Zeke didn't hint to us whether he had a plan already set or if we would come up with something together this weekend. He left us to go to his own class and we went to ours.
"Is it just me, or are we being stared at..?" Noah noticed immediately that the few classmates that were already in the room, didn't take their eyes off us when we walked in.
"Noah!"
"Noah, Jake, come here!"
"Why didn't you guys tell us?"
"Tell you what?" Noah asked after dropping his backpack off at his desk.
I did the same.
"That Jake was on good terms with Jeremy Patterson now!"
I froze.
Noah looked around. "How do you guys know?"
"It's going around." Alisha was the one to speak up and show us her phone. "Someone posted on a blog about him coming to the CIF game and had pictures to back it up. And then added some pictures of the game last night. Where Jeremy was taking pictures of the team and talking to Jake."
"What a creep!" Noah exclaimed. "Who the heck does this?" He grabbed the phone and started to scroll.
Alisha shrugged. "It's just a blogger from the area trying to be a reporter. He doesn't have a whole lot of followers, but somehow it got around the school since your whole team was at the game last night. Someone was bound to know one of you guys and then it just got around." She looked at me. "So? Is it true? That you're his brother?"
The class got quiet. Even Noah. He looked at me like I would be making the decision to talk about Jeremy. "Uh…well, he is. My biological brother." The class started to ask questions all at once and it was hard to hear anything specific.
"Shut up!" Noah hollered, giving Alisha her phone back. "If you guys want to gossip before class starts, then I suggest you let Jake tell you what's going on." The class was silent once more. Noah nodded at me. "Just tell them what you want to tell them."
I don't really want to tell them anything though..?
I sighed. "We aren't exactly close. We haven't spoken in years. He's…" I shrugged. "He's a professional baseball player."
"Do you think you can get us an autograph?" Someone asked.
I turned red, embarrassed. "I don't know. Maybe?" I looked around. "Does everyone want one..?"
"I do!"
"Me too!"
"I mean, if you're offering?"
"Yea!"
"Definitely!"
"Okay, okay." Noah waved his hands around. "Settle down. We'll see what we can do. Jake will ask, but if he gets told no, then that's final." Noah sounded more like his parents as he calmed down our classmates.
"Would he really tell you no?" Alisha whispered to me as Noah placated the others.
I shrugged. "We aren't close." I felt like a broken record, repeating myself over and over again. "I-" I stopped and realized I didn't even text him this morning about coming over on Sunday. "Hold on."
I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.
Me: You can come over Sunday for dinner.
A reply came back almost immediately.
Jeremy: I'll be there.
So quick. I looked up at Alisha, feeling her curious eyes locked on me. "I…We're not as distant as before."
She nodded like she understood. "That's good."
She looked on as Noah talked to more and more classmates as it got closer to the start of class. "It's not like you're missing out on what a brother is supposed to be like. Noah does a great job protecting you."
I nodded in agreement.
She glanced at me. "Hey, can I ask you for a favor?"
My first thought was that she also wanted something from Jeremy.
But she threw me for a curve when she got closer and whispered so only I could hear. "I know I said I didn't need a birthday gift, but can you make sure Noah gets me one?"
My eyebrows raised with confusion.
"Please? It doesn't have to be anything big." She pleaded.
I nodded willingly. Alisha was nice and she deserved a birthday gift. She invited us to her party and was okay with joining our softball team so it's only right we do something for her.
"Thanks, Jake." She grinned and hurried to her seat since the bell rang.
All the other students got back to their seats too, knowing that we would get detention if we didn't. Noah and I did the same.
He leaned backwards and tried to relax. "Ugh. What a morning." He glanced at me. "Do you think it'll be like this all day?"
I shrugged. I hope not.
Unfortunately, it was just the beginning. Every class was just like the first, with curious classmates. It didn't bother me as much as the first time around, but one question got to me.
"Is he why you're so good at baseball?"
I felt frozen in time for two reasons. One, it's a compliment that I feel I don't deserve. I'm good at hitting, not at baseball. Two, Jeremy had never played baseball with me before. I vague memory of him and my dad playing catch made me want to play too. Just to feel closer to them than the person I called 'mom'.
Noah was able to tell that kid off first, before I came back from the shock. "What are you saying? Don't you know that Jeremy didn't even want to claim him as a brother? How could he be the reason that he's good? Jake is good thanks to his own hard work. Are you good at biology because your parents are doctors or because you study?"
"Dang, no need to be so defensive." The kid muttered before walking away.
"Don't mind them." Noah patted me on the shoulder. "Didn't you want to see Dr. Moore today? Let's hide out in his office for lunch."
I nodded in agreement.
At lunch time, we were able to make our escape from the curious gazes, sneaking through the office to Dr. Moore's temporary office. He really embraced being the school counselor even though he wasn't getting paid. This was the definition of being a good person.
He smiled as he watched the two of us creep in his office, closing the door behind us so no one else would come. "Happy Friday, guys. Looks like you've heard the rumors?"
"All day!" Noah groaned, slumping in one of the chairs across Dr. Moore's desk. "You've heard too?"
"Not only did I hear, I saw it on tv." Dr. Moore looked at me. "Before the game, they showed how close Jeremy was to your team, even helping with pictures. He didn't do that for any of the other high school teams so it garnered some attention."
That's probably why the blogger started digging around.
I sighed and sat in the empty chair next to Noah.
"How are you holding up, Jake?" Dr. Moore asked.
I shrugged. "I'm not as scared as last time. Or as mad. I'm just confused on what to say."
"What to say?" He asked. "What do you mean by that?"
I shook my head. "I don't have the answers. Am I close to Jeremy? I don't know. Will he come to anymore of my games? I don't know. Will he visit my school? I don't know. Can I get everyone an autograph? I. Really. Don't. Know." I sighed again.
