Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2021 03:43:26 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mayfield Titans  Chapter 61

Welcome back. Baseball is, of course, keeping the Mayfield boys busy.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive to keep the stories coming.

I enjoy your emails. thehakaanen@hotmail.com
Douglas

CHAPTER 61
GETTING SERIOUS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

Aiden woke up feeling great. The high generated by the Titans' big win over
Kentburg still hadn't worn off, even after a solid night's sleep. He
thought about hitting his snooze alarm, but he felt ready to meet what
promised to be a very busy day.

"Good morning, Aiden," Larry said as his son came down the stairs, dressed
for school.

"Good morning, Pop. Thanks for getting the cereal out," Aiden said.

"Wow, you're remarkably chipper today."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aiden groused as he shoved two pieces of
bread into the toaster. Larry was about to retract his statement when Aiden
broke out in laughter. "Gotcha," he said.

Once Aiden had his Raisin Bran and milk in his bowl and his toast buttered,
he sat at the kitchen table. "I've the busy day from hell today," he told
his Pop.

"And I bet you're looking forward to every minute of it," Larry told him.

"Not quite. I could do without the seven periods of school today, but then
there is practice, although it should be quick because of tonight's
meeting, and dinner at the Bednarzyk's so Sammy, Grant, and I can talk some
since we won't be able to make the Fourth Dimension meeting. After that
there's Baseball Club's board meeting and finally the regular meeting which
is going to be HUGE!"

"The election might just be the most important meeting of the year, and
with a lot of the changes that have come up after Clyde Davidson's legacy
gift, it is even more important."

"You're having a quick practice, too, right?" Aiden asked his Pop.

"That's my plan."

"I wish there was a way to get a full practice in. I mean playing Kentburg
was huge, but now we play the first-place team, and that is GIGANTIC!"
Winton Middle School, with a 6-1 record, was a game ahead of Mayfield's 5-2
record.

"Life is getting serious for you this week, that's for sure. Do you think
Jackson will be the new club president?" Larry asked, referring to Jackson
Hallion, the current vice president.

"Since when hasn't the vice president become the president the next year?"
Aiden asked.

"It's happened twice, so don't count your votes before they're
cast. Speaking of votes, what do you think of the new voting system for
electing the board members?" There would only be one ballot passed out for
electing the student board members and one for the adult board members.

"That was passed by last year's board for this year's election, along with
adding a fifth student board member. It will be a lot faster, but I don't
know if it will elect the five best board members."

"Give it at least two years. I think it's going to work out great."

The way the five board members had been elected before was on five separate
ballots, one ballot at a time. If somebody lost the first election, they
could be nominated for any of the other ballots. This year, once the
nominations for the board were closed (there was no limit on the number of
nominees) the club secretary (in this case it was Peter Astor) would pass
out ballots with five blank spaces. Members could vote for up to five
nominees with the top five finishers being elected to the board. In the
event of a tie, the nominees who tied would have a run-off election.

"Well, I hope I'm on the board for another year," Aiden said.

"I have every confidence you will be. Talk about being serious, you've been
totally serious about the Mayfield Baseball Club and have done some great
work for Mayfield baseball."

"Yeah, but I'm still a lowly seventh grader."

"Eighth grader since that is what you will be when you serve on next year's
board. Okay, son, I've gotta go to keep from getting a dirty look from the
boss. I'll see you at the meeting."

"Or after, since I heard a rumor you might give me ride home tonight."

"If you're one of the final five I just might do that," Larry chuckled as
he put his dishes into the dishwasher and left the kitchen.

After taking care of his own dishes, his teeth, and making his bed, Aiden
left the house and sat in the little wooden shelter next to the
driveway. The forecast was for a sunny day and the morning was living up to
it.

After Mrs. Emerson stopped the school bus and pulled the lever that turned
on the flashing lights and moved the stop sign out at a right angle to the
side of the bus, Aiden looked both ways, crossed the street, and boarded
the bus. He sat next to Kalie who congratulated him on the big win over
Kentburg.

"Same to you. Only your win keeps you undefeated and we have two losses,"
Aiden responded.

"But if you win on Friday, you're tied for first, so it's all good."

"This week is a serious baseball week."

"Not to mention a big test week with the chapter test on Friday."

"I'm not real worried about that test," Aiden said, hoping he didn't sound
like he was bragging. The subject of the chapter had been astronomy, a
topic Aiden enjoyed. He had no qualms about the test, feeling an hour or so
of reviewing the book and the notes he took in class, was all he needed to
do well on the test.

"I'm thinking of having a Saturday night campout with Brittany in a couple
of weeks," Kalie said. "Since you have a tent you hardly ever use, this
will give you a chance to use it. I'll see if Gordy wants to do it."

"We have the Southwest League Jamboree that weekend," Aiden pointed out.

"That's next weekend. We have a softball jamboree the same weekend. I was
talking about the weekend after that, on the sixteenth."

"Oh, well then I'll ask Gordy." Aiden would have preferred to ask Nolan,
but he understood why Kalie wanted Gordy to go—it was so she and Gordy
could share her tent while Brittany slept with Aiden in his tent. Aiden
also understood that things would be getting sexual in just one of the two
tents. He thought the campout would make more sense if he let Miles use his
tent so he could sleep with Brittany since the two had a sexual
history. But Aiden thought of Gordy as his best friend and decided he
wanted to be available if things didn't work out.

The school day moved surprisingly fast. After Mr. Donovan announced the
previous day's baseball and softball scores, Aiden and the rest of the
Titans reveled in congratulations they received from their fellow students
and from the staff.

At lunch, the Titan boys were already talking up the big game against the
Winton Wildcats on Friday. The varsity baseball game would be at Mayfield
Middle School and the girl's JV game was slated to be played at the
Mayfield Parks sports complex. The baseball varsity players were
encouraging their friends to fill the bleachers at the middle school's
baseball field.

Coach Ecklund had a shorter than usual practice scheduled. He stressed that
the players needed to make the time as productive as possible to put them
into a winning frame of mind on Friday. Both the varsity and JV players
complied, and the practice was a crisp one, accomplishing a lot of
fundamental work in a short time.

At the end of practice Coach Ecklund praised the team's hard work and
announced the starting battery. The declaration that Scott and Mac would
comprise the starting battery surprised nobody. The coach said he would
announce the rest of the starting lineup before the next day's practice.

After practice, Aiden rode the after-school activity bus to the Bednarzyk
residence, which was about a mile from the middle school. Grant sat next to
him over the short distance.

"What do you think Sammy will want to talk about?" Grant asked Aiden.

"Whatever we want to talk about," Aiden replied.

"And what's that?"

"Baseball."

"For real? I thought it would be about the stuff we talk about at Fourth
Dimension since none of us can go tonight."

"I think he wants to be available if we need him. And that means if you
have something you really want to talk to him about, then don't worry about
baseball. Go ahead and talk about it."

When they arrived at their destination, Sammy was outside waiting for them.

"My pop must have run a pretty fast practice," Aiden said after he stepped
off the bus.

"He did, but it was a good one. I don't have to tell you what a slavedriver
your dad is," Sammy grinned.

"Like I don't already know that."

"I think your dad is nice," Grant said. "He lets you have really fun
parties."

"Better to be naked than drunk, right Aiden?" Sammy said.

Grant was the one who answered the question. "I like naked."

By then, they were in the house. Grant and Aiden set their backpacks and
equipment bags on the floor in the foyer and followed Sammy into the
sunroom. They said hello to Sammy's mother and commented on how good the
cooking dinner smelled and asked what they were having.

