686 V2 ch158 (1/2)

Adam spent some more time with us, until his ride home had arrived. He gathered up all his stuff, waved, then left.

I felt a little sad seeing all of them go, one after another. It felt like our team banquet, where all the seniors were saying goodbye. We probably weren't going to play with one another again.

With players leaving and clearing out the cafeteria, Zeke and Rhys were finally freed from their obligations and joined us at the table.

Rhys brought two Stanford bags over and placed over before each of us. ”Hey, I grabbed these for you guys. Your evaluation papers are inside.”

”Cool, thanks.” Noah opened his bag first and started to pull out his papers. He then set them aside and looked at the other stuff in his bag. ”What did we all get?” He pulled out a shirt, a hydro flask, a lanyard, some granola bars, fruit snacks, wrist sweatbands, and batting gloves. ”Wow! They really went all out. These are Nike batting gloves.”

I opened my bag and pulled out the batting gloves. I handed them over to Noah. ”Here. You can have mine.”

Noah was surprised for a second, then let out a short laugh. ”No thanks. You should keep them. Protect those hands of yours.”

I frowned. ”I'm not really a fan. I like to hold my bat.”

”Batting gloves help with grip though.” Rhys said. ”Just give it a try. How will you know if you don't like it if you don't try it out?”

I shrugged and put it back in my bag.

”You guys aren't interested in talking with any of the coaches?” Rhys asked.

Noah continued to check out the free stuff he was given. ”Nah. I think it's cool, but in such a big camp like this, it's not like they would remember me. Maybe Jake.” He looked up at me. ”Hey, why didn't anyone come talk to you to advertise their school?”

I shrugged again. ”I don't know.”

”I spoke with Coach Leroy.” Zeke said, surprising all of us. He gave me a small smile. ”I figured Jake wouldn't be comfortable with strangers surrounding him so he let the college coaches and scouts know that Jake is only going to be a sophomore.” He looked directly at me. ”Don't be surprised if they start sending some mail to you.”

”Do I...have to do anything..?” I asked, unsure.

”Not if you don't want to.” Zeke told me. ”Maybe next year you can visit a few of the colleges.”

I looked at Noah.

Noah shrugged. ”I rather go to camps. This week was fun. Meeting other players, practicing, and playing games all week.”

”You'll do the same next week at your school.” Rhys pointed out.

Noah pouted. ”That's not the same. I know everyone at school.”

Rhys laughed and reached over to flip Noah's hat off his head.

”Hey!” Noah had to bend over to pick his hat up. When he sat back up, he made eye contact with someone to his left.

Noah nodded immediately. ”I was just saying how fun it was. I would like to go to more camps like this in the future.”

He laughed. ”Well, you're welcomed to come every year.” He looked at Rhys and Zeke. ”I wanted to thank you guys for helping out. There's no pay, and it's really only showing me face, but I appreciate it. Maybe next year will be even bigger if we win that championship.”

”We'll do it.” Rhys declared.

Coach Leroy grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. ”That's what I like to hear.” He looked at Noah. ”Work hard this upcoming year. I hope to hear your name a little more often.” He looked at me. ”And you keep aiming for those fences.”