After the firework show, Rhys parted ways with us, saying that he would get a ride home with his dad. He didn't want us to make the extra trip just to drop him off when he can just wait until his dad is ready to go.
It was an easygoing ride home with Zeke driving, and Dave and Noah sleeping. I just gazed out the window, watching as we passed by other cars. I wonder what kind of life they lead? Are they happy? Sad? Going to work? Going home? A vacation? Especially when it's so late in the night like this.
"Are you sad about seeing Jeremy with his family?" Zeke asked, looking at me through the rear view mirror.
I shook my head. "Not really. He has his family, and it wouldn't be right to be jealous."
"It's okay to be jealous, as long as you don't act on that jealousy and say something you might regret." Zeke tried to comfort me.
But I didn't need it. "Really, I'm good. I don't want anything to do with them."
Zeke looked at me with the help of the mirror, but didn't say anything more.
I really wasn't sad. Or mad. It was a little weird seeing him laughing with them, but that's mostly because we're so awkward with one another. If anything, I prefer to have nothing to do with his family. I already have a new one I'm satisfied with. Why change something when it's working.
We made it home in the middle of the night. Mrs. Atkins was there to welcome us back and send us off to bed with a smile. The kind of smile I wished to see everyday if I could. It made me wonder what the status on my adoption was. Were we even close?
Dave and Noah didn't make much noise as they went up the stairs half-asleep. Zeke and I followed quietly, not the ones who usually make noise. Him and Dave went to their room, while Noah and I went to ours.
Noah climbed to his bed and knocked out, not even bothering to change into pajamas. I took the time to change and brush my teeth before getting into bed. My hand brushed against my phone so I pulled it out. Surprisingly I had a few missed texts.
Jeremy: I saw you in the stands. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?
Jeremy: Did Rose know? Did she help you guys?
Jeremy: You must have fallen asleep already. I'll see you after Sunday's game. Goodnight.
I chose to reply after seeing how much he had sent.
Me: It was a little last minute. A friend had tickets. I had forgotten my phone at home. See you later.
With that off my chest, I went to bed.
The next morning, Zeke stuck to his word and woke us up early again for training. We had a small breakfast of fruit before going on a run. This time he made it longer, thanks to last night's mistake. Noah trailed behind him, red in the face and sweating, but was only a couple of steps behind.
I was a good ten yards behind, panting and wishing they were a family of bowlers instead. Or golfers. Anything that didn't require so much endurance.
Back at the house, we lifted weights in the garage under Zeke's supervision. He went easy on me while making Noah lift even more. In my mind, it was only fair. Noah got more sleep than me so he should be in better shape. I was still tired and was thinking about napping during our second breakfast.
Ultimately, I didn't get much of a choice. After taking showers, Noah pleaded with Zeke to take us to the cages to turn in our paperwork. He agreed and drove us there with our bags.
Noah took the lead, going straight to Mr. Williams office and knocking at the door.
The old man opened up and let us on in. "Did you guys come up with a team?"
"Yes!" Noah laid out the paperwork on his desk with the roster list on top. "Our mom wrote a check too." He placed it above the list. "Ten players, the release forms, and the money. It's all there."
"Very well organized." The old man nodded, sitting behind the desk and glancing over everything. "Did you come up with a team name? And the color of your uniforms?"
"..." Complete silence.
Noah looked back at me and Zeke. He cough. "Zeke, you didn't come up with a name?"
Zeke shrugged. "It's not like I've done this before. Just put down any name."
Noah turned back to the old man. "What kind of names do the teams normally pick?"
Mr. Williams scratched his face. "Most use their sponsors as names or if they're a team from work, then the company's name. Free advertising."
"Sponsor?" Noah asked.
"Yea, someone to pay the fee or pay for the t-shirts that the team wears." His eyes narrowed. "You do know that you have to have matching shirts, right?"
Noah groaned. "How would I know?? Why didn't you mention it before?"
"Must have slipped my mind." He shrugged. "I'm old. It happens."
Noah turned back to Zeke. "Help?"
Zeke stepped up. "Mr. Williams, we don't have shirts, sponsors, or a team name yet. Can we get back to you on that?"
"Before Tuesday." He answered. "I make the schedule then. Better to have a team name by then. I would prefer to know the color of your shirts, but as long as there is nothing offensive written on it, it should be fine."
Zeke nodded, then he glanced down at Noah. "We can ask Mom and Dad about sponsoring us for the shirts. Maybe they can use it as a tax write-off." He looked back at the old man. "What do you think?"
Mr. Williams nodded. "Most companies do it for the write-off." He lifted the check that Mrs. Atkins wrote out. "If you put their company name in this memo line, I can give you the slip for the write-off."
Zeke took the check back and wrote down their real estate business name. Mr. Williams gave him a piece of paper in return for him to give to his parents. After that we went to the cages for some fun. Zeke even paid for everything, including lunch from the snackbar. He explained that their parents will be happy to know about the write-off and will probably help with getting everyone matching shirts to wear. He put Noah in charge of contacting everyone to get their t-shirt size. While putting me in charge of coming up with some team names.
I wanted to cry. My job was definitely more difficult.