She thanked them, told them it was meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and carrots,
before returning to the kitchen.

"We don't have much time to talk, so if you guys have anything you want to
talk about, speak up," Sammy said.

"Aiden wants to talk about baseball," Grant told him.

"Nice game yesterday, you guys." Sammy shifted his gaze directly to
Grant. "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Do you think I'll ever find out what happened to Alex?" Grant asked.

"Only if he wants you to find out."

"I don't think he does."

"So, unless he shows up in Mayfield, which ain't gonna happen, you will
probably never know," Sammy said.

"So how do I make my amends for turning my back on him the day he left?"

"Did you ask your alcohol counselor that question?" Sammy had no intention
of getting dragged into the middle of something Grant and Grant's counselor
were discussing without knowing what his counselor said. That was a piece
of advice Sammy's father had given him.

"He said I should make my amends in my prayers until I quit hating myself
for what I did."

"Do you really hate yourself?"

"No, but I keep feeling bad about not doing what I should have done."

"Like not being perfect you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Remember what we read before every meeting where it talks about claiming
progress and not perfection. Do you feel better after you pray about your
amends?"

"I only did it a couple of times," Grant said meekly.

"And?"

"Maybe I should say it every day?"

"That would be a good start."

Grant nodded and looked at Aiden as if to say it was time to talk about
baseball.

"What about you, Aiden, what do you have to say?"

"All I have to say is I'm hungry and that you're getting really smart about
this being a sponsor stuff," Aiden replied.

"It's because I have a good sponsor plus I have a good dad plus, like you,
I talk to Marty sometimes."

The conversation ended when George Bednarzyk entered the room. "I hate to
break up your serious chat, boys, but it's time to wash up and get seated
in the dining room for dinner."

"Did you see that?" Sammy asked Aiden and Grant after his father left the
sunroom. "I say something nice about him and then he breaks up our chat. Oh
well, I hoped I helped you some Grant. I'm sure I didn't say anything you
didn't already know, but it never hurts to be reminded."

"The best thing you reminded me of was to ask for help with my amends every
night," Grant said.

"That would add to your good start."

The boys washed up in the rec room restroom and then sat at the table for
dinner. The meat loaf dinner was as good as it smelled, and the warm apple
pie ala mode was the perfect ending. The main dinner conversation was
baseball. The Titans' big week, the Mustangs being in contention in the
Seamount High School league, the Mariners being a game up in the American
League West, and Marty being mentioned as an early Rookie of the Year
contender. The Bednarzyks were a baseball family and loved talking the
sport.

After dinner, George drove the boys to the town recreation center for the
board meeting. Grant reminded everyone that he wasn't a board member, to
which Sammy replied that any club member could sit in on a board meeting,
and even make comments or ask questions, they just couldn't vote on any
issues.

"I don't think we'll have much to discuss today," Sammy said. "It's the
last meeting for Mark and everyone else would have to be either elected to
a new position or re-elected to their old one. So, I figure any real
business for the board will wait until the May meeting."

Sammy had the situation figured out. Mark Elder called the board meeting to
order on time. Jackson Hallion, the club's vice president, took roll, which
was part of his job description. All the board members were present. Peter
Astor then read the minutes of the previous board meeting, which were
approved. David Fitzgerald presented his treasurer's report, which was also
approved. Mark then reminded everyone that the board had two outstanding
resolutions to act on. Since neither issue was one that needed an immediate
decision, he asked the board members to give their consensus to postpone
discussing the issues until the May meeting and let the incoming board deal
with them.

"I do want to bring up something, first," Ben Cook said.

"And what would that be?" Mark asked bit impatiently.

"I'm concerned about the new voting system. I'm worried about it opening
the door to individuals who don't have the best interests of Mayfield
baseball at heart. I won't mention any names, but I'm sure you all know who
I am talking about."

"The membership voted for the new system over a year ago to streamline the
voting," Mark said. "There is no way that vote can be changed now, so the
issue is closed. If one of those `individuals', as you call them, gets
elected to the board, then everybody can work to teach them how the club
does things." Mark saw Aiden had raised his hand and recognized him.

"I would like to say that some of those `individuals' might be good choices
because they might be working to be better people." Aiden had Mac in mind
who had changed so much since the start of seventh grade.

"Good point," Mark said.

The board then agreed to postpone discussing the resolutions and Mark went
on to discuss the election procedure. He adjourned the meeting twenty
minutes before the general meeting was slated to start and the board
members plus three observers filed out of the conference room and into the
big meeting room.

Aiden was pleased to see a big crowd of ballplayers when the meeting
started. It looked like the efforts of the membership committee were paying
off. The election of new officers was probably a drawing card as well.

The elections were conducted from the top down. While the procedure
appeared to be anticlimactic, it allowed someone who lost out when running
for a position on the executive board to still be able to run for the
regular board. The executive board elections were not by rank—the winner
had to have a majority of the votes cast or there would be a runoff between
the top two finishers.

Vice president Jackson Hallion and David Fitzgerald, the treasurer, were
nominated for president. Jackson won handily, garnering seventy-five
percent of the vote. Only the winner was announced; the number of votes
received by each candidate was not.

Sammy Bednarzyk, who served on the board, and Andy Hoffman, who, while not
a board member, had become active in Club committee work, faced off for the
vice president position. The election was a close one with Sammy getting
fifty-three percent of the vote. As much as Aiden liked Sammy, he would
have had no problem with Andy winning. He hoped that Andy would run for the
board and finish in the top five.

Peter Astor ran unopposed for re-election to the secretary position. He
loved being the club's secretary, a fact everyone knew. It was tough enough
to find somebody who even liked being secretary—the obvious consensus of
the membership was to let him have it. When it became apparent that Peter
did not have an opponent, he was elected by voice vote. David Fitzgerald
was opposed for the treasurer position by Jeff Swenson. David was
re-elected with 62% of the vote.

The adult board positions had to be filled next. Adult members had a
two-term limit. Ben Cook and James Hallion had both served two terms on the
board and had to step aside. As with the student board ballot, the new
bylaws called for one ballot for all contested positions. Having only
served one term, Gordy's father, Aaron Lansing, would be running for a
second term. While only the players could nominate and vote for student
candidates, any adults in the audience who were parents or guardians of
players, could participate in the adult member election.

There were three nominees for the two positions: Grant's father, Darryl
Foster, Bob Jackson, the owner of Bob's Burger Barn, and the twin's mother,
Leslie Hazen. Bob Jackson was voted in both by those who loved his burgers
and by those adults who liked having someone with business acumen serving
on the board. Many of the voters liked both. In a big surprise, Leslie
Hazen became the first female to serve on the board. While many player's
fathers had been board members, Leslie was obviously the first mother to
become one. Ironically, Leslie ran as a show of support for her two sons
and as a message to mothers to get involved in their son's baseball life,
not because she expected to win. Still, she was prepared to be an active
board member.

The time had arrived for the final election, the player board members. Two
of the four returning student board members were nominated for another
term. Anthony Jefferson had announced that he would not be running for
re-election—he was eyeing a position in student government and didn't
want to spread himself thin, which happened the past year when he served as
junior class president. Sammy had been elected the new vice president,
leaving his position vacant as well.  There were ten nominees in all for
the five positions: Aiden, Trent, Gordy (who was nominated by Aiden), Mac,
Andy Hoffman, Jeff Swenson, Scott Keller, Barry, Lenny (who was nominated
by Riley), and incoming sophomore Trey Gaines.

