Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 23:22:58 -0700 From: Douglas DD DD Subject: The Puget Posse Chapter 11 Greetings, and thank you for returning to read more about the Posse. The first chapter disclaimers are still good, as always. In this chapter, the twins meet Jeremiah, a boy who will become not a thorn in their sides, but also in the sides of the entire Puget Posse. Hovering in the background is Alden, a blond beauty who, as Jeremiah's shadow, will be in a position to create his own forms of mischief as the story progresses. Please remember to give to Nifty to keep the Archive viable and ongoing. If you wish to contact me (and please do), you can reach me, Douglas, at thehakaanen@hotmail.com CHAPTER 11 A SENSE OF JUSTICE After the New Year, third grade went calmly for the twins, relatively speaking. The two of them got naked with Cindy a couple more times and once with Stacy, who gave them each a blow job. "Is Stacy what guys call a slut?" Mark asked his brother one night after they practiced their oral skills in Matthew's bed. "You mean because she likes doing sex all the time?" Matthew asked. "Yeah." The twins equated blow jobs with sex. They knew there was more to it, but they weren't ready to find out exactly what that was. They messed around with the two girls a few more times, and got blow jobs from them three more times. They found getting blow jobs from each other to be a much more reliable way to have sexual fun. They had also discovered the wonders of masturbation, and were able to give themselves their own private orgasms. They found out it was fun to masturbate each other. It was not as much fun as a blow job, but they realized the places they could masturbate were almost infinite, while blow jobs seemed to be restricted to the bedroom—at least so far. "That don't make her a slut," Matthew said about Stacy. "It just means she likes doing sex. We like sex, too, and I'm no slut." "Me either. But she did it with us, and she does it with her brother, and with his friends, and with Cindy. That's who I know she does it with," Mark said. "Some guys say somebody who has sex with lots of people is a slut." "So? We do it with each other. And we get to touch our sisters' boobs and they touch our dicks. That don't make us sluts." Their arguments with each had diminished, and between the end of Winter Break and the end of the school year they had only one physical fight. They always made up after a falling-out. In late spring they had a bit of a falling out with their sisters. It was Memorial Day weekend, which meant there would be no school on nude Monday. The forecast for the weekend was sunny with temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s—unseasonably warm weather. The twins were eager for their first skinny dipping session of the year in the pool. They invited their friends Peter, Brock, and Adam over, and the five boys enjoyed an afternoon of nude swimming, dunking, wrestling, splashing, games, boners, and eating, while disgusting Michelle and Megan. Kristy decided to allow the girls to stay at home even though the boys would be naked. It was the first time they would be able to see Mark and Mathew's friends in the nude. She consulted with the mothers of the three friends to make sure they would have no objection to the girls being present. She rightfully figured the boys wouldn't object. The mothers were good with the presence of the girls as long as everyone was supervised during the entire skinny dipping session. Kristy did not want to spend the afternoon watching five naked boys play grab ass. However, the girls did not appear eager to dive into the pool with the boisterous boys. As long as everybody remained separated, she figured everything was good, and stayed mostly in the house or worked in the front yard, coming around to the back for an occasional check on the kids. The older twins managed to be simultaneously fascinated and disgusted by the gaggle of naked boys. They were fascinated by the sexiness of their cocks and balls and by the differences in size between the five boys. Adam was the first uncut boy they had ever seen, which had them whispering between themselves. They asked Adam if they could feel it and he allowed them a quick grope. That was the extent of their playing with the boys. However, the eleven-year-olds eventually got tired of watching the boys be little naked boys playing grab ass games instead of sexy boys who they thought would be more interested in girls than in each other. The immaturity and silliness of the boys was what disgusted them. A couple of nights later, Matthew and Mark decided to each sneak over to the rooms of their sisters to spend some time in bed playing with them. Michelle and Megan had anticipated the visit and agreed on what they would tell their brothers. The conversation in Megan's bed was nearly the same as the one that took place in Michelle's. "This is the last time," Megan told Mark. "The last time for what?" Mark asked innocently. "The last time we have sex." Mark had his hand on his sister's left breast, softly rubbing and kneading it. She was playing with his hairless balls and hard little preteen cock. "You mean this is sex?" he asked. "I thought we were just playing around. Why can't we keep playing around? It's fun." "We just can't" "That don't answer my question." "It doesn't answer my question. Don't you pay any attention in school?" "Don't...doesn't...what difference does it make? What a stupid time to correct me. But you need to answer my question." "You just like being ignorant. Look, you and Mattie are