128 Monday Morning 1 (2/2)

”Good morning Jake.” Mr. Atkins greeted me. ”How are you this morning?”

I was still rubbing my head and frowned. ”I have a headache.”

Mr. Atkins exchanged looks with his wife, then looked at me. ”Drink some water. You slept a lot and didn't have time to rehydrate. The boys told you that there's no school today, right?”

I nodded and grabbed the glass of water in order to chug it.

”With the day off, I think it would be a good idea to see Dr. Moore today.” He continued. I choked on my water and set the glass back down.

”Is this about yesterday?” I cleared my throat after a few coughs. I nervously looked at Mr. Atkins. ”I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep.”

Mr. Atkins gave me a soft smile. ”It's nothing you have to apologize for. We just think it would be a good idea to consult Dr. Moore and talk it out. It'll help you in the long run. It's nice to see you talking again, but it would be helpful to know what happened and what we can do to prevent another incident like it.”

I stared down at my hands, a little ashamed.

”Don't be so down about it.” Noah said. ”I'm going with you and dad this time.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged. ”I want to know what he's like. What the place is like. With me there, you won't be scared right?”

I slowly nodded.

”Then I'll go to. It's better then sticking around here with the boys.” He rolled his eyes. ”Maybe I need to see a psychologist too. It's hard being the youngest of four. You can never impress anyone.”

”What?” My eyebrows furrowed.

”Listen. Zeke had a perfect batting average throughout the tournament with no fielding errors. He was named tournament mvp. Kyle won tournament best pitcher for that perfect game. And even Dave was an honorable mention. The injustice.” Noah shook his head, looking a little depressed. ”And then you stole best underclassmen performance. What did I get? A little mention that I was also a freshman like you.” He pouted.

I lightly pat his shoulder.