The winners were announced by Mark Elder. The announced grade was the one
the board member would be entering in the fall. "All I can say is, you guys
nominated an outstanding slate of candidates and elected five great board
members." He didn't mention his surprise that four of the five winners were
currently middle school students, although three of them would be moving up
to high school after the school year ended. "They are, in alphabetical
order: freshman Mackenzie Dixon (hearing Mac's name brought a collective
gasp from the audience), freshman Trent Hallion, junior Andy Hoffman,
freshman Scott Keller, and eighth grader Aiden Miller."

Lenny yelled out, "TITAN POWER", which brought out a loud yell from the
middle school baseball players. Every varsity and JV player on the Titan
roster was at the meeting, and those numbers, coupled with the fact that a
large number of players on the teams participated actively in the club, was
enough to elect four Titans to the five positions. Andy had procured the
most votes, followed by Scott, Trent, Aiden, and Mac, who finished one vote
ahead of Jeff Swenson.

It was now time for the ritual signaling the end of the old board's term
and the start of the new board's term. Mark stood in his usual spot behind
the table that seated the executive board. He rapped his gavel on the table
to get the attention and quiet of the audience. He made his final speech a
short one, thanking his fellow board members, the club's two staff members,
George Bednarzyk, the club's administrator, Seth McCall, the financial
officer, and all the players who showed up for the meetings and volunteered
to work on the various committees and fund raisers. He then asked Jackson
Hallion to stand next to him and handed him the gavel, symbolizing the
change of leadership for the upcoming year.

James Hallion, one of the outgoing adult board members, then came forward
and presented Mark with a plaque and a personalized polished wood gavel. He
thanked Mark for his great leadership and for showing that a group of kids
could successfully operate their own organization. Mark had turned eighteen
two days earlier and felt that the trophy, the gavel, and the plaudits had
been better than anything he had received for his birthday. In his first
act as the president of the Mayfield Baseball Club, Jackson said he wanted
to meet with the board members once the tables and chairs were put away and
the room was cleared. He then banged the gavel and adjourned the meeting.

Aiden quickly sought out Mac and found him chatting with Zane Davidson. Mac
was obviously not enjoying what Zane was saying.  Aiden decided to step
into the middle of whatever was going on. "Hey, congrats on your election,
Mac. I think everybody believes in the new Mac, Mac the catcher and the
team player."

"A couple of adults, like Ben Cook, don't," Mac said.

"And some of Mac's party friends don't like it either," Zane growled. "I
was just telling him how he sold out his friends so assholes like you and
Trent Hallion would like him."

"All I can say is that Mac is my friend and he's earned being my friend,"
Aiden retorted. "Come on Mac, let's help out with stacking the chairs."

Aiden and Mac turned their backs on Zane. "Thanks for saving me," Mac told
Aiden. "I was thinking of punching the asswaffle out, which would probably
have ended my time on the board the same day it started. He said it was
time I quit being a little kid and grow up and get drunk—like tonight."

"And what did you say?" Aiden asked, although he could imagine what Mac's
answer might have been.

"I told him to go fuck himself," Mac grinned.

"That's what I thought you probably said," Aiden nodded.

"Hey, congrats on getting on the board, Mac," Trent said as they approached
a group putting chairs into the racks. "It's great that Aiden, Scott, and
me will be pitching to you—Mayfield Baseball Club members all."

"That is so right," Scott said as he brought four folding chairs. "Great
job, Mac. We're all proud of you."

"I guess I've got no choice but to be good now," Mac said.

"And with us as your friends, it shouldn't be tough at all," Trent said.

"I've never had so many good friends."

"See what happens when you become a good teammate?"

"I love being a good teammate. And I bet being a good teammate means going
to get some chairs for the rack."

"Come with me," Scott said. "You, too, Aiden. We have to show our gratitude
for the free rent the city gives us for our meetings."

The four Titan battery members walked to where other players were folding
chairs to be carried to the chair racks. It was all part of being great
teammates.

Jackson's meeting with the board members was to set a day and time for the
new board to meet and set an agenda for the May meeting and a schedule for
the summer. One of Peter's jobs as secretary was to reserve meeting space
from the Parks office. He pulled a notebook out of his Club briefcase. The
notebook contained the information he needed, which was what days space was
available.

After all the available dates were read and members' schedules were dealt
with it was decided to have the board meeting Wednesday, May seventh, and
the next general meeting on May twentieth. Peter said he would call the
Parks office the next day to reserve the necessary space. Jackson thanked
everyone for helping clean up and said he looked forward to seeing them all
together next week.

<THURSDAY, APRIL 30>

When word got around the school that Mac had been elected to the Mayfield
Baseball Club board, he became a semi-celebrity for the day. Mac's
reputation had always been one of a party boy punk who hung around with the
rest of the party boy punks. Mac's surprise election sent a message to
students and faculty that Mackenzie Dixon was no longer that boy and that
he had been accepted as not only a baseball jock but as someone who could
be trusted.

"That happened awfully fast," Mr. Donovan, the middle school principal told
Coach Ecklund as the two men met in Donvan's office. "It seems like
yesterday when we fought the contract battle."

"You have to remember that the boys on this year's Titans are an
extraordinary group of boys," Dean Ecklund said. "I haven't seen a team
like this since back in the days of Marty, Eric, Noah, the Corcoran
twins—I could go on. Not only are they good players and great citizens,
the things they are doing off the field are starting to carry over to their
play on the field. I think this group has a great future before it."

"I think we all forget that peer pressure isn't always negative," the
principal said.

"Exactly. The major force behind Mac's accepting responsibility for himself
and making that turnaround would be his teammates—Trent Hallion, Scott
Keller, Barry Bender, Aiden Miller, Max Robinson, just to name a few."

"Barry Bender. Another success story, although his turnaround took a little
longer. And speaking of on the field, do you think the boys will be ready
for the big game tomorrow?"

"My challenge right now is to make sure they don't get too up," Dean
laughed. "Unlike football and basketball, baseball requires a great deal of
emotional control and kids this age can easily get carried away. Too much
emotion and suddenly you have everybody swinging at pitches well out of the
strike zone and overthrowing the ball. My challenge for today's practice is
to remind them they need to outplay Winton, not out holler them."

"Good luck on that," Donovan said. "Telling a group of pubescent boys who
are overflowing with testosterone to get a grip on their emotions...well,
good luck."

"Thanks Mel, I will certainly need it," Dean Ecklund said.

At lunch, Trent and Scott took Mac aside and asked him what it was like to
be a sudden celebrity. "The babes seem to think I must have grown a giant
cock," Mac giggled. "They're all over me."

"Don't let it go your head," Scott told him.

"Hey, you and I are on the line tomorrow. I've got to be at my best to
catch you. And I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anybody
else. After I told my dad last night about me being on the board, he gave
me a hug and said he was proud of me. My dad never does that and I, you
gotta swear not to tell anybody...," Mac looked at Trent and Scott, who
nodded, and went on. "...but I cried when I went to bed last night, I was
so happy. And tomorrow my dad will be at my game. It was like, yesterday,
he brought a lawyer to school and almost messed up my playing."

"Mac." Trent said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I all but hated your ass when we came to your house. I knew you would
never sign that "No Matter What" agreement and you not only signed it but
you, like, became a whole different person." Trent wrapped his arms around
Mac and gave him a long hard hug, not caring who was watching. "Yeah, I
hated you then, but guess what?"

"What?"

"I love you, bro. I love you as a teammate and a friend. I just plain love
you," Trent told Mac, a boy he had had no respect for as little as six
weeks ago.

For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, Mackenzie Dixon,
one-time middle school party boy, had to deal with tears dripping down his
cheeks, only this time it was in public. Maybe the most surprising thing
for him was that he didn't care who saw it happen. There was no way he was
going to let everybody's acclaim get to his head. He was in a place he
thought he had been incapable of reaching and it was now a place he never
wanted to leave.

