"Jamie, it's time to get up.." Frank stood in the door frame of his room. Jamie heard his father but between studying, baseball and the little time he had for hanging out with friends exhausted him, as a Senior in high school he knew this year mattered more than any other especially if he wanted to keep his full-ride scholarship to his dream school, UCLA. Frank and the rest of the family dreaded the fact Jamie could move all the way on the other side of the country, but its always been Jamie's and his best friend's dream from a young age playing T-ball. "Jameson. I'm not going to ask you again." Franks' voice was stern.
"I'm up… I'm up." Jamie sat up in his bed, his hair sticking up. He rubbed his eyes, finally leaving his bed not wanting his father to be upset.
"Mason will be here soon to pick you up, shower and get downstairs and eat your breakfast." His father ordered, leaving to go back and get ready for work. 'Eat your breakfast' Jamie mimicked his father voice under his breath annoyed. After taking care of what Jamie needed to do he got all dressed and carried his school bag and sports bag downstairs.
"Hey sweetie," Mary called from the kitchen.
"Hey mom" Jamie dropped his bags by the front door, sitting at the kitchen table.
"I made you toast, bacon and eggs, she placed his plate at the table, returning to the sink.
"Thanks." Jamie dug in.
"So did Coach Troy pick you as a starter yet." Mary wondered. She knew her son has worked so hard in the offseason and the seasons before this upcoming one.
"No mom, He hasn't and the odds of me starting is low." Jamie continued eating his toast.
"Why are you so cynical, you lead your team to state last year!" Mary responded. Two car horn honks heard from the front.
"Correction Mason lead the team to state last year, speaking of Mas, he's here." Jamie jumped up from the table.
"Excuse me young man- but your plate." Jamie left his half-eaten breakfast on the table, he hurried to clean his mess.
"Bye, dad! Mas is here!" Jamie shouted from the front door.
"Mason want anything to eat?" Jamie rolled his eyes at her question, she asking him every day if Mason wants breakfast and he'd always give the same answer.
"No mom he's fine. I love you bye." She watched as he carried his large sports bag to the blue sedan parked in front of their home.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Bedford High's starting 1st baseman, Mr. Jamie Reagan!" Mason shouted doing a drum roll imitation on his steering wheel.
"Shut up, Mas," Jamie tossed his heavy bags into the back seat "You're gonna jinx me!"
"Can't jinx certainties, Reagan" Mason countered
"No, you being a starter is a certainty. Me being a starter is, like, 50-50 at best."
"Think about it. This year we have Kastin, Liam, and that freshman, who's like seven feet tall. They're not you."
"Oh Please."
"I'm serious! tell me you haven't been killing it in practice." Jamie sat in the passenger seat
"Have a great day you two!" She shouted from the front door.
"You as well Ms. Reagan!" Mason shouted back. They said their goodbyes and she watched as the car pulled off disappearing from her site.
"Jamie's gone?" Frank finally came downstairs, Briefcase in hand.
"Yeah." Mary closed the front door, "He said bye" Mary grabbed her husbands coffee mug from the kitchen table.
"I love it when you wear your dress blues." Frank pulled her in.
"Is that right?" He smiled. " I gotta get down to One PP for a meeting with Commissioner Jones."
"Well, you better get going." She placed a hand on her husband's chest. Frank went in for a goodbye kiss.
"I love you, honey."
"I love you too, drive safe,"
"The season starts in thirteen days. I'm ready to get back on that field and claim State again." Mason grinned.
"I am too." Jamie's responses seemed dry and Mason has been noