we lined up, grabbed a plate, then loaded that plate with pizza and breadsticks. With so many teenagers and parents present, there wasn't enough seats so Noah led me to the playground. He climbed up a bit and settled down in some open space.

I joined him, holding my plate in my lap.

"I can't believe so many players came.

" I mumbled as we watched the 60 players go and get pizza and drinks.

"Why wouldn't they?

" Noah asked, munching on his pizza.

"Zeke could potentially become a pro. Of course people would want to get close to him.

"

"Oh.

" I ate my pizza and looked through the crowd, trying to spot Zeke. I found him near the snack table, surrounded by parents instead of players.

"What's he doing?

"

Noah made a face.

"The parents must have surrounded him. Probably trying to ask him how he got so good and if their kids also have any hope.

"

That...was oddly specific.

"Do you know those parents?

" I don't think it's normal for them to ask Zeke. Wouldn't it be better if they spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Atkins?

"They're the freshmen parents.

" Noah gave them one last glance before going back to eating his pizza.

"Also two-faced. Just like their kids. When Coach made the announcement that I would be on the varsity team, their kids weren't the only ones mad. All those parents that are trying to get in Zeke's good graces are the same parents that called the school and Coach a million times to try and get me kicked off the team.

" He paused.

"Okay, maybe not kicked off, but demoted at least.

"

"Like to JV?

" I asked.

"Are there some freshmen on junior varsity? Are they mad at you too?

"

Noah shrugged.

"There's three I think. Two pitchers and an outfielder, who is good at hitting. I wouldn't say that they're mad at me. Maybe a little jealous. But it's not like we were super close so they're not the type to stand up for me.

"

"What do you think Zeke will tell them?

" I asked before taking a bite of my pizza.

"To work hard? Who knows?

" Noah laughed.

"Maybe he'll tell that running is the most important training. Wouldn't it be great if these parents started making their kids run every day?

"

My lips twitched. Somehow I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Zeke said.

"It doesn't matter anyways. Those parents are just looking for shortcuts.

" Noah said.

"Like a baseball camp that will suddenly make their child a star. They thought my parents did something similar for us.

"

"How did you guys get so good..?

" I asked. The Atkins were great at baseball. All of them. It's a little uncanny.

"Practice. A lot. We played for fun. Zeke was the first to join T-ball and then it was just like follow the leader. The twins are like his subordinates, right? So Zeke would make them play. And by the time I became a toddler, they were good for their age group. What kind of kids are so dedicated to baseball at 5-years-old? Us.

"

"Wow.

"

"It's not too surprising. Just look at yourself. You're really good at batting, but tell me, how many hours and days did you spend in the cages? There's a saying that 10,000 hours can make you an expert.

"

I glanced at him, skeptical.

"Is that true?

"

"Not sure.

" He laughed.

"But it sounds good. The more you practice, the better you will be. Not factoring in talent of course.

"

We talked some more about baseball and the games coming up. This week we had two league games scheduled. Wednesday would be an away game at Redwood HS and Saturday would be a home game against Porterville HS. It would be our second time against each school.