"Well, if we're all done being lovey, lovey, I want to talk to my catcher,"
Scott said.

"He's my catcher, too," Trent reminded him.

"Not tomorrow. Tomorrow he's all mine because I intend on going seven."

"Well, I'm hungry and I plan on sitting at the table to eat. You two have
fun making up your signs for the game. And remember what I said, Mac,
because I meant every word of it."

"I'll be quick because I'm hungry and I bet you are, too." Mac nodded,
wondering what Scott had to say that couldn't wait until practice. "What I
wanted to tell you has nothing to do with signs and pitches and everything
to do with what Trent said and us being in synch tomorrow."

While Mac was basking in the outpouring of love from his teammates, his
stomach was telling him loud and clear that it was time to eat! He quietly
waited for what Scott had to say.

"I just wanted to say that I never thought about a catcher as somebody I
needed to trust. I just saw him as the guy who caught my pitches, maybe
threw out a baserunner or two, and called my pitches. If I didn't like what
he called, then I shake him off until he calls for the pitch I want. I just
want you to know that going into tomorrow's game, I trust you to do a great
job behind the plate and to work your buns off. And if I shake off a pitch
or two, well, it doesn't mean I don't trust you, it means we have more to
learn about each other and even then we won't always agree on pitches."

"Thanks, Scott, I appreciate your saying that," Mac said.

"Oh, and to get us on the right foot tomorrow." Scott stepped up to Mac and
gave him his second long, tight lunch hug. "Now, let's join the team and
eat."

A few members of the girls' softball team were eating at a nearby
table. "What's with everybody hugging Mac?" Christy asked no one in
particular.

"The boys must think they're playing softball and are supposed to hug each
other," Kalie answered.

"The boys on that baseball team are all beyond weird," Brittany
said. Nobody argued with her.

<Lance and Grant>

As soon as Grant put his books into his locker, he headed for Lance's
locker hoping to catch him there and walk to lunch with him. He grinned
when he saw Lance closing his locker door, his box lunch in his hand.

"Hey, Lance," Grant called out.

"Grant," Lance grinned. "What are you doing in sixth grade land?"

"I wanted to walk to lunch with you. I decided I'd slum it in the
sixth-grade ghetto to do that with you."

"For real? You're one great you know what." Grant understood that Lance was
using "you know what" in place of boyfriend.

"I try," Grant said as the boys hoofed it for the lunchroom. Lance knew
that Grant was eating a school lunch and by going to the sixth-grade
section first he would have a longer walk to the lunchroom and probably
have to wait in line longer. Lance felt a wave of warmth as he thought
about how special his boyfriend was. He wished they could hold hands on the
way to lunch, but neither he nor Grant were ready to do that yet.

"Are we still good for after practice?" Grant asked.

"We got the moms to agree to it, so unless somebody changes their mind,
then yeah, we're good," Lance replied.

After yesterday's practice, Grant and Lance had decided to see what would
happen if they made a wild request of their moms. In a sense they wanted to
see how accepting their moms were of their budding friendship. What they
decided was for Grant to ask his mother if Lance could come over for dinner
after today's practice and for Lance to ask his mother if it was okay.

As soon as the boys got home after practice, they did their asking. Both
mothers complained about the short lead time. But Grant's mother was so
happy about Grant having a friend who was not only a teammate of his but
who also was a good student and solid citizen. She decided to okay it if
Grant agreed that Lance would have to leave for home at eight o'clock and
he would complete all his homework. She felt it was time for Grant to learn
how to be a responsible best friend.

Lance's mother was used to sudden requests like Lance's, and after getting
in her obligatory complaints she gave her permission for Lance to go from
practice to dinner at Grant's. She knew Lance and Lenny were responsible
boys, but she also knew they were pubescent boys with many of the
accompanying foibles. She told Lance she would have to talk to Grant's
mother first. She got on the phone and after a ten-minute conversation, she
agreed to the proposal with the same caveats as Grant's mother.

Lance and Grant excitedly exchanged the good news when they saw each other
at the Mayfield Baseball Club meeting. They had no doubt their friendship
was taking off into the stratosphere.

That was how things stood when Grant, who was feeling a little shaky about
the dinner engagement, went into the sixth-grade ghetto to make sure Lance
was still coming after practice. What started out being a request Grant
knew his mother would turn down became something too good to be true. He
woke up that morning wondering what would go wrong and was still wondering
that at lunch time.

As Grant and Lance walked to the lunchroom, Grant knew that Lance had
expressed what he was thinking—everything was good unless somebody
changed their mind. Well, I sure won't be changing my mind, Grant thought.

Lance took a seat at the baseball table and Grant sat next to him. While
the line was a little longer than usual for him, he hadn't considered how
fast the cooks slopped the lunch onto the tray, especially when lunch was
Sloppy Joes like today.

The talk at the table was about baseball, of course. They wondered what
practice would cover and talked the next day's games against Meadow
Park. They agreed the varsity game would be a tough one, but the Meadow
Park JV team was in last place and was one the first-place Titans should
win as long as they didn't go out and beat themselves.

Practice was over earlier than usual. At this point in the season Coach
Ecklund felt the goal of practice was to keep everyone sharp. In his mind,
the team didn't need an all-out, hour and a half practice session to do
that. The players were not about to argue the point—they liked getting
out of practice earlier.

Grant was happy to have some private time with Lance on their walk to his
house and dinner. Once again, he thought about holding hands. He didn't
think it would be as dangerous walking on the sidewalk as walking down a
school corridor, but once again he decided to be prudent.

"My mom really likes you," Grant told Lance. "I think she likes you a
zillion times better than any friend I ever had, not that I've had that
many. If she didn't like you a ton she never would have said yes to our
dinner idea."

"I'm way happy she does like me. My mom likes you, too. Does your dad like
me?" Lance responded.

"Yeah, he likes you, but he says you gotta choke up on your baseball bat
when you have two strikes on you. And trust me, if he's talking about you
and baseball, that means he's really watching you close when you play, and
that's like saying he likes you."

"Wow, my mom tells me the same thing as your dad."

"Your mom knows stuff about baseball?"

"Hey, she was a starting shortstop on her college softball team."

"Cool. What do you think of her being on the board for the Baseball Club?"

"I dunno. I'm glad she likes to get really involved in what me and Lenny
do. It makes up for my dad acting like he doesn't care about us," Lance
brooded.

Grant grabbed Lance's hand on a whim and Lance accepted the gesture. They
walked the last half-block to Grant's house holding hands and didn't let go
until Grant opened the front door and entered the house.

"I'm home, mom!" Grant called out.

"You're early. I'm in the kitchen," she replied in her loud mom voice.

The boys walked into the kitchen and started drooling as they took in the
savory smells of Carla Grant's spaghetti sauce. Carla felt she couldn't go
wrong feeding two hungry, growing boys a hearty meal of spaghetti and
meatballs. "Hi, Mrs. Foster," Lance said.

"Hello, Lance. It's nice to have you here for dinner. I would never have
suggested this on a school night, but when Grant asked about doing it I
thought it was worth the try since you're both good boys." Grant wondered
where this version of his mother had come from, but he wasn't going to
fight it because he really liked it.

"It smells really good, Mrs. Foster," Lance said.

"I wasn't expecting the two of you so soon. I was just about to add the
meatballs. It will be at least a half hour before everything is ready and
for Grant's father to come home from work. Do you boys have any homework?"