just little boys. Me and Michelle want to get boyfriends that are older and know stuff about sex." "I thought you were supposed to say `Michelle and I', not me and Michelle." "Ohhhh, you are impossible. We just don't want to do sex with little boys who are our brothers." Mark rolled over on the bed and put his sister's breast in his mouth and sucked on it for a moment as Megan kept stroking his rock hard cocklet. He stopped and looked up at his sister, repeating his question. "You mean this is sex?" He then placed Megan's left breast back in his mouth and played with her right one. "Yes, it is sex. You and Mattie have both had orgasms doing this. That makes it sex. Like I said, Michelle and I (she slowly emphasized "Michelle and I") want to have sex with boys who know about it and aren't our brothers." "Whatever. You sound like a dumb sister as usual. Can you give me an orgasm before I go?" "You are so immature. Go back to your room." "You are so lame." Mark let go of Megan's breast, got out of her bed, and padded back to his room just a couple of minutes ahead of Matthew. The two rock hard and naked nine-year-olds crawled into Matthew's bed. "Our sisters are so stupid," Mark said. "That's for sure," Matthew said. "They kicked us out of their room. They wouldn't even give us an orgasm. They could at least give us an orgasm." "We can give each other a better one," Mark said. "Because we can give each other blow jobs." Mark kicked the covers away and the boys were quickly in the time-honored sixty-nine position. They agreed later the orgasms they gave each other were much better than what their sisters ever gave them jerking them off. Megan wished she hadn't sent Mark away so quickly. She liked having him play with and suck on her breasts. She rose from her bed and went to her sister's room. She knew with her sister she could go one step further and have an orgasm. ++++++++++++ The summer officially kicked off for the boys after school was out and after they had their nine-year-old half-birthday party. The summer consisted of coach pitch baseball, swimming and playing with friends, traveling to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks with their parents in their rented RV, and enjoying their roles as rambunctious nine- year-old boys. When fourth grade started, they once again took their roles of protectors for those friends who needed it. Their reputation was such that anyone with thoughts of bullying those under the twins' protective umbrella ended up thinking twice about it. Whether giving mental or physical abuse, they stayed away from the twins' friends or anybody they thought was a friend of the twins. Their role as protectors was unquestioned. Even when somebody who was not a friend was bullied, a look from one of the twins ended it. What the bullies didn't know was that Mark and Matthew weren't willing fight to protect anyone who they didn't consider to be a friend, but they had no problem holding off threats with glares and stares. During Winter Break the twins turned ten. Hormones were starting to bubble in them. They found they were becoming horny more often and their dry orgasms were becoming stronger. They loved giving each other blow jobs and jerking each other off whenever they could. They began talking about including some of their friends in their sexual fun. Their classmates, Peter and Brock, were the recipients of the twins' first lessons into the world of boners, masturbation, and orgasms. They were invited to the twins' first overnight party a couple of days after Christmas. It took a little bit of persuasion by the twins to convince Kristy they were ready to have friends stay overnight. "We're ten now, mom," Mark said. "That makes us almost grown up." "You will be ten in two days," Kristy corrected. "Did you boys empty the dishwasher like I asked you to this morning?" "No," Mark said sheepishly. "But we made our beds," Matthew added. "And picked your dirty clothes up off of the floor?" "Not yet," Matthew said. "But we will as soon as we empty the dishwasher." "Why don't Michelle and Megan have to empty the dishwasher?" Mark asked. "They do, but this is your week to do it." "Last week was our week, too," Matthew complained. "That was because they kept their room clean the week before without my having to nag them, like I have to nag a couple of boys I know." "Who else doesn't clean their room?" Mark asked. "She was talking about us, doofus," Matthew said. "Well, it's your turn this week to pick up the clothes," Mark said. "I did it last week. Besides all of the underwear on the floor is yours. I put mine in the hamper." "Like you even wear underwear." "Boys," Kristy interjected, "stop your squabbling." "He started it, saying I don't help keep the room clean," Mark said. "And I do wear underwear," Matthew protested. "Mark is lying as usual." "Why me?" Kristy said quietly to herself. She went on to say aloud, "If you can't agree who is supposed to keep the room clean, then maybe you should each have your own room." "No," Matthew said. "We like being in the same room." "Then quit arguing and clean it. And, if you can't do that much, and can't do your chores, then you certainly aren't acting like you're almost grown up." "We'll do it all right now," Matthew said. "And if we do it, can we have Peter and Brock spend the night tonight?" Mark asked. "How about you two do your jobs until the end of the week? I will let you try an overnight as a birthday present if you can do your tasks." "Oh, cool. When can we have the overnight?" Matthew asked. "A week from today, if you're good." "Cool, we'll go invite them now," Mark said. "Don't promise anything. You still have some responsibilities." "This is in the bag," Mark said. The boys started for the kitchen to empty the dishwasher. Kristy stopped Matthew and looked down at him. "I don't know if what Mark said is true or not, but you will wear underwear. It's the sanitary and grown up thing to do." "That punk spoils everything." "Matthew!" "Okay, but I want boxers instead of those stupid briefs." "We'll talk about it later. For now, you will do as I say." "I only went a couple of times without wearing any. He makes it sound like it's every day." "Matthew, just do it, okay?" He rolled his eyes and let out a long, "Ooooo-kaaaay." Matthew thought if he said much more his mother might retract her promise for an overnight, so he nodded and headed for the kitchen, yelling at Mark for telling their mother he'd been going commando. "I only did it two times," Matthew said. "It was three times." "Whatever. You aren't supposed to rat on me to mom." "I didn't, except you were lying about whose underwear was on the floor." When they had a definitive goal in mind, one that they absolutely wanted to reach, the twins could be quite industrious. They were very goal oriented, something Scott and Kristy had both learned early on. The problem was finding goals the twins thought were important enough to work hard towards. Being able to have their first overnight party became one such goal. Their chores were completed without complaining. Their room, while not spotlessly clean, was remarkably neat. The beds were made, the furniture was dusted, the rug was vacuumed, their dresser drawers were organized, and their clothes were put away in their proper places. When the big day arrived, Peter and Brock arrived together in the early afternoon. Michelle and Megan had already arranged to spend the night with a friend. The twins bounced around the house from the time the got up until the car came up the long gravel driveway. They drove Kristy nuts, especially since they had hopped out of bed at six- thirty in the morning. The afternoon was noisy and raucous, but the four were also good boys and were careful not to demolish the house. They played video games and board games and watched a movie. The December weather was gray and rainy, which kept them indoors. Kristy made a mental note that the next sleepover wouldn't be until the weather was good enough for the boys to play outdoors. When Scott got home from work, the boys settled down some. Dinner was hamburgers and baked beans, with the obligatory salad. Chocolate cake was available for dessert for all of those who cleaned their plates. All four boys reached that goal. Scott played with the boys for awhile. Then he popped in a movie, which helped to quiet them down. A little after eight, the four of them retired to the twins' bedroom. Other than using the bathroom, the bedroom would be where they would stay for the rest of the evening. For reasons they couldn't explain or understand, the twins wanted to see their friends naked. They weren't interested in playing games, like Cindy and Stacey had been, they just wanted nakedness. "Do you guys want to get naked?" Mark asked. Subtlety was not one of the twins' strong points. They'd seen Peter and Brock naked when they had their skinny dips, but this was different. Getting naked for swimming didn't make their dicks hard. "Sure, why not" Brock said. "We've been naked with you guys before." Peter agreed and the boys wordlessly started to strip. It had been that easy. What Brock and Peter didn't expect to see when they stripped was the hard three-inch cocks of Mark and Matthew. They both looked wide-eyed at the ten-year-old twins and their boners. "You guys got hard wieners," Brock said. "Yeah, we get them a lot," Mark said. "Don't you guys get them?" "I get one sometimes," Peter said. Brock nodded in agreement. "They're called erections," Matthew said. He rubbed his own erection with his thumb and index finger and added, "and I'm rubbing my penis, not my wiener." "But big boys call them cocks or dicks." Mark said, rubbing his own erection. "And they call erections, boners." "Why are you rubbing it?" Peter asked? "Because it feels good," Mark said. "Yeah, it feels really good. It's called masturbating. Or jacking off, or jerking off," Matthew told them. "Or beating your meat," Mark said. "It can be called lots of stuff." "You keep doing it until you get an orgasm," Matthew said. "And that feels the best." Both Brock and Peter were surprised that their little cocklets had gotten hard. Brock's was almost as big as the three inches that were sported by the twins. His boner was also thicker than theirs. Peter's peter barely stretched out to two inches. They followed the lead of the twins and started masturbating, feeling a bit self-conscious as they did so. "We should sit on my bed," Mark said. "It's better when you do it sitting down." The time for talk was over and the lesson evolved into the demonstration phase. It didn't occur to the twins to talk to Peter and Brock about how much better it felt when somebody else put his hand on your cock and jerked you off. They never thought about telling them how great a blow job felt. The way the twins saw it, the lesson for the evening was about jerking off, not about sex. When the little circle jerk ended, Mark and Matthew had two orgasms apiece, while Brock, with a great deal of encouragement, had his first orgasm. Poor Peter got some good feelings, but couldn't get himself to reach the final goal. But, his time would eventually come. They slept