"Excellent start!" Noah told me as I drank . "Kyle's face was priceless . Dave started talking crap halfway in, saying he could do better . But, they're identical twins . Even their pitching doesn't have much variation . " His eyes twinkled . "Want to know what you should do this time?"
I closed the water bottle and nodded . Anything that could help me get on Noah's team, would be something I could try .
"Foul every pitch . Like you did in the 100mph cage!" He laughed to himself . "I can't wait to see Dave's expression after you foul thirty of his pitches back . I wonder if that would make him more frustrated than Kyle, because he would think that he's doing well when you're actually just messing with him . "
So he just wants me to do it for amusement? I rolled my eyes .
Advertisement"Hey! It can benefit you too!" Noah tried to convince me . "Just think . This can show Coach and Zeke your perfect batting control . Not everyone can foul every pitch . It could be a deciding factor on maybe letting you into the team . "
I mulled it over . I guess foul-tipping could be considered a talent . I glance at Dave, who was throwing some very hard pitches . "Tell Zeke . " I mumbled .
"Zeke? You want me to tell him that you'll be fouling every pitch?" Noah asked, sounding confused . I nodded . "Why?"
"Let's gooooo . " Dave hollered from the mound, sounding pumped up . Kyle made me anxious, but nowhere near as much as Dave .
I pointed at him . "Scary . "
Noah watched as his brother stood on the mound sounding super excited and ready to go . "You're right . He might be slightly more emotional than Kyle . " I snorted . "I'll tell Zeke to watch out . Not that I think Dave would charge you and knock you out . But if it makes you more comfortable then I'll do it . " We walked out of the dugout together .
Kelvin had a full bucket of baseballs near him as he squatted behind home plate . Zeke and Kyle stood with Coach and the others already . Noah joined them and started to tell them what I was going to do . I could see their jaws drop with disbelief . Zeke was the only one not to lose composure . He just gave Noah a nod .
Noah turned back to face me and gave me the universal 'Okay' with his hand . I sighed with relief then stepped into the righty's box once more .
Dave faced me down with a gleam in his eyes . He looks so excited; I feel like I'm going to do something very wrong and slightly mean . He got set and did his windup motion . I clenched the bat and began my mission . Fouls . The first pitch came in hard and fast . I fouled it back .
"Woo-hoo!" Dave cheered . He looked at Kyle . "That's how you do it, Kyle . No perfect performance for him now . "
Kyle's lips twitched, fighting off a smile . "Sure, sure . I'll believe you if you can get him to miss . "
Kelvin tossed a new ball to Dave and he got set once more . The pitch came and I fouled it back again . Dave did another round of self-cheering, making me feel guilty on the inside . We did the same thing for five or so pitches, until Dave caught on . He started to frown before every pitch, then scowl, until he finally looked outright pissed .
"Are you doing this on purpose, Jake?!" He started to step off the mound . I took a few steps back, keeping a safe distance .
"It's part of the tryout . " Zeke declared . "Get back on the mound . Unless you want to forfeit and make us lose the bet? If you do, you'll be the one cleaning the bathroom for the next three months . Stop trying to act like a tyrant . " That sounded a bit funny coming from the real tyrant .
Dave grumbled, but stayed on the mound . He tried moving his pitches to the inside, outside, low and high, but I was able to keep fouling them back . His speed wasn't enough to fool my eyes . After the the thirtieth foul, he stomped off the mound and went to the dugout . Kelvin ran after him .
I looked towards the group just in time for Noah to pounce on me . "Unreal!" He shook me a bit . "I'm even more convinced that you're a machine!"
I turned red at the compliment and pushed him off me . I examined my bat to check for chips or cracks . Not too bad . I looked at Zeke, who was talking to Garret and Jordan by their coach .
"Looks like they're planning something . " Noah noticed where I was looking . "But we planned something too so you're in a good spot . " I nodded .
Chapter end
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