"I have some math problems to do, but it won't take me long," Lance told
her.

"I just need to study my spelling words for tomorrow's spelling test."

Why don't you boys take care of what you need to take care of. I'll call
for help setting the table when dinner is about ready to be served.

The boys went to Grant's room and plopped on Grant's bed. "I don't know
about you, but I'm too hungry to study," Grant told Lance. "We have plenty
of time to do what we need to do after dinner."

"So, what do you want to do then?" Lance asked.

"I could crank up my computer and we can play some video games."

Lance changed the subject. "Thanks for holding my hand. I get really down
talking about my dad. He's a nice person, he's never mean to us, but it's
like he doesn't care about us."

"Hey, you were there for me when I wigged out over Alex. It's what friends
do."

"Especially boyfriends," Lance grinned. He then started giggling.

"What are you giggling about?"

"Oh, nothing, really. I was just wondering how much your mom would like me
if she knew I liked fucking your ass."

Before Grant could answer his phone sounded the Beach Boys' "Surfin'
USA". "That's my cousin Jaden's ring tone. I better answer it."

"What's up cuz?" said Jaden when Grant answered his Facetime call.

"Not much. I just got home from baseball practice and Lance is here with
me. Where are you?" asked Grant. He didn't recognize the room Jaden was
calling from.

"I'm at my friend Michael's. He's not going to be back for a while, and we
found this." He held up the Astroglide for Grant to see. "So, we want to
put this to good use but needed to call you for advice."

"Who's we? Do you have a boyfriend? Where is he?"

Alex opened the bathroom door and saw Jaden wave him over.

"We aren't boyfriends. We're just friends."

Alex joined Jaden on the bed and looked over his shoulder to see the iPhone
screen. "GRANT?"

"ALEX?"

The two boys spoke at the same time. Words flew fast and furious and Jaden
couldn't keep track of what was being said. "Whoa!" he said causing the
other two boys to stop. Alex and Grant stopped and looked at Jaden.

"So," Jaden continued as he sorted things out in his mind, "my cousin Grant
is your friend from back home that you always talk about."

Alex, with a huge grin and tears in his eyes nodded the affirmative. Then
Jaden turned to Grant who had a look of concern painted on his face. "That
means you were in rehab and you didn't tell me?"

"I... I... I... guess I was embarrassed. I'm sorry. Do you mind if I talk
to Alex for a minute? We can talk about the other thing later. Okay?"

Jaden understood, from Alex's side, that there were things left unsaid
between those two, so he acquiesced and turned the conversation over to
Alex and Grant.

"Grant, I'm so sorry for being an asshole the day I left. I know this is
just an excuse, but I'd just met my mom's new boyfriend and found out we
were moving and was so mad. I'd looked forward to getting out of rehab and
making amends to you and Aiden and everybody and when my mom and John came
to pick me up, it blew everything to hell."

Jaden reached out and put his arm around Alex's shoulder to comfort his new
friend. All the times Alex had talked about wanting to apologize to his old
friend, he never was able to maintain his composure.

When Alex paused to catch his breath, Grant took that as the opportunity to
make his apology. "I'm sorry too, Alex. I should have been a better
friend. But when you were moving and all upset and stuff, I just walked
away." Jaden could tell his cousin was distressed and wished he was there
to comfort him.

"What are you talking about?" asked Alex. "I was being such an asshole to
you, and you didn't even get mad at me. Grant, you're the best friend I've
ever had – my only friend. I was jealous of you getting your shit
together and getting sober. And when I felt like you were making other
friends and leaving me behind, I realized how much I needed you and just
got angrier at you for leaving me behind and at me for being so stupid and
mean to you. That's when I tried to kill myself." Alex's composure faltered
and the Hispanic boy sobbed uncontrollably. It was such a relief to finally
be able to say those things to Grant. He'd meant to say them the day he got
out of rehab and they'd been bottled up inside ever since. But the
realization that his friend was over a thousand miles away and this might
be the last time he'd ever see Grant felt like a boulder had rolled onto
his chest.

Grant started crying too, he'd been so hard on himself about how things
ended between him and Alex that he almost threw away his own
sobriety. Alex's words, however, confirmed what all his friends, his
sponsor, and his drug and alcohol counselor had said – Grant had done
all the right things no matter how he felt about them.

When the two former friends regained control of themselves, Alex asked,
"So, from what Jaden told me, you came out and have a boyfriend?"

Grant sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Yeah." He
smiled and nodded his head. "I'm going out with Lance."

"One of the twins?" Grant nodded.  Alex tried to sound happy for Grant, but
he was feeling sorry for himself for missing the opportunity to have Grant
as his boyfriend.

"Well, since you already have a boyfriend, do you think we can still be
friends?" asked Alex.

Grant thought it wasn't a bad idea, but the words spilled from his lips
before he could fully consider. "I'll have to think about it." He wanted to
reclaim his friendship with Alex, but Grant knew that this fractured
alliance had broken him in some way. His heart said he wanted Alex back in
his life, but the voice inside his head said to slow down.

"Oh," said Alex, barely audible. He didn't let on to Grant how devastating
his answer was. It wasn't something Grant needed to know. Alex knew it was
his fault Grant got into drinking. He knew it was his fault the two of them
had grown apart. He also knew he had used his words and actions as weapons
to hurt Grant. He remembered that Grant had come to the hospital to see him
after his suicide attempt. Though Grant was truly being cautious about
bringing Alex back into his life, Alex assumed Grant was simply being
polite and letting him down easy. "I'll let you talk to Jaden then."

As Alex fought hard to control the hurt that was building in him, Grant
remembered the words he had heard so often in rehab, from Sammy, and from
Taylor, his drug and alcohol counselor. In their simplest form they could
either be said, "first thought-WRONG, or "first thought—NO".  Grant took
off his glasses and wiped tears from his eyes—he had forgotten that
simple little rule and hoped it wasn't too late to backtrack.

Lance was surprised at how Grant brushed off Alex. The behavior was so
unlike the person who had become his boyfriend. Grant was always willing to
go out of his way to help his friends. Grant started to cry, and Lance knew
that Grant didn't like what he had just done to Alex. He wondered if there
was any way his friend could fix it.

"Hey, cuz, that was pretty harsh," Jaden said when he got his phone
back. Then Jaden saw that his cousin was crying. "Are you okay?"

Grant ignored the question and cried out, "It wasn't only harsh, but it was
also WRONG! Tell Alex to come back, please tell him to come back. I can't
let this happen again. This time it would be my fault."

Jaden heard sobbing from behind the closed bathroom door. "Don't go away,"
he told Grant. "I'll be right back." He walked over to the bathroom door
and gently rapped. Lance gave Grant a tight hug as they waited to see what
Alex would do.

"Go away! He hates me and I don't blame him because I'm so bad and I hurt
him so much and it's why I'm so worthless," Alex wailed between sobs. "He
hates me and he's right and all I wanted was to be his friend."

Jaden looked at the doorknob and considered going in, then decided not
to. "He's waiting to talk to you," Jaden said simply, not knowing what else
to do.

"You're lying."

"Trust me. He asked me to come get you."

The door opened and Alex tried to dry his face with the back of his
hand. He saw where Jaden pointed, the phone was right where Jaden left it
on the bed. "He won't be there," Alex said shakily as he brushed past
Jaden.

"He's there." `At least I hope he will be there,' Jaden thought. Then Jaden
began to fret, `What if he didn't hear what I said about not going away?
What if he's gone? What am I going to do if he's not there? What will I do
if he has a meltdown?'