naked that night, the first time Peter and Brock had slept in the nude. Each of them had his own sleeping bag on the floor, while Mark and Matthew slept together in Mark's bed. Neither Peter nor Brock thought it strange that the twins slept naked with each other. It was an evening that some would call sexual. But in reality, it was all rather innocent. Two boys learned about masturbation, two boys taught them, but none of them thought they were actually having anything to do with sex. For all they had experienced over the last few months, and for all of their feelings of sophistication, the twins still had a childlike naivety about them. Their wanting to show their friends how to masturbate was indicative of the fact that their relative innocence regarding sex with other boys was not long for the world. ++++++++++++ Mark and Matthew were both excellent athletes. They played soccer, basketball, and baseball. Their sisters were equally gifted physically. Their parents encouraged their children's participation in team sports. While neither Scott nor Kristy had the knowledge base or time to coach, they both did volunteer work for the teams from providing treats, to keeping score, to helping with fund raisers. There was always at least one parent at each of their games, and usually both were able to attend. As baseball season approached, their parents looked into Little League baseball as well as a couple of ten and under select teams. They had heard good things about the Orioles, who had been very competitive the year before. Their coach was Brandon Hunt. His son, Jeremiah, had played for him on the Orioles the year before as a nine-year-old. He was eligible to play for another year. Mark and Matthew went to the first tryouts. Coach Hunt knew talent when he saw it. He had scouted the area coach pitch leagues the year before and had seen them play. He quickly signed the twins up. In this particular program teams weren't drafted, rather coaches recruited players. While not as far reaching as Little League, the statewide program was very competitive. Coach Hunt owned a suburban auto dealership. He was also somewhat of an asshole. Playing on the team started out as fun for the twins, but things started happening that ate at their sense of fairness. For one, Coach Hunt was convinced that Jeremiah was the star on the team. Not only was his ten-year-old son the star of his select team, but to his father he was obviously on track to become a collegiate and professional star as well. It didn't take the coach long to realize that Mark and Matthew were each better ballplayers than his son. Jeremiah sensed it, too. They both felt they needed to knock the twins down a few notches. Coach Hunt started getting on the twins for any mistakes and weaknesses, real or perceived, that he detected. He wanted all of the players to know that his son, Jeremiah, was the best ballplayer on the team, and to do so he had to make the twins look bad. Jeremiah picked up on his father's words and started to rag on them as well. The twins were a happy and easy going pair, up to a point. At first they shucked off the undeserved criticisms of Coach Hunt, as well as the carping of Jeremiah, as the rants of a pair of idiots. They were both strong enough to let the comments roll off of their backs. But, they also noticed some things that disturbed them more than whatever criticisms and comments were directed at them. Every team, even a hand-picked one like the Orioles, has a worst player. On most teams the kid on the bottom of the pecking order was well-received by his teammates, or at worst, tolerated by them, depending on his personality. Clayton was that player on the Orioles. As soon as the roster was set, Jeremiah had gone to work to let the team know who the alpha male was. He quickly found a shadow in Alden, who was a talented player, but had a quiet, sinister side to him. However, he didn't have the guts to push others around on his own. He worked best as the follower of the alpha male, ready to back him up, or to take the initiative when he knew his buddy was around to back him. Normally, Jeremiah would have tried to recruit the twins to be part of his cadre, but he saw how his father constantly rode the two boys, and decided he didn't want to be friends with them. Instead, knowing what his father's attitude was, he did his best to try to intimidate them. It irked him when Mark and Mattie pretty much ignored his comments, causing Jeremiah to have an intense dislike for them. Jeremiah quickly asserted himself with most of the team. There were some players he couldn't easily intimidate, however, and the twins were two of them. He found that out in one of the early practices. The team was taking infield practice. The coaches were moving boys to various positions to see who fit where. Mark, Jeremiah, and Clayton were among the players taking grounders at third base. Clayton much preferred the outfield or second base, both positions better suited to his smaller frame than third base was. When he bobbled two straight grounders, Coach Hunt yelled at him to concentrate and get his head into what he was doing. The chewing out led to yet another error at third. Jeremiah took his cue from his dad. "You better not be that bad in a game," he said as he went by Clayton to take his turn at fielding a grounder. "I don't like playing third that much," Clayton said, not realizing he was leaving himself open. "Well, I don't like you playing anywhere that much because you stink. I'll kick your ass if you lose us a game because you can't catch the ball." Mark, who followed