574 V2 ch46 (1/2)

”Sorry...” I told Noah. Somehow I felt guilty that I got some interest from coaches, but Noah didn't. It wasn't fair. Noah worked hard and was a great player overall.

Noah was taken aback. ”What are you sorry for? For being a great hitter? Don't be!” He laughed, looking a little bit better. ”Only you would feel sorry for doing well. It's a good thing that colleges are already interested in you! If you say sorry, then that actually makes me feel worse.”

”Sorry.” I said again.

Noah started to wag his finger at me. ”Don't keep saying 'sorry' all the time. This is life. Sure, I'm upset, but it isn't your fault. Hitting isn't my strong suit, but it's what coaches look at first. I'll just work extra hard this summer to change that.”

I nodded this time, not saying anything.

”Really, Jake, I'm not mad at you. In fact, I'm happy for you. Once you're officially adopted, we'll probably get tons of mail for you just like Zeke. It'd be even cooler if you got more than he did.”

I gulped. College was a bit far in the future. I rather not think about leaving and being on my own. Maybe I could just follow Noah? Like how the twins are looking at colleges together. ”Are you thinking about going to college first? Or go pro..?”

Noah grinned. ”The dream is to get drafted right away. I can't just follow Zeke's footsteps, I have to make my own way to the pros.”

The school bell rung. Lunch was over and it was time to get back to class. We packed our school bags and got up.

”What about you?” Noah asked. ”Do you think you'll go to college or go pro?”

I shrugged, a little unwilling to tell him that I just wanted to follow him.

Noah smiled. ”Don't worry about it then. We still got time. We'll get to go to Stanford again this summer and you'll see what a college is really about. We'll stay in the dorms and get to be on campus for the whole week. Pretty cool, right?”

I nodded. ”I liked it there.”

We parted ways for math. Sitting between the pink-haired twins, I felt like we got more looks. It could be because Dave was no longer ashamed of his hair and just owned it like he was actually happy with how it looked.

Kyle was a different story. He kept his hat on class, but luckily Mr. Petrus was a teacher that didn't mind the little things. After school, Kyle demanded that we stop by some kind of store to get the dye.

”I'll take everyone home first.” Zeke said. ”We shouldn't make them wait in the car when they could be studying for finals.”

”Actually, Jeremy asked if Jake and I would be watching the game tonight.” Noah said. ”Guess who they're playing?!”

”Minnesota.” Dave said, flicking Noah on the head. ”We know. We check the scores and schedule too, dummy.”

Noah rubbed his head. ”Rude.”

”See? They can just wait in the car.” Kyle pointed out.

”I'm also going to stop by The Cages to get the schedule.” Zeke told us. ”You guys don't cause any trouble while we're gone. You don't want our parents thinking you can't be trusted.”