As those thoughts whirled through Jaden's head, Alex picked up the
phone. He was afraid to look at it, afraid Grant wouldn't be there, and he
would never be able to make things up to Grant for as long as he
lived. Alex kept his eyes closed and said as calmly as he could, "Grant?"
Alex shook with a sob he couldn't hold back, followed by more sobs

"I'm here, Alex." Grant then added his own sobs. The two became a sobbing
duet. Grant was the first to collect himself. "What I said was wrong. I
walked away from you the day you moved, and I can't do it—no, I won't do
it again. I want us to be friends forever and always and, shit, I love you,
Alex even if we aren't boyfriends. I love you because you're you and have
been my friend, like since forever. I'm sorry if I made you mad."

Grant's outburst was met by silence. "Alex? You there, Alex?

"Yeah, I'm here...it's just...I've wanted this so bad and I thought it
would never happen and...," Alex paused to take a breath. "Why did you
change your mind?"

"What did they tell you in rehab about your first thought?"

"They told me about it in a couple of different ways," Alex responded. "But
the way I remember it is that your first thought SUCKS! Is that what
happened to you? You paused and figured out that your first thought
sucked?"

"I paused and realized I walked away from you that last day because you
were being an asshole and this time, I was walking away from you when all
you wanted was for us to become friends and I couldn't walk away from you
again," Grant said. He wiped the remaining tears from his face and put his
glasses back on.

"We can be long distance friends, you know," Alex's tone was more
hopeful. More so than any time Jaden had been around him. "But first we
have to work on lots of amends and stuff, but I think we can do it even
from a thousand miles away."

"But, I gotta be honest and this is nothing against you, but Lance is my
boyfriend. But I want you to be my very bestest of friends forever."

Grant was met by another long silence and was just beginning to worry that
he had once again said the wrong thing when he noticed a glint in Alex's
eyes that hadn't been there from the time they restarted their phone
chat. "Do you know what I need to do about that?" Alex finally asked.

"What?"

"Find me a boyfriend," he grinned.

"I'll be happy to help you," Grant offered.

"And you know what else?"

"What?"

"If you're going to be my bestest best friend who loves me then you need to
know I love you, too."

The boys ended the phone calls. Lance and Jaden waited to see how Grant and
Alex would react now that they had cut off their connection with each
other.

This time when Grant took off his glasses to wipe away tears, he was wiping
away tears of happiness. Alex felt the same way and he couldn't wait to
tell Dr. Meijer about what had just happened between Grant and himself.

Alex turned to see what Jaden had to say and saw him sitting in Michael's
overstuffed beanbag at the end of the bed wiping away his own tears of
happiness.

Lance scooted in close to his boyfriend and put his arm around his
shoulder. "Wow, that was intense," Lance whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I am now. I was so scared I did the wrong thing again. I don't know what I
would have done if Alex didn't come back."

"It would have been different than what happened after Alex moved, I hope."

"I think so. I mean, I got Sammy my sponsor and his dad who can help
me. Plus I got Taylor my drug and alcohol counselor, and Aiden, and most
important I got you. You help me because you love me and I love you."

"I don't know exactly how to help you, but I know who to call. And I know
that squeezing you helps you." Lance gave Grant's shoulder a tight squeeze.

"Lance, I didn't know that when he went in the hospital after that overdose
that he tried to kill himself. I didn't know and I might have been the
reason."

"Nobody knew," Lance told his friend. "And there's no way you were the
reason. Maybe you should talk to that Taylor dude, or to Sammy's dad, or
even Sammy. All I know what to say right now is I love you and you need to
ask for help, because everybody will tell you what Alex did was never your
fault. Never."

"I'm sure he doesn't think so now, but he did then. You're right, I'll talk
to Mr. B and tell my mom I want to talk to Taylor. She always says yes when
I tell her that and never asks me why. She did for a long time, but I think
he told her not to. Anyway, I know what I wish for now."

"What?"

"I wish you could fuck me right now. I mean really fuck me big time."

"I don't think you want me to fuck you like that right now."

"Yes, I do. I swear, I do."

"I think I know what guys like Aiden and Nolan mean about making love
instead of fucking. I'm not sure because I haven't done it enough, but the
next time we do it, which I hope is, like, really soon, I want to make love
to you like boyfriends do. And I want to do it when there's nobody around
to bother us—we have to do it when we're alone. I know what I want to
do, I just don't know how to explain it."

"Hold me tighter." Lance gave Grant's shoulder another squeeze. Grant
placed his head on Lance's shoulder and sighed.

"I didn't know Alex moved to California."

"I didn't either," Grant shrugged. "But if Jaden is his friend, even if
they're not boyfriends, then he moved to the right place."

"My mom says the world can be a small place sometimes. Alex living in the
same town as your cousin...I guess that's what she means about a small
world."

"I love you so much, Lance," Grant whispered.

"I love you more."

The boyfriends planted their lips together and Lance fondled Grant's
flaccid cock, which started to stir. Before things could move further
Grant's mother called out to the boys to help set the table.

"Before you go out there you might want to wash your face first," Lance
said.

"Thanks. I wouldn't know what to say if my mom saw my face all teary."

"Just tell her you're upset because I creamed your sorry ass playing video
games."

"In your wildest dreams, dude."

"BOYS!" came another shout.

"I'll go out and start while you wash up." Lance went to the kitchen and
told Carla that Grant was in the bathroom. Carla told him what to do to
start and Lance went right to work, giving Grant's mother one more reason
to think Lance was the best friend her son could have found.

Lance didn't stay long after dinner. He said beating Grant at video games
had worn him out and he still had math to do. Grant went with Lance to his
bedroom where Lance had left his backpack.

"Beat me in video games," Grant grumped. "You are sooooooooooo dead."

Lance started to giggle, Grant joined him, and before they knew it, the two
boys were rolling on Grant's bed with laughter. For all its ups and downs,
the evening had been a huge success that helped cement three different
friendships.

<Aiden and Marty>

When Aiden came home from school, he went to his room, stripped naked, and
came back downstairs to see what he was supposed to heat up for
dinner. Phil had left instructions telling him what to warm up in the
eventuality he needed to eat before either he or Larry had arrived home.
He read Phil's note, took a freezer bag of beef stew out of the freezer and
nuked it. Phil cooked a lot of meals with extra helpings for leftovers that
he could freeze and use during baseball season. Neither of his dads was
home but he wanted to eat, do his homework, and be ready for a possible
call from Marty.

As he ate, he thought about how practice had gone and felt it had gone very
well. Everybody seemed ready to play. The Titans had won the first meeting
with Winton 7-4 at Winton Middle School in their first game of the
season. That had been the Wildcats' only loss of the season and they had
won all six of their games since. Coach Ecklund had reminded them that
their win a month ago didn't mean a thing once the first pitch that counted
was thrown in their game tomorrow. Everybody knew that, but Aiden knew how
coaches often liked to tell everybody something that was obvious just to
make sure the whole team was thinking about it. Having two dads who were
coaches gave him a good look at how coaches think.

Aiden was putting his dishes into the dishwasher when Phil came home. He
got a hearty hello and hug from his dad. Phil was about to ask how practice
went when Larry arrived home, giving Aiden a hug as well.

"I'll leave you guys to eat," Aiden told his dad. "I've got homework to
finish. Today is an off day for the Mariners and Marty said he would call
between seven and seven-thirty. I want to be done with my homework when he
calls so I don't have to worry about it later."

"Good thinking, son," Larry said.

"Must be the good teaching I get," Aiden grinned. He wiggled his bare ass
and then headed upstairs to his room.

He had finished his homework and was checking his email when Marty's Skype
call came through. He set his camera so that it showed his entire naked
front and clicked on the video icon.

