292 Grounded (2/2)
”Ehh, it won't be that fast. We'll just have to be super good this week.” Kyle said. ”Today, we divide and conquer. I'll do the kitchen: dishes, sweeping, mopping, and the such. Dave, you'll do the living room and stairs. Vacuum and dust down everything. Noah and Jake, you two will do the yard.”
I looked over to Noah to see what he would say. I've never done yard work before.
Noah frowned. ”But it's still cold out.” He glanced towards me. ”Yard work is the same as hard work. We'll have to rake the leaves, pick the weeds, and mow.”
”It's not that cold today. Plus, you only have to do the front yard. That's what Dad will see first when he gets home. Just think of it as muscle building.”
Noah let out a sigh. ”Okay. I guess that's better than being trapped in the kitchen.”
We finished breakfast and got started on the chores that Kyle distributed. We worked out in the front yard all morning, starting with pulling out the weeds, raking them up with the leaves to put them in the waste bin, then I watched Noah mow the grass. I didn't volunteer to help with that last part; Mostly because I didn't know how to work it, but also because it looked heavy to push and pull.
The chore kept us out of the house for the majority of the morning; only after a few hours did we go back in.
”Did Mom call yet?” Noah asked Dave, who was scrubbing down the banister.
Dave took a break. ”No. She sent a text though.” He sighed. ”She doesn't even want to speak with us. At least, not yet. She said 'just wait until I get back home on Friday.'”
Noah let out a sigh too. ”That's not good, but I also feel relieved. I'm not ready for her to be mad. Maybe we can soften up Dad this week, and he'll help us convince her that we already admitted our mistake.”
”Don't hold your breath.” Dave said. ”Best case scenario, is that she's already busy with Zeke's trip. Worst case scenario, she's so mad that she's giving us the silent treatment.”
Noah let out another sigh. ”I hope it's the former.” He looked at me. ”Sorry we got you in trouble too Jake.”
Trouble? ”I do feel uneasy letting them down, but to me, this isn't any trouble.” Trouble is fighting for your life against your own flesh and blood.
Noah looked even more upset, yet was able to squeeze out a tight smile. ”Okay. Why don't we go watch some baseball? Preseason already started so there must be something on already.” He led the way back to the living room and we settled in on the couch. ”Or we can watch some how-to videos on playing second base?”
”Is there something on how to cover first base if the first baseman is fielding the grounder?” I asked.
Noah started a search on the web. ”I'm sure we can find something. There's nothing in baseball that hasn't been talked about.” He got to work, pulling up clips for us to go through so I could learn. It didn't stop there either. Anything that was pertaining to second base was watched and analyzed. I even recognized some of the videos of ones I've seen before, when I first joined the team. They made even more sense after I gained just a few games worth of experience. Not bad for being grounded for the first time. In fact, I felt productive.