Jeremiah in line, heard every word. He knew that Clayton was trying his best, and his sense of justice was offended by Jeremiah's attitude. After Jeremiah took three grounders without a mistake, Mark went to take his place. "You better not be as bad as he is," Jeremiah said, pointing to Clayton, "or I'll kick your ass, too." Mark stopped and faced Jeremiah, stepping toward him. Jeremiah was the taller of the two-ten-year olds, with longer arms and legs. But Mark had a more solid build and was the stronger of the two boys. Even though Mark had to look up, Jeremiah couldn't help but get the feeling that Mark was looking down at him, which made him feel very uncomfortable. "Why don't you just kick my ass now," Mark said. "Then you won't have to do it later." Mark was now standing within inches of the taller boy, intimidating him. Being intimidated was a new feeling for Jeremiah, one that he didn't like at all. At that moment, his feeling for Mark, as well as Matthew, went from disliking them to despising them. "I will really soon," Jeremiah told Mark, "but not here in practice." "Mark, you might want to hustle to your spot and be ready to field the ball," Coach Hunt yelled out. Mark nodded and got into his ready position. "Drop your butt down lower," the coach yelled, even though Mark was in almost perfect fielding position. He ignored the coach and held the position he was in. "You're going to choke this ball," Jeremiah said, "and, after you do, my dad will tell you how shitty you are, and so will I." He was feeling a bit more confident working in the shadow of his father. Mark shrugged. When the ball came to him, it scooted right between his legs. Mark was a sure-handed fielder, who normally would have picked up the easy grounder with his eyes closed. But this time he intentionally let it go through him, wanting to see how Coach Hunt and Jeremiah would react. He also wanted to show Clayton that he wasn't alone when it came to making mistakes on easy plays. "You are as shitty as Clayton," Jeremiah laughed. "Everybody says you're really good. You're no good at all. I can't wait to kick your ass." Before he could say anything else, Mark was right back in his face again. "But I'll do it later," Jeremiah said quickly. Coach Hunt yelled at Mark to hustle harder. Coach Hunt had a talk with Mark about his attitude at the end of practice. "Jeremiah is the best player on the team, as well as the captain. It would be a good idea if you listened to him. I didn't like your attitude in practice at all today. You looked like you wanted to start a fight, and I won't stand for that." "I never want to start a fight," Mark said with an air of innocence. "I don't like fighting." That statement was true enough. Mark and Matthew did not like to fight, unless it was against each other, but they also had no intention of ever backing away from one if they deemed fighting necessary. "That's good to hear, Mark. So you might want to get your act together again. I know my son isn't a fighter, but I can assure you he won't back down to any intimidation," Coach Hunt said, trying his best to intimidate the boy standing in front of him. If he thought he'd succeeded at his attempt to overawe the young boy, he was as mistaken as his son. Scott and Kristy started to notice things. For one, Mark and Matthew did not display their usual enthusiasm regarding their team. They'd always liked practice almost as much as they loved playing games, which no longer seemed the case. When questioned about how things were going on the Orioles, they both said, "Fine." One word answers were not usually part of their repertoire. An incident disturbed them during an early season game. The incident gave Scott and Kristy a good idea of what their sons were dealing with. Coach Hunt had scheduled a practice game against another team. The team wasn't in the same program and its level of play was nowhere near that of the Orioles. Even with the score at 15- 0 in the third, he was giving his players the steal sign. To Scott and Kristy, it looked like he was trying to rub the opponent's noses in the score. Coach Hunt was able to justify his actions by saying his players needed to practice stealing bases so they would be proficient against better competition. Matthew led off the bottom of the fourth and singled. Coach Hunt gave him the steal sign before the first pitch was thrown. As in Little League, a baserunner couldn't leave his base until the ball crossed home plate. Matthew never moved, even after the ball passed the plate. He got the same signal and didn't move on the next pitch either. His sense of justice said that you didn't run up the score on an overmatched opponent, so he ignored the signs. Even after the third pitch went past the catcher to the backstop, Matthew stayed on first. Coach Hunt was furious. When the inning was over, the coach called Matthew over. "Don't you ever do that again!" he screamed. "Do what?" Matthew asked. "I didn't do anything." "I know you didn't do anything; you were supposed to do something, I gave you the steal sign twice." Coach Hunt noted that Mark was lurking close by. He found it unsettling that whenever he chewed out one of the twins, the other one always seemed to appear. "But we were ahead by fifteen runs. It's not fair to rub it in." "Don't tell me what's fair and what isn't fair, young man. I'm the coach and you just play the game the way I tell you to play it, and never, never question it. Plus, you just standing on first on the wild pitch was a total lack of hustle. It was a disgrace. You and your brother over there are not