"Hi, Marty," Aiden greeted.

"Hey, sport, how's it hanging?" Marty replied. "I guess I don't need to ask
that since all I have to do is look," he laughed. He noted that Aiden had
an erection. "How about hiding the distraction," he asked.

"You know you like looking at it, but I'll do whatever you want only
because you're my big bro." Aiden grabbed the small blanket draped over his
chairback and placed it over his groin.

"I've got no problem looking at you naked while we chat, but your boner is
a bit of a distraction."

"Whatever. I love you big bro."

"I love you back, little bro. Now, let's talk baseball."

"Five and a half years," Aiden said.

Marty knew what his little bro was referring to. "It's always nice to have
something to look forward to in the distant future."

"I just don't want you to ever forget." Aiden had talked Marty into fucking
him as soon as possible after he turned eighteen, which was five and a half
years away.

"I won't forget. Now, let's talk some baseball."

Aiden started out by telling Marty that Mac had been voted onto the
Mayfield Baseball Club board.

"No shit?" Marty said in surprise. "I mean if it happened in next spring's
election, I'd have to praise the boy for working his ass off for a year and
getting something he earned. But getting elected a month after the big
visit to his house, that's hard to believe."

"Well, it happened."

"I know. I think you can take some credit for it. I'm willing to bet you
making amends to him and having him come to your house to work on his
catching, helped him a lot. I just hope this isn't too much too soon and
that the whole thing goes to his head and he backtracks."

"I don't think Trent, Scott, Barry, or Max are going to let that
happen. They're ready to kick his ass if goes off track and he knows
it. And he knows I'll be right there with them."

"You can give him my phone number. Tell him I'm willing to talk to him
anytime if he needs a neutral ear to talk to."

"Wow, that's awesome," Aiden gushed. "Thanks for being you and being
willing to help."

"It's the least I can do for my old alma mater."

Marty and Aiden then spent the next half hour talking Mariner and Titan
baseball with a little bit about the Mustangs thrown in.  Aiden's cock had
gone flaccid as they talked and he pulled off the blanket.

"Okay, bro, I'm heading on out. But first I am going to email you
something, so hang tight. Once you see you might need to cover yourself
with that blanket again," Marty said.

Twenty seconds later, Aiden received notification of the arriving email. He
saw that Marty's email had an attachment. He opened the email and then
opened the attachment, which was a picture of a boy who looked twelve or
thirteen, wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. The boy had jet
black hair that looked wet from swimming, an athletic build, and a
brilliant smile.

"That dude is really hot," Aiden told Marty. "Who is it?"

"I told you about Wade Whalen having a thirteen-year-old brother named
Tim."

"Whoa, and that's Tim?"

"Yep. Sorry it took so long to send it. Wade was a bit slow sending it to
me and I didn't want to beg for it. Last week, I gave in to my curiosity
and mentioned the picture to him. He apologized for forgetting and sent it
to me a couple of days ago. Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy looking at it."

"You know it," Aiden gushed.

Aiden and Marty said their good-byes and Aiden immediately contacted
Nolan. Nolan confirmed that his dad would bring him to Mayfield Saturday
afternoon, and he would be able to spend the night. That was great news for
both boys.

"I have somebody for you to see," Aiden said.

He sent the picture of Tim. Nolan had the same reaction Aiden had when he
first saw the half-naked boy. They agreed that Marty needed to find a way
for them to meet him. They also agreed that he could be their jerk off
fantasy for the night.

As the naked boys watched their boyfriend jerk off on their computer
screen, they wondered how many boys Tim might have jerked off with. Nolan
shot the first cum twenty-three seconds faster than Aiden.

FRIDAY, MAY 1

<Aiden>

As soon as Aiden's alarm woke him up, he called his cousin Chase to wish
him a happy fifteenth birthday. "Happy Birthday, cuz," Aiden said as soon
as Chase answered the phone.

"Thanks for calling," Chase said. "I had a feeling I'd hear from you this
morning since we both are probably going to be busy all day with baseball
and whatever. And here you are, the best cousin a guy could have."

"Sorry I can't make it to your party, tomorrow. You were right about being
busy."

"Starting with what I guess is a big baseball game for you guys."

"We have to win to have a decent chance at first. I guess that's big. Don't
you have a game, too?"

"We played yesterday. Won 7-3. Still tied for first. And you're still
coming for the big Cuz Party Memorial Day weekend, right?"

"Nolan and I will be there. I can't wait for all of us to drive Uncle Troy
and Aunt Sue crazy," Aiden giggled. "Hey, birthday boy, who do you get to
fuck tonight?"

"Dillon and Logan have both called first fuck, so I think I might just get
to double up. Hell of a birthday present."

"Sounds like it. Nolan is spending the night tomorrow so I should get my
weekend fun, too. Okay, I gotta go shower and eat since I have a bus to
catch."

"Thanks again for the call, cuz. See you in three weeks."

<Mayfield Middle School Baseball Field>

The Seamount League looked at the Winton at Mayfield game as important
enough to merit two umpires. The Lewis County Umpires Association assigned
their best two umpires available. Many of the top umpires were assigned to
high school games, but that didn't preclude two of their better ones
working the best middle school matchup in the county that day.

Scott and Mac had another chat at lunch. This one was about Scott's
strengths and weaknesses as a pitcher and how Scott liked to pitch. It
wasn't their first time discussing the topic, but they both felt it
wouldn't hurt to review.

One thing much of the staff and many of the students at school noticed
about the Titans that day—the baseball players on both the varsity and
junior varsity were keyed into the upcoming games. A couple of the teachers
wondered if the players in their classes had a clue as to what had been
covered. There was no doubt that the boys had gotten totally serious about
baseball.

Coach Ecklund could see that serious demeanor as the boys changed into
their uniforms in the locker room. He could see it during their warmup. He
could see it during infield. There was no doubt that the varsity was
mentally ready to play—now they had to see how that played out on the
field.

The Winton Wildcats looked much looser during their infield, making Ecklund
wonder if his boys might be too tight rather than focused in. But as he
looked back at warmups and infield, he remembered that there was a lot of
chatter and encouragement while at the same time there was no wasted
energy. They were as ready as a group of middle school boys could be.

There were some interesting differences between the Wildcats and the
Titans. The Wildcat varsity players were all eighth graders except for two
seventh graders who split time between JV and varsity. Four of the twelve
regulars on the Titans were seventh graders and three of those were
starters. Coach Ecklund brought up one or two players from the JV each game
for some varsity experience. For this game Lenny, a sixth grader, was one
of the players and Rusty was the other. The coach had Lenny suiting up
varsity to add catching depth.

Another difference was that the Titans had started the season with the
attitude that they were playing to win the division and then the league
championship. Instances like the visit to Mac's house by members of the
team when turnouts began or the gatherings for pitchers and catchers at
Aiden's house showed how serious the boys were about making their
goal. Plus, the Titans were part of a program with a long tradition of
winning.

The Winton players were certain they would have one of the better teams in
the league. They were surprised, however, to be in first place as the
second half of the season commenced. What they were lacking was the
commitment to setting and meeting goals that the Mayfield players had. The
Titans' confidence was on more solid ground than that of the Wildcats.

Winton's effort didn't always equal their talk. A big part of that was
leadership. They didn't have leaders like Trent and Scott, or a rising
leader like Mac was proving to be. Even Aiden, as a seventh grader, was
looked up to by the team for the examples he set on the field if nothing
else.

