Where did he even come from? I was positive he wasn't there when I put my second token in . The guilt started to weigh me down and I became hesitant to leave the cage .
The twins caught onto my expression and turned around as well . It would be a miracle if they could still keep their smiles in front of that stone-cold statue that is their brother .
"Don't hold up the cage . " Zeke finally broke the silence .
I made my way out as fast as possible and stood before him, knowing punishment can't be that far away .
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Zeke hadn't said anything just yet, as the old man swaggered over . "My! What a show! Such a talented boy! Why don't I give you a few more coins and see if you could do some more . Where did you even learn such a skill?"
"Mr . Porter . " Zeke faced him down . "If I'm not mistaken, you're a coach at a prep school now . This could be considered as a bribe . Or worse, scouting the other team at a non-supervised practice . "
The old man stiffened up . "I'm just enjoying my weekend hitting the ball . Nothing over the line . "
Zeke raised an eyebrow . "Talking to a minor without an adult present is pretty suspicious . " Zeke looked at me . "Do you know this man, Jake?"
I shook my head no .
"This is called stranger danger . " Zeke explained slowly as if I was an elementary school kid . "You never know if an adult will approach you with evil intentions so it's best to avoid them unless your with someone you trust . " He gave the man a side eye glance . "We'll be moving on now . Please don't cause us trouble . Jake, follow me . "
I did what I was told and obediently followed him to the 75 mph cage . The twins did so as well, not daring to piss Zeke off more than he already is . The old man gave us one last glance before going back inside .
"Are you all brainless?" Zeke asked out of nowhere all of the sudden . No one replied . The twins hung their head and I avoided eye contact . "Mr . Porter isn't just a friend of the boss anymore . He took the head coach position at Sunset Preparatory over Christmas break . That'll be a seeded school in this upcoming tournament . Did you guys want to give all our secrets away?"
Dave shrugged . "We didn't know . We can't fix it now . "
"Not in the way you think . " Zeke replied, regaining his calm . He rested his eyes on me . "In this cage, I want you to mix in a few fouls and at least one miss for each token . "
What a waste . I pouted at the idea of wasting good pitches .
"Don't make that face . You dug this grave . I'm fairly certain that he can watch the video cams in the boss's office so we have to start putting on a show . " He thought a bit . "It's also not a bad plan to keep going throughout the season . "
I sighed, slowly making my way to the cage . I tried to perform the best I could to please Zeke . I started with a miss, swinging too fast . Then I mixed some fouls with hits all over the place, not even trying very hard . Then I followed through and did the same thing with my left .
"I know this has been said before, but Jake you really have great bat control . " Kyle exclaimed after I stepped out . "It really looked like you were struggling . " That's because I was . I was struggling to do such sloppy hits and fouls .
"Jake, you'll be our sandbagger . " I tilted my head at Zeke's command . "Basically it means, you should fake being awful . And then when we need you, we can use you in clutch situations without anyone being on guard against you . "
So he wants me to hustle like Noah does to others? I don't know about this . Where was Noah to ask for help? I started to look around frantically .
Chapter end
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