as good as you think you are." "I didn't try to ignore you. I just didn't steal the base, and I didn't run on the wild pitch because we were so far ahead. It was just like me not stealing the base." "Yeah," Mark piped in, "he was just trying not to be an ass...a jerk about it." Coach Hunt decided he could not ignore Mark's interruption. "Are you calling me a jerk?" Coach Hunt was red in the face, his voice starting to rise out of control. "I never said that, I just said my brother didn't want to be one." "Both of you go sit on the bench." Coach Hunt knew that if the conversation continued, he was going to lose his temper, if he hadn't already. "I'm putting Kenyon and Roger in for you." "Okay." The game was over at the end of the inning when the ten-run mercy rule was invoked. Scott was not pleased with what he'd seen, both in regard to the coach running up the score and the way he started yelling at his boys. Kristy was watching the girls play a softball game and wasn't there to witness the scene. Scott sauntered down to the field as Coach Hunt worked on getting the equipment put away. "What was the problem with my boys, coach?" "Hi, Scott." Coach Hunt thought Scott could have started with a comment about how well the team had played. He could see where the attitude of Scott's sons came from. "There was no problem. Mark apparently missed the steal sign. And then he didn't even bother to leave first on a wild pitch. That is a total lack of hustle on his part." "And you yell at ten-year-old kids for missing a sign? Isn't that what's called a teaching opportunity?" "Both of your boys have had issues figuring out how I want things done. I am questioning their dedication to playing on this team." Scott ignored the insult thrown at his boys. Instead he asked the obvious question. "Why are you giving a steal sign in the fourth inning of a 15-0 game?" "It's how the kids learn to read signs and follow through. A `teaching opportunity' your boy obviously needed." Scott figured out quickly why Mark and Matthew were quiet about baseball—they weren't having any fun. The reason why they weren't having fun was very obvious. But, he preached persistence and sticking to a task to his kids, and he wasn't about to pull them off the team because he didn't care for the coach. He was going to see to it that the boys learned from the experience of playing for a man he deemed to be an unfit coach as well as an asshole. He later talked to Mark and Matthew about the incident. Mark admitted he knew that the steal sign had been given. "But it wasn't fair dad. We had them beat and it's bad sportsmanship to rub it in." "Well, son, sometimes you have to do things you don't like to do in life. If the coach wants you to steal, then you do what he says. It can be dealt with in a different way and at a different time." "Dad, I didn't have to do anything. Stealing the base was wrong. So I didn't. And that was right." "Yeah, it was good sportsmanship," Matthew said. Scott knew if he kept the discussion going it would only go around in circles, so he dropped it. Besides, how could he argue with their statements? The boys were correct; what Mark did was good sportsmanship and it was the right thing to do. The next incident happened soon after that. They were playing their first league game. The competition was much better, but the Orioles were ahead 8-5 thanks to two doubles by Matthew and three great innings of pitching by Mark. Clayton came to bat in the fifth inning. Every player had to bat at least once and play an inning in the field. Jeremiah was on third base with two outs and was eager to score. "You better knock me in, Clayton," he yelled. He sounded more like he was delivering a threat than words of encouragement. Clayton ended up striking out, swinging at two pitches that were almost over his head. He was a better hitter than that, but Jeremiah had made him afraid to make a mistake. When Clayton went into the dugout, Jeremiah looked to see if any of the coaches were around, and then confronted the hapless Clayton. "I told you to knock me in," Jeremiah said. Alden was standing next to Jeremiah with a smirk on his face. "I didn't strike out on purpose," Clayton said. "Yeah, like swinging at pitches over your head is how you get hits." He gave Clayton a shove. "Push him harder," Alden said. Ernie, another boy in the dugout, chimed in. "Push him really hard, Jeremiah." A coach peeked in. "Come on boys, let's hustle out on the field." He walked away and Jeremiah set himself to give Clayton another shove, one that would knock Clayton on his ass. But, just as he was ready to push, a hand slapped him on the forehead and knocked him away. Jeremiah blinked his eyes and saw Matthew standing next to him. He quickly looked around for Mark, but he was on the field where he belonged. "You hit me!" Jeremiah screamed. "Boys, on the field, now!" Coach Hunt yelled as he entered the dugout. Jeremiah and Alden ran out to the field. Matthew, Ernie, and Clayton were all on the bench for the inning. As the inning started, Matthew sidled over to Clayton. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, thanks for helping me," Clayton said. "Jeremiah is a dickhead. Him and Alden both. Mark and I won't let those dickheads push you around." "You are going to be in trouble," Ernie said. "Shut up, Ernie." Matthew and Mark didn't like Ernie. They called Ernie a weasel, although not to his face. Jeremiah bullied him as much as he did Clayton, but Ernie's reaction was to kiss Jeremiah's ass and try to win his favor. Doing that only helped to inflate Jeremiah's ego, since Ernie's kowtowing only made Jeremiah feel more important. Meanwhile, Jeremiah was fuming at third base. The second batter hit a two-hop grounder to him, which, in his anger, Jeremiah threw six feet over the first baseman's head. Of course, he had to listen to his dad yell at him. It is all Matthew's fault, he thought, and he knew exactly what he was going to do about it. The Orioles ended up winning the game 10-5. Jeremiah went to his father and told him what had happened in the dugout and how it made him so mad he threw the ball away. His father called Matthew over for a talk. When he saw Mark once again nearby, he sent the boy away, telling him this was a private chat. "Jeremiah says you hit him in the dugout for no reason," the coach said. "I didn't hit him, coach," Matthew protested. "Oh? According to Jeremiah you slapped him like a girl." "Me? I didn't slap him, I just high fived his forehead." Coach Hunt could feel his frustration grow. He was learning that arguing with either of the twins was like trying to work his way through knee deep mud. He seemed to make no progress and just kept sinking deeper into the slime. "Son, you are a loser. I don't tolerate losers on my team." "But, coach, I was the winning pitcher in today's game," Matthew said with a slight smirk. "If you don't get your act together real soon, you..." he looked around and saw that Mark had somehow reappeared, "...and your brother won't last the season with the Orioles." "That would mean we wouldn't play for you any more." Mark said that as if that would be the best thing to happen to him all summer. "Go! Just go! Be on time for practice, tomorrow." The twins were always on time for everything, so they had no idea what that statement was about. Mark and Matthew had taken a real liking to Clayton. After the walked away from Coach Hunt, they asked their parents if Clayton could spend a day at their house. They agreed, and a couple of days later the three boys were swimming, laughing, and playing. The day was a Thursday, so by agreement swimsuits were worn. The twins were beginning to think it might be time to get that rule changed. Things came to a head three games later. The undefeated Orioles were playing the undefeated Cardinals in a battle of top teams. "This game will be for the birds," Mark said at dinner the night before. "Well, then the Cardinals will have to lay an egg," Matthew said. "Jeremiah was in a flighty mood at practice, yesterday." "And Coach Hunt was squawking about everything." Scott knew his boys were bright and their increasing mastery of puns helped confirm what he already knew. For ten-and-a-half their word play was quite proficient. Scott made sure to groan in all of the right places, throwing out a few puns of his own. "Are you guys having fun playing baseball?" he asked the twins, not for the first time. "No, but you said you don't quit just because things were hard. Coach is an asshole..." "Mark!" Kristy said. "Watch your language, especially at the dinner table." "Well, he is an asshole. What am I supposed to do, call him a cuckoo brain?" Kristy shook her head, looking over at Scott and whispering, "Why me?" The game ended up being a good one. It was tied at 5-5 going into the sixth and final inning. Two Oriole batters got on base and, with one out, there were runners on second and third. Jeremiah came to the plate. Coach Hunt was coaching third base. He yelled encouragement to his son. "You're the best, Jeremiah. You're better than them. Show them what you can do." The count got to 2-2, when Jeremiah swung wildly at an outside pitch, striking out. That brought Matthew to the plate. "Take a strike," Coach Hunt yelled at Matthew. "Make him pitch to you." He had not given Jeremiah that instruction. The pitcher, hearing what the coach yelled, decided to groove the pitch and pick up an uncontested strike one. Matthew, however, was not about to let a fat pitch go by with the game on the line. He hammered the waist-high pitch to the fence for a two-run scoring triple and a 7-5 Oriole lead. After sliding into third, Matthew got up and brushed the dirt off of his white uniform pants. Instead of getting the expected praise, Coach Hunt admonished him for not taking the pitch as instructed. "It was a fat pitch," Matthew said. "I hit it a long way." "You're going to be running a long way in the next practice," Coach Hunt said, his face red with anger. He truly disliked the twins, as did his son. The next batter grounded out to second and the inning was over. The Cardinals had to score two runs to say alive. As Mark and Matthew got their gloves, Jeremiah glared at Matthew. "That should have been my winning hit," he said with vehemence. "Don't think you're cool just because you got a lucky hit when you weren't even supposed to be swinging. Why do you think my dad didn't want you to swing? It's because you suck." Matthew looked over at Mark and shrugged. "What is he talking about?" "Beats me. Maybe he wants another high five," Mark said. "I can't wait until dad kicks you two off the team." When the players took their positions on the field, Coach Hunt asked Coach Wright, one of his assistants, why Clayton was playing in right field. "That's where you put him on the chart," Coach Wright said. Every player had to have at least one at-bat or one inning in the field. "I marked off for him to play in the fifth inning. Why would I want my worst player in the field in the sixth?" "Here it is, on your chart--Clayton in right. Sixth inning." "Shit." It didn't take long for the Cardinals to come back. Even though Mark was his best