Chapter 19: Ride home
Terrence P.O.V (Coach of the Nolensville Knights)
At the end of today's practice I asked Jalen to stay back a little so that we could talk about his impression of Stephen and also if he noticed anything wrong with Antony so after dismissing everybody I walked toward the dugout after sitting down I looked at Jalen
''So what do you think about Stephen''I asked him with a smile
''He is an absolute beast, his fielding is shit but he was making progress during the drills so it tells me that he will get better also he saw us practice so many times before that I don't doubt that he knows he needs to improve in this aspect'' said Jalen
''I know but this can't be avoided he never played before, and only watching games and practice isn't enough to be a good defender right away, he only started training 2 months ago so it is already a miracle to see how good he is, continue'' I said
''2 months...crazy, his batting is impressive and I don't know if you notice but he can choose where he wants the ball to land I've never seen a form like his but it seems to work for him, I honestly thought that he should take my spot as the 4th hitter but putting him anywhere between first and fifth hitter would be good for the team'' said Jalen saying something I hadn't notice I'm glad I asked him his impression I thought
''you are telling me that he can aim his hits'' I asked him to make sure he knew what this meant
''Absolutely every 3 pitches he would change his stance a little bit I thought he was doing this without realizing it at first but when I saw where his pitch was landing I knew he was doing this on purpose only me and Parker can do this so I know what it looks like, Coach'' said Jalen sure of himself
''As for his pitching, I don't think I need to tell you how good it is I don't understand why you told me he would be a headache because I had a blast catching his balls in 60 pitches he threw one wild ball and less than 15 balls the rest where all in the strike zone the speed of his 4-seam is insane not to mention that half of the time his 4-seam turn into a rising fastball if we can work on that we would be able to use 4 kinds of pitch starting the season. However, his balls aren't only fast but are heavy as well, I'll probably need to wear my batting glove inside my catcher glove, have a look at my hand'' said Jalen showing me his palm which was bright red
''Because if he is anything like his father he won't listen to his catcher in the game and just throw however he feels like, sigh'' I said to him while letting out a sight thinking about Dan when we were younger
''Honestly, I don't think he will be like that but I'll be sure to talk to him'' said Jalen
''So to the next subject, did you notice anything amiss with Antony'' I asked him
''Hehe, Coach you see... I was so excited catching Stephen's pitches that I completely forgot about Antony'' said Jalen sheepishly
''Sigh, I understand he was unusually quiet today when practice ended keep an eye on him for the next few days I really hope I'm just thinking too much, we have 2 practice games against Rockvale and Smyrna for the next 2 Saturdays I plan on letting Stephen start the one against Smyrna and against Rockvale I'll put in him as a DH also as the captain of the team I expect you to smooth things out with his integration to the team, you can go now'' I said focusing on the notes I had taking today I couldn't do everything but I still saw some good seedlings
Mary P.O.V
Once we were all in the car Stephen started driving out of the school grounds my house was 20 minutes away from here by car so I didn't waste any time asking him what I wanted to know
''Stephen does your team need stats managers I know that some Varsity teams will ask students to record stats during a game, this looks fun and if I do something outside of studying for once I'll be able to shut my Dads mouth as a bonus hehe'' I asked Stephen
''Are you serious we are in dire need of help in fact, the best case scenario would be to have 3 or 4 student managers to help the Coaches one for stats one for logistics one to help with the equipment in practice, and the last one for laundry and taking care of the water dispenser if you are interested you can go talk with Terry directly he will be please to finally having his hand free during games but you need to know that you will have to travel with us to every game right?'' Stephen asked me
''Yes I know I just think that for my last year in high school, I should do something I have never done before and I like stats so it will also be fun'' I said looking back at the view outside of the window
''Hey, I can help too hehe I can... I can take care of the laundry and water yes hehe'' said Leslie beside me
''Stop it the only thing you want is to smell their clothes and travel with them you dirty girl'' said Aria
''Hahaha sorry to pop your bubble but the only thing you would wash would be the sweat-filled towels that we use in the dugout and the towel we use in the shower locker room after a game and the water dispenser is pretty heavy you know also only the stats and logistic manager travel with the team, sorry'' Stephen said
''Towels fill with man's sweat, such a manly scent hehehe'' Mumbled Leslie to herself but everyone heard her Aria facepalmed herself, Layla was blushing and looking quite disturbed by Leslie while Stephen sivered for a bit before returning to normal, either fear or disgust I wasn't sure oh poor Leslie you don't have any chance with him now I thought
''What about you cousin, you could help with equipment and that won't cut your time studying afterward'' asked Stephen to Aria
