172 An Invitation 1 (2/2)

Kyle accepted the phone and his jaw dropped. ”Me? I'm at 356?!” He held the phone gingerly as if it would take away his ranking. ”Does this mean I moved up in state and county rankings? I'll actually be on a list?”

Zeke shrugged. ”I'm not completely sure. But if the nation took note of your perfect game, then maybe.”

The family continued the celebration, with Mr. and Mrs. Atkins just showering praises over Zeke and Kyle. Dave went back to sulking, but would flash the occasional smile and laugh when his parents looked his way.

I felt an uncomfortable tug at my heart. Later on that night, after getting home, showering and doing homework, I asked Noah about it.

”I felt sad when looking at Dave at dinner.” I told him as we laid in our separate beds in the dark. ”He looked upset about the rankings.”

Noah sighed. ”Yea. I would be too. Identical twins in almost every way but one is having more success in pitching. The world isn't always fair. You probably just felt empathetic. I know I did.”

”You felt sad?”

”I felt motivated. Two of my brothers are listed in the nations top prospects list. But also a feeling of urgency. I have to make that list too. If I don't, then that'll mean that I'm inferior to them. I'll never be as good. That's probably what Dave was feeling. A sense of urgency. If he doesn't catch up, he'll be left behind.”

My heart started to pound. I didn't want to be left behind either. However, I don't know if I could ever get to the same level as someone like Zeke. Even if I was given a few years.

It took time for me to shutdown my wild thoughts and to go to sleep. The next day was still a school day, Wednesday.

We followed the same morning routine and went to the same classes. The team still took over the benches near Noah and I during the lunch period. Of course, the talk of the day was Zeke moving up the rankings and Kyle showing up. Garret showed the same bitterness as Dave, but he still congratulated Kyle on a job well done.

Pitching must be a really competitive position. I wouldn't be able to handle the physical or mental pressure that they put on themselves. And the idea of going a few games without even playing is a depressing thought.

We finished up lunch and the rest of our classes, then headed down to the field for practice. We changed to practice clothes and set our bags in the dugout, and started to tie our cleats. We took our gloves to the field and waited for Zeke to start the warmups.

Noah looked around, eyebrows pulled together. ”That's weird. I thought Zeke would have beat us all out here like he normally does.”

I nodded.

Noah grinned. ”Do you think this means that he'll have to run laps himself?”

I shook my head. I couldn't even imagine it.

”Gather round boys.” Coach's familiar booming voice grabbed our attention, not even giving me a chance to imagine anything. Next to Coach was the other assistant coaches, Zeke, Drew, and an older man I've never seen before. ”Get close and take a knee. A.D. Barber has something to say.”

As the team moved in and got down on one knee, I whispered to Noah. ”A.D. Barber? Who's that?”

Noah held back a chuckle. ”A.D. isn't his name. It stands for athletic director. He's basically the coaches boss. He oversees all sports.” His face became solemn. ”I wonder what made him leave his office and come down here...?”