All of this is not to say that the Titans were a lock to defeat the
Wildcats. Once the first pitch is thrown the baseball gods could be
cruel. A funny bounce here, a momentary mental lapse there, a day when hard
hit balls were caught by the opposition while the opposition's popups and
bloopers drop in just out of reach. What it did mean was that the Titans
were better prepared to deal with adversity.

That was how things looked when Scott threw the first pitch of the game for
a called strike. The batter swung at the second pitch and hit a comebacker
to Scott, who turned and threw to Max at first base for the first out. The
second batter swung at the first pitch thrown to him and hit a lazy fly
ball to Everett in left. The third batter struck out on a 1-2 pitch—the
Wildcats had gone down 1-2-3 on seven pitches.

"They sure weren't very patient," Trent said as the Titans ran off the
field.

"I'm sure their coach will be telling them the same thing," Mac said. "We
gotta play it an inning at a time."

"Gotcha," Trent said. Not for the first time Trent was impressed by Mac's
newfound take charge attitude.

The bottom half of the first inning all but sealed Winton's fate. Gordy led
off the inning with a four-pitch walk. He stole second on the first pitch
to Aiden. Aiden then lined a shot on the next pitch that fell between the
center and right fielders, scoring Gordy. Trent hit a hard shot to
shortstop that had double play written all over it. Instead of dropping the
anchor and getting his butt down to make the play, the shortstop elected to
scoop up the easy grounder. The result was the ball skipping under his mitt
and through the wickets, as the players liked to call a grounder going
through a fielder's legs, for an error. Muddy got a fat pitch down the
middle and launched a ball over the outfield at the 315-foot sign in
left-center field. The Titans had put a quick four runs up on the
scoreboard.

The Wildcats finally settled down and played more to their ability as the
next three Titan batters went out. The Titans scored two more runs in the
fourth inning for a 6-0 lead. The Wildcats used two hits and an error by
Trent at third to score a run in the top of the fifth to make the score
6-1. Because Scott had pitched on Tuesday, Coach Ecklund had Aiden pitch
the sixth and seventh innings of what ended up being a 7-1 win. After
getting over their first inning jitters, the Winton Wildcats played good
ball, but it was too little, too late. The Titans and the Wildcats were
tied for first place with 6-2 records.

"What happens if we end up tied for first place?" Everett asked Aiden after
Coach Ecklund finished up the post-game meeting.

"You should learn how all this stuff works," Aiden answered.

"Why should I, when I've got smart teammates like you to tell me the
answers?"

"You mean you're placing your trust in a seventh grader?"

"Well, you're not just any seventh grader. I mean you've got no problems
jerking off in the showers or on road game bus trips with us eighth
graders."

"That's as good a reason as any to trust me, I guess," Aiden grinned. "So,
to answer your question, if we tie with Winton, we take first place and go
to the league championship game."

"Is it because we beat them both times we played them?"

"See, you don't need me at all. You've got it all figured out."

"Do you want to hang around and jerk off with the horny eighth graders in
the shower?"

"Who is us?"

"Me, Max, Barry, and sometimes Trent," Everett answered.

Aiden noted that he hadn't mentioned Mac. "Sounds like fun, dude, but my
dad was able to watch the game and is waiting for me."

"Our next trip is to Gardner on Thursday. Think about joining us in the
back."

"Okay. I'll see you on Monday," Aiden said as he turned to leave the locker
room.

Phil was waiting for Aiden in the parking lot. Aiden tossed his backpack
and equipment bag into the back of the pickup and then sat in the
backseat. "Nice game," Phil said. "You guys played a great game—a game
worthy of a first-place team."

"Thanks, dad. We really had everything together today. It's like the whole
team was in a zone. And Winton looked like they were scared to start the
game."

"Being in big games like that was a new experience for them. You guys are
used to them. You might not always win them, but you never play scared."

"And now we have another big game coming up on Monday with no practice in
between games. Monte is playing Barrett and there's no way they lose to
Barrett, so they'll either be in first or tied for first depending on how
Evans did against Harborview. Monte is in first place in the west, so,
we're going to play another first-place team."

"It doesn't get any easier, does it?" Phil laughed.

"Nope. But I know we'll be ready this time, too. One thing about playing
Monte is I've got two friends on the team, which will make it extra fun."
Aiden felt his phone vibrate saying a text had arrived. He read it and
said, "And Skyler, who is one of one of those friends, just texted
me. Monte 15, Barrett 0. Looks like they'll be ready for us, too."

Dinner was leftover lasagna and salad. Larry was in a good mood since the
Mustangs whomped Parkview 7-2. "We've got three games next week since we
have a make up to play," Larry said. "It's going to be a busy week for
sure."

"And I get to join the action tomorrow with my first turnout with the
Dynamos," Phil said. After talking it over with Larry, Phil decided to
coach a league lower than he usually did by taking charge of the fourteen
and under Mayfield Dynamos. His players would be mostly players off the
freshman and JV teams with a few eighth graders from the Titans thrown into
the mix.

After dinner, Aiden spent a lot of time texting and talking on the phone
with his friends. The JV had shut out Winton to remain in first
place. Dayton Reed, Grant, and Emmett had split the pitching duties, with
Grant getting credit for the win. The Mustang JV and freshman teams had
also won their games, making it a big day for Mayfield baseball.

When Aiden finally connected with Nolan on Skype, they started out talking
baseball, of course. Not surprisingly Meadow Park had ended their
three-game losing streak with an 11-4 win over Gardner. "Gardner might
still not be very good, but they've really improved since the start of the
year," Nolan said. "They play Chinook next, and they might have a shot at
beating them."

The big surprise in the Eastern Division was Clark Pass's 5-4 win over
Kentburg. Both teams now had 4-4 records and were two games out of first
with four games left to play. "Clark Pass is decent this year," Aiden told
Nolan, "but they're going to be the team to beat in the East next year."

"Maybe, but I'd put my money on you guys next year," Nolan said.

"We're losing most of this year's team, and Clark Pass is only losing a
couple of players," Aiden reminded him.

"Yeah, but they still have one major thing going against them."

"What's that?"

"Their biggest problem is they happen to be Clark Pass," Nolan chuckled.

In the West Division, Harborview beat Evans 6-5, which knocked Evans out of
a tie for first with Monte and into second place with a 6-2
record. Harborview now had a 5-3 record.

"Well, we play Monte on Monday and you play Harborview," Aiden said. "We've
both got tough games coming up. Plus, Kentburg plays Evans, which is
another good matchup. If Evans wins that game, Kentburg would have a 4-5
record. Who would ever have predicted a losing record for Kentburg this
late in the year? They've got a lot of talent there."

"Not to mention their new coach being a dumbass coach. I heard that once
the athletic director read the protest, he told the coach there was no way
the school district was going to pay the fee since they were guaranteed to
lose the protest."

"Yep, you can leave the base as soon as the ball is touched," Aiden
said. "I heard from a baseball coach who happens to live in the same house
I do. I also heard that the Kentburg coach said he was going to pay for the
protest out of his own pocket and the athletic director said the league
wouldn't allow coaches to pay—the protest had to be backed up by the
school's athletic office. The A.D. told the coach it might help if he read
the rules and made an attempt to understand them. So, yeah, like you said,
he seems to be a dumbass coach."

"Your coach might be the best one in the middle school league," Nolan
said. "I disagree with some things our coach does, but he is no dumbass. He
knows the game."

"Are we going to jerk off together?"

"I want to save all the cum I can for tomorrow might. Our nights together
are pretty special, and I want to get off at least twice and go after
three."

"Sounds good. I'll see you around dinner time. Night, night, Sugar Bear."

"Night, night, Sweet Cakes."

Next: Dealing