163 School Board Meeting 1 (1/2)

Saturday night's dinner was not only filling, but it was comforting. With the Atkins, Mr. Duncan, and Dr. Moore, we had a full table. Over the course of the night, the adults started to plan what was to be said to the school board on Sunday night. It even seemed like Mrs. Atkins was excited to go.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, Zeke kept his promise and took us to the cages. The twins decided to stay at home to work on their pitching, they claimed, yet they were still in their pajamas when we left them. It didn't matter to me and Noah though. We just enjoyed the free cages and hit to our hearts content. Noah was particularly happy since he got the opportunity to freely work on his new grip with the bat. To me, he looked more stable and seemed to connect with the ball more.

Zeke was also nice enough to treat us to lunch even though that wasn't included beforehand. Noah repaid in kind by paying for his entry for mini golf. Which was also fun, but Zeke easily crushed us. Finally, we headed home and cleaned up.

It was time to go to the meeting with the school board. Mrs. Atkins had all of dress nicely and even made Noah brush his hair and didn't allow him to wear his baseball hat.

We took the family car, squeezing everyone in, and headed to the school. The meeting was to be held in the gymnasium, on the basketball court. We arrived and filed in, coming across strangers and familiar faces. I was surprised to see Coach Wilcox, Mr. Miller, and a few of the players on the team sitting in the bleachers of the gym. Zeke and the twins went up to join the team as coach came down.

He handed Mr. Atkins a few sheets of paper. ”These are Jake's stats from the few games he's played in. Just in case it comes up.”

”Thanks.” Mr. Atkins flipped through the sheets. ”You put a lot of effort in this for us. I appreciate it.”

Coach laid a heavy hand on my shoulder. ”Jake is undeniably good at hitting. It can't be disputed. I hate seeing a counselor interfering with sports when a player isn't even struggling academically.” He gave me a smile. ”Jake, you made the team fair and square. I personally presided over your tryout. If baseball comes up in today's meeting, I've got your back.”

”Thank you.” I said, sincerely.

He gave an extra pat, nodded at us, then went back up the stands to join the team.

”You should join them Noah.” His mom said. ”Only us, Jake, and George will be allowed at the main table.”

Noah frowned, unhappy with the thought. ”It's not like you sit at the table the whole time. Where will Mr. Duncan and Dr. Moore sit? Where will you guys sit before going up? What if Jake needs me to help communicate his point across?”

Mr. Atkins smiled. ”Don't worry. We'll be right there. Jake won't have to do any of the talking. We have George to speak for us.”

”Let me just stay with you guys until you get called up.” Noah demanded.