I thought someone would knock or just open our door to give us our papers, but instead it was slide under our door on the floor. Noah raced to pick them up, handing me mine and looking over his. He then looked up at me blankly. "I don't know if these are the same people we know or not."
I laughed. Noah was so excited, but without knowing everyone's last names, how could we be sure they were on our team or not? I glanced at my bag. "Do you think we should bring our bags?"
Noah pointed at his paper. "My team is meeting in the cafeteria tonight so I won't bother. Where is yours meeting?"
I looked. "At the…stadium." The main field.
"Bring your bag just in case." Noah told me. "It's better to be prepared. It's not like it's too bothersome."
I nodded and picked my bag up.
Noah held his papers and we left the room. Others on our floor were also going downstairs or preparing to go down so we went the flow, only stopping in the common area to meet up with who we knew.
We all showed our papers, trying to find one another. Noah had both Cody and Ansar on his team, while Travis and Adam were with Landon. Dylan and I were on separate teams alone.
Dylan sighed. "Guess I'll have to learn a few more names and faces."
"You're easy to get along with. You'll be fine." Noah told him. He then looked to me and lowered his voice. "Want me to walk you to your team first?"
I hesitated. I wanted to stand on my own and get better, but…it was scary knowing that I was going to be on my own. A whole new team. I gulped. "Can you..?"
"Sure! It's no problem!" Noah patted me on the shoulder. "It's just a few extra steps. Come on, let's get going." He looked to Ansar and Cody. "Save me a seat; I'll be back!"
They nodded, but still looked a little confused.
I felt the blood rush to my face. So embarrassing.
"Jake?! Jake! There you guys are!" Rhys jogged up to our group. "I was waiting outside for you, but you weren't showing up. I was about to go to your room." He paused to greet the other guys around us.
They returned his greeting and started to walk away to their own groups.
"Do we still need to save you a seat, Noah?" Ansar asked.
Noah looked at me, then at Rhys, then back at me. He decisively shook his head. "Nah. I'll go with you guys." He gave me a pat on the shoulder. "You'll be okay, Jake. I'll see you back in the room."
I nodded.
Noah left with his teammates, and it slowly became just me and Rhys.
Rhys gave my bag a light slap. "Glad you brought this down."
I looked up at him. "So we're playing tonight?"
Rhys nodded. "We have the first scrimmage of the week."
My eyes widen. "We're playing a game?" I felt like I had swallowed a rock.
Rhys smiled and gave my bag a tug. "Let's go. Nothing to worry about. You knew you were going to start playing games against others. That's the whole point of forming teams. And it's a good way for coaches and scouts to see players in action." He practically dragged me out of the dorm building.
"I just thought…" I would have more time to prepare..? Like mentally. I know no one on my team and we're playing a game. This isn't a good start.
"Don't think so much." Rhys told me. "Just play."
I always think this much…especially while I'm playing.
Rhys spoke the whole way to the stadium, but I wasn't paying attention. I was too focused on walking, wondering if it was too late to tell Zeke that I didn't want to be on my own. The least he could have done was put a familiar face on the team for me. Rhys doesn't really count. He's a Stanford player. A camp counselor. An assistant coach. We weren't on the same level.
Rhys led me through the side gate of the stadium, bypassing some counselors who were helping others find their team. He took me straight to the first base dugout, where some players were already talking to one another. "This is our team. Our dugout for the game. Visitors so we bat first."
Bat? That jogged my memory about wanting to talk to Rhys. I looked up at him. "Are you still able to find me some spare bats? Since I broke the one Noah gave me, I only have Jeremy's left and-" I stopped abruptly.
Rhys understood. I didn't want to break that bat. It held some meaning to me. "I talked to my dad about it. Like Zeke said, we don't want you to lose your eligibility or anything like that. But my dad knows a few guys that sell worn, old, and used bats. We can get a bundle discount. How many do you think you need?"
I started to recall the bats I've broken:
1. The first time I ever went to the batting cages with Noah.
2. The championship game.
3. My at-bat versus Rhys.
I've broken three bats since I've moved in with the Atkins back in February. Five months ago. How many should I get..? I looked up to Rhys. "How many can I get?"
Rhys chuckled. "Thinking about stocking up on bats?"
I shrugged. "I've broken three in the last five months…and only the first one was really my fault."
"I'll call my dad. Maybe he can get it together before the end of the camp so you guys can take it home with you and spare the extra trip." He told me with a smile.
"Thanks." I felt a sense of relief go through me, relaxing my shoulders a bit.
Rhys gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Set your bag down and get your cleats on. I have to help the coach, make sure all of you show up and whatnot."
I nodded. Rhys couldn't be with me the whole time, he still had stuff to do for the team. He left to find the coach while I went to the furthest end of the dugout. I set my bag down and got my cleats out. As I was tying them on, the dugout started to fill up and a team was formed.
"Hello, hello, hello!" A man raised his voice in front of the dugout. He and Rhys stood side by side so my guess is that, he's the coach…? Maybe… He look rather young to be a coach. Maybe in his early thirties? Younger? He had a thick black beard, plus a baseball hat on, so it was difficult to guess.
Those of us in the dugout got quiet.
"Hello." He said again, standing a little straighter. "I'd like to introduce myself, your coach for the next week. My name is Nathaniel Thomas. You all may call me Coach Nate. My credentials include being a grad assistant here at Stanford for three years. From there, I took a head coach position at City College of San Francisco. It'll be my fourth season there in the spring."
I noticed a few of the guys lose interest in what Coach Nate had to say.
Coach Nate noticed it too. "Just because I'm a coach at a community college doesn't mean that I don't know how to Coach. For the last two years, my college has been league champions, going to the tournament. We've also produced seven draftees."
That got some attention. This coach has been with players who got drafted? I didn't have to be convinced. Anyone called coach would know way more about baseball than me.