pitcher, Coach Hunt hadn't used him since the high five incident with Jeremiah. He certainly wasn't going to give in and use him in the last inning of an important game. The pitcher he had in wasn't up to the task, walking the first three batters. The bases were loaded with no outs. Coach Hunt settled him down and he struck out the next two batters. The Orioles were an out away from a win. The next Cardinal batter lofted a high fly to right field. While not the most adept player on the team, Clayton wasn't a total klutz on the diamond. But, when he looked up for the ball, he lost it in the setting sun. He took four steps in before picking the ball up and realizing he should have gone back on it. He turned and tried to get to it, but it was too late as it landed behind him. By the time all of the dust settled, three runs had scored and the Cardinals had a win. Coach Hunt was beyond furious. He was going to give Clayton hell for losing the ball in the sun, give Matthew hell for not following instructions, and give his pitcher hell for not throwing strikes. Nowhere on his agenda was giving his son hell for swinging at a pitch a foot outside of the strike zone. But first the teams did the ritual handshake, then went to their dugouts to pick up their gear. Jeremiah confronted Clayton in the dugout. "You lost the game for us," Jeremiah said. Alden stood menacingly next to Jeremiah. "You should have caught the ball," Ernie said. Jeremiah glared at Ernie. "Shut the fuck up, Ernie." Ernie clamped his mouth shut. Clayton wanted to make excuses. He wanted to say the sun was in his eyes, but he knew that would only make Jeremiah angrier. Four members of the team coming into the dugout stopped to look at the confrontation. They weren't happy about Clayton's misplay either, and the mindset of the team fostered by Coach Hunt and also by Jeremiah led to instant finger pointing. Clayton was feeling very alone. Mark came into the dugout. On any other team, the twins would be the leaders and the most popular boys on the team. But, the poisonous atmosphere present was more than even their bubbly personalities could overcome. Jeremiah saw Mark, smirked, and punched Clayton in the gut. Mark didn't hesitate. He was instantly all over Jeremiah and the fight was on, the two ten-year-olds pounding on each other in the dugout. Alden could see that Mark was beating Jeremiah and decided to step in to help his friend. He never made it as Matthew appeared out of nowhere and grabbed hold of Alden, keeping him out of the fray. It took all three coaches to break up the fight. Jeremiah and Mark were bloody and bruised. The end result was Mark, Matthew, and Clayton being kicked off of the team for instigating a fight. Jeremiah had testified that Clayton hit him first because Jeremiah was trying to explain how to catch a ball with the sun in your eyes. Alden and Ernie backed up Jeremiah's story, while the other four boys said they were getting their equipment and didn't see what had happened. Coach Hunt didn't question why a small boy like Clayton would pick a fight with a bigger, stronger boy. Jeremiah said he would have handled Clayton, but then the twins attacked him and Alden. Matthew and Mark didn't bother to tell their side of the story to the coaches. They were more than happy to be kicked off of the team. "They are all losers," Mark said. "Especially David, Carlos, Joey, and Paul." He was referring to the four boys in the dugout who claimed to have seen nothing. While they missed playing baseball, they didn't miss the Orioles. Scott and Kristy didn't object to Coach Hunt's decision, making him think they believed Jeremiah's side of the story. The truth was they believed their sons; they just wanted to be finished with the whole sorry outfit. Coach Hunt knew the twins were talented, but felt they weren't dedicated to the team. He believed the Orioles would be just fine without them. However, they lost their next three games and ended up finishing in the bottom half of the league without the two talented players. The one good thing that came from the whole mess was the twins had themselves another good friend in Clayton. When the end of summer came, despite their objections, the twins found themselves sitting at a table getting ready for new student orientation at the Puget Academy. Three other boys were led to their table. The first boy to join them was Neville, whom they dismissed as a snob. Then came Mikhail, who intrigued them with his stocky body and serious good looks. The last boy to sit at the table was Patrick, who was short with a slight build. He looked friendly and very young. They took an immediate liking to Mikhail and Patrick, but reserved judgment on Neville. They also saw something that bothered them, and that was two boys heading for a table that had students from a different class. Those two were Jeremiah and Alden. None of the three boys who joined the twins said a word. Mark and Matthew decided to ignore what they just saw, and see if they could get their three new classmates to talk. They had a feeling that their table would be together for the entire day. Sitting around staring at each other would not help make orientation any better. "Hi, guys, my name is Matthew, and that is my twin brother, Mark." "And my name is Mark, and that is my twin brother, Matthew." As they so often did, the twins took charge of the situation. There was no way that any of them could predict the direction the relationship of the five boys would end up going. Their first step to becoming the Puget Posse was about to get underway. Next: Orientation.