''Humph I don't have a choice if I leave this hopeless girl alone she will scare every guy on the team said Aria pointing toward Leslie who was still stuck in her own fantasy world
'' Hahaha that's great, I just hope the guys won't be too distracted having three girls around well that's for Terry to worry about hahaha'' said Stephen laughing
'' What about you Layla dont you want to join us that could be fun right?'' asked Aria to Layla
''Thank you for asking it would have indeed been fun...but I can't I already have another commitment this year'' said Layla with a sad smile
''Layla is helping the volleyball team with their practices, but nothing is stopping you from visiting us whenever you are free'' said Stephen toward Layla with a calm and reassuring smile
''It's a pity but well nothing we can do about it, Hey! let's exchange numbers so we can keep in touch'' said Aria to Layla
''I don't have my phone with me it's my mother who had it but I can give you my number and I'll tell you when I get my cell phone back so it is the 1 8** *** **** '' said Layla with a sweet smile on her face
For the rest of the ride we got to know Layla better she was a sweet girl as far as I could see soon it was time for me to get off the car since I could see my house right at the corner
''See you girls tomorrow, thank you Stephen'' I said before stepping out of the car and walking into my house
Layla Smith P.O.V
As time passed I was getting more comfortable with these girls Aria was a kind and headstrong girl while Mary was quiet and smart and Leslie was cute but also weird but they were all nice people. Leslie was the second one to be dropped off then was Aria turn she told Stephen to not forget her tomorrow morning and then started walking to her house, Stephen waited until she was inside before starting to drive again I could see that these two really had a good relationship maybe this explain why Aria had seemed so defensive the first time I approach them back at the baseball field
''So where is your house?'' asked Stephen while still looking at the road ahead
'' Close to the elementary school do you know where it is?'' I said asking him
'' If I know hahaha I spent my summer training there and it is also where I studied before'' said Stephen laughing
''Wait so you are the one Grandfather talked about all summer'' I said stunned by the revelation
''Who is your grandfather?... Wait I think I know dont tell me that Old Smith is your grandfather?'' asked Stephen just as stunned as me
''Yes'' I said
''Hahaha the world really is small, talk about a coincidence you got a really good grandfather but now I'm curious what does this old man have to say about me?'' asked Stephen
''He said that he had never seen someone training himself so much before and that you were kind and considerate for a youngster haha he also said that when you start school his Wednesday will be a lot less fun, I didn't ask at the time but now I want to know why he said that?'' I asked Stephen
''Hahaha it's just that every Wednesday I would bring food and eat launch with your grandfather it was a way for me to thank him for letting me train there all summer, your grandfather really helped me a lot this summer but not just this summer I wasn't really the social type of guy back in elementary school so I was eating lunch alone every day and your grandfather took it upon himself to accompany me and tell me stories he kind of was my only friend when you see him tell him that I'm really grateful for everything he did for me, if it's not a bother to you'' said Stephen with a smile
''Not at all I'm sure that will make him happy, can I ask you a personal question if you don't want to answer it's just tell me and we can act like I didn't ask anything?'' I asked him
''Hehe, what is it?'' laughs Stephen
''Why did you push yourself so hard this summer, what made you decide to change this much I mean I almost didn't recognize you today... I was just wondering'' I said whispering at the end
''Sigh, I don't mind I can tell you, there are multiple reasons that pushed me to change but I guess I should start by the thing that started it all. Did you hear about a guy who sent a love letter to a girl at the end of last year and the letter was then photocopied and sent to all students?'' asked me Stephen with a wry smile
''Oh yes I heard about this the girls on the team were talking about it they laugh about it calling it The Rose Le.... oh I understand now, so it was you'' I said feeling bad for him
''Dont feel bad for real I don't mind and I realize now that it wasn't love but since it was the first time a girl had paid attention to me I mistook my sentiment as love, to make a long story short what she did made me realize that I was a fool to fear everything around me I didn't want to make friends so as to not lose any I didn't want to play baseball as to not get laugh at if it turned out I was bad but after what that Brandy did to me I realize that no matter what I do to people could still find a way to hurt or laugh at me so I decide to train all summer to do the thing I love the most, playing baseball'' Said Stephen
''How do you know it was her who did it?'' did you ask her if maybe it wasn't her
''Remember the day we met last year, it was the day that all this happened when we met I was on my way to my Dad's office to ask him if I could leave and go back home and you must know where the cheerleader's locker room is right? When I passed by that day I heard her and her friends talking and laughing about this and she even explained why she did this to this day I still can't believe the reason she gave hahaha it's just ridiculous so yeah I'm 1000% sure she did it and she was proud of it'' said Stephen shaking his head
''Why did she do this?''
