A Family Outing

Linus had officially joined the local baseball team after his parents spoke with the coach, and he had already attended a few practices. Each session had its own challenges—fielding, batting, and base-running drills took up most of the time.

The rhythm of baseball was still new to him, and despite his natural athleticism, Linus found himself working hard to keep up with the rest of the team. He had continued doing his daily missions as well in order to improve faster and catch up to his teammates, even if that still felt far away. 

Though he hadn't given much thought to trying his hand at pitching, his focus had been entirely on fielding and batting for now, but knew he would probably have to try it at some point or he would feel as if he is wasting the system. Linus felt that the system wouldn't have included pitching stats if it wouldn't have helped him.

The practices were already more than enough with just the mechanics of hitting the ball, positioning himself in the field, and keeping his eye on the game. So Linus never felt as if he had the time to get into pitching yet.

On Saturday, Linus's parents had planned a family outing to get him properly outfitted for practice. While the team provided bats and gloves, Linus still needed some clothes suitable for training. It felt strange to be gearing up for baseball, something that had only become a part of his life so recently, but there was an excitement simmering beneath his usual calm exterior. Even Klara had decided to join them for the shopping trip, much to Linus's mild surprise.

As the family drove to the mall, Klara couldn't help herself from starting her usual teasing.

"Hey, baseball star," she said from the passenger seat, glancing back at Linus. "How does it feel being Sweden's future baseball prodigy? Are we talking Major League potential here?"

Linus rolled his eyes but smirked. "It's not like that. I'm just getting used to the game."

"Uh-huh," she said with a sly grin. "I still think I should take credit for getting you into it. You wouldn't have tried it without me tricking you into it."

Mats, driving, chimed in, "Give the guy a break, Klara. He's just getting started. Maybe in a few months, we'll see how much progress he's made."

"I'm just saying," Klara added, leaning back with her arms crossed. "If you end up being a big deal, I want front-row tickets to all your games."

Marie, their mom, smiled from the front seat. "Let's just focus on getting him the right gear for now. We don't need to be buying anything too fancy since you have just started."

The car ride was filled with more of Klara's jabs, but Linus could sense her genuine curiosity and excitement about his new interest. Despite all the teasing, she had been surprisingly interested in hearing how his practices were going.

Once they arrived at the store, they made their way through the aisles, scanning for anything Linus might need. Linus focused on getting a few shirts, athletic pants, and a decent pair of cleats. They roamed through the shelves, examining different types of baseball gear. Klara drifted off for a bit and came back with a baseball cap in her hand, tossing it to Linus.

"You'll need one of these," she said, her grin widening. "You know, to really look the part."

Linus caught the cap and held it up, inspecting it for a moment before responding with a sarcastic, "Yeah, I'll think about it."

The shopping trip took longer than expected, mostly because Klara kept making Linus try on various things "just for fun." Still, by the end of it, he had everything he needed to feel more comfortable during practice.

After they had finished shopping for Linus's new gear, the family wandered through the mall, trying to figure out what to do next. The day had been more relaxed than Linus expected, though the constant teasing from Klara made him feel like he was still in the middle of one of her jokes.

"Now that you're all geared up, where's our next stop? Maybe a trophy shelf so Linus can get ready for his baseball MVP awards?" Klara quipped as they strolled past the large windows of various stores.

Linus smirked, shaking his head. "I think I'll wait on that one. Pretty sure I have to, you know, actually be good at the game first."

Mats chuckled, his arm around Marie as they casually walked along. "Let's grab some ice cream or something. I think we've earned it after spending all that time in the sports store."

Marie nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea. It's been nice having a day out together."

They made their way to the food court, where the rich scent of different foods and desserts filled the air. After some debate over what flavor to get, the family finally sat down at a small table with bowls of ice cream, Klara taking a seat across from Linus with her trademark grin still plastered across her face.

"So, have they taught you how to hit a home run yet?" she asked, spooning some ice cream into her mouth.

"Not quite," Linus said, relaxing into his chair. "But I've been getting better. I hit a couple of decent balls during practice last week."

Marie perked up, interested. "That's great! Are you enjoying it so far?"

Linus nodded. "Yeah, it's fun. Hard, though. There's a lot more to it than I thought. And keeping up with the team… feels like I've got a long way to go."

"You'll catch up," Mats said, his voice reassuring. "You've always been good at picking up new things. Just give it time."

Linus appreciated the encouragement, but a part of him still felt the weight of catching up to his teammates, even though he knew it wouldn't be realistic to catch up this quickly. Linus had always had unnaturally high expectations of himself. But that's where the system came in—he knew it was a tool to help him, even if it still felt weird to rely on something so unnatural.

[Linus Edberg]: Level 2

[Exp]: 80/100

He had made progress with his daily missions, but it still seemed like it would take a while before he'd be able to feel the full effects of the system. The thought of not taking advantage of it entirely nagged at the back of his mind. He thought that he should probably talk to his coaches about what he should try to improve so he could spend his level up upgrades on it. 

Linus wanted to be efficient with his use of level up upgrades since they were "free" improvements, and his advantage in order to get onto the team and play matches as fast as possible.

Klara seemed to sense his quietness and leaned across the table. "Earth to Linus. What's going on in that big baseball brain of yours? Still thinking about practice?"

Linus snapped out of his thoughts, looking up. "Yeah, sort of. There's just a lot to figure out. Baseball has all these little details to get right."

Mats smiled, taking a bite of his ice cream. "That's part of the fun, though. You'll see as you keep practicing."

"Don't let him fool you," Klara interrupted. "He's just daydreaming about being the star pitcher or something."

Linus laughed, "I haven't even thought about pitching yet."

But then something clicked. He frowned, glancing at Klara. "Wait… how do you even know what a pitcher is?"

Klara shrugged, keeping her tone casual. "Oh, I looked it up when we were in the U.S., during your game. Wanted to know what was going on."

Linus raised an eyebrow. Klara wasn't the type to care about sports, let alone baseball. He hadn't mentioned pitching to her, and she certainly hadn't shown any interest before. Her excuse sounded too quick, too rehearsed. But instead of pressing her, Linus just smiled to himself.

She must've looked it up after they got back to Sweden—probably for his sake, so she could keep up with his new hobby or tease him better. Either way, Linus knew she wouldn't admit it.

"Right, makes sense," he said, letting it go.

Klara glanced at him, seeming relieved he didn't push the topic, and quickly moved on to a different conversation with their parents. Linus didn't mind. He knew now that behind all her teasing, Klara was paying attention, supporting him in her own way.

Smiling to himself, Linus followed along, letting the moment pass.