'' She was scared I would ruin her reputation after rejecting me. In her twisted mind, she thought that I would tell everyone she had used me all year for her homework and team projects to get good grades so she thought that by ruining my reputation like this before I could say anything about her, everything I would say would have no credibility hahahaha I know it's messed up but I'm pretty sure she has NPD. After hearing this I wasn't even angry anymore I was just baffled that someone could have a mind so twisted, I mean to think about something like that only means that she either did that before or she has such a crooked mindset that she thinks of plans like this in case she meets someone who thinks just like her'' Stephen said laughing
''Wow but I believe that Brandy could really say something like that, the few times I interacted with her I always felt that she was acting... like she was playing the role of the good girl with proper manners, and by the way what is NPD?'' I asked
''Well, she can't fool everyone seems like you have good instincts hehe and NPD or Narcissistic personality disorder is a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5). The disorder is classified in the dimensional model of Personality Disorders'' said Stephen
''Wow that's a pretty professional diagnostic there haha'' I said laughing at him
''Sorry my Mom has a master in psychology ... I might have read quite a few of her books hehe'' Said Stephen with a wry smile
'' She wasn't here today I wonder how she will react when she sees you'' I said out loud
''Hum, she will probably try to spread bad rumors about me and talk to everyone who gets close to me and try to turn them against me be wary of her she will try to get close to you for sure, a girl like her will probably not like seeing someone she thought she had put down getting back up. Sigh, she will be such a nuisance this year I can feel it, well I only have to endure her for another year hopefully'' said Stephen with a sigh
''Hmm I will don't worry, Oh it's here turn here'' I said to Stephen pointing to the street ahead
1 minute later Stephen stopped his car in front of my house I could see the car of my grandfather parked in our driveway, on an impulse I looked at Stephen and then
''Do you want to come in for a bit my grandfather is here?'' I asked him feeling my cheeks getting a little bit hotter
''Hum why not I have time before dinner and my house is close, I can't believe we never crossed each other before'' He said looking at his phone before putting it back in his pocket
Linda Smith P.O.V ( Mother of Layla)
I came home pretty late today it was already 7 o'clock in the evening when I came back I could see the car of My husband and my father-in-law parked in the driveway as soon as I opened the door 3 pairs of eyes looked at me then I could hear my father-in-law say
''It's not her, are you sure she didn't say anything to you?'' asked my father-in-law to my Husband
''I'm sure, I wouldn't have forgotten something like this, Linda did Layla tell you if she would be late today'' asked my husband
''What are you talking about, Layla isn't home. It's already 7 pm what can take so long she stopped volleyball or did she change her mind today, no it doesn't fit either she would have been home around 6 if that was the case did you try to call her friends?'' I asked my husband
''You have her cellphones now that you are here we can ask them if they know something'' said my husband
''Oh you are right'' I said taking my daughter's phone out of my purse and looking through her contacts well maybe I should just call Coach Sparks first before I embarrassed my daughter by calling her friends I thought.
Coach Sparks answered after the 4th ringing tone and after a polite greeting I asked her about my daughter after knowing that she indeed had stayed at the volleyball club, the practice had ended at 5h30 but she did tell me that she saw her climbing into an SUV with a young man of the baseball team and 3 other girls so maybe the young man was carpooling and my daughter would soon arrive. Hanging up my family looked at me for an answer
''She stayed at school to help the volleyball team practice and Coach Sparks saw her entering a car with 3 other girls around 6 pm with a member of the baseball team so...'' I stopped talking mid-sentence
I was about to say that if she wasn't here soon we could call the baseball Coach to find out who the young man was but I spotted my daughter coming out of a pretty high-end SUV right in front of our house, she waited for 10 seconds beside the SUV before a young man stepped out from the driver side and started walking beside my daughter toward our home
''She is here and not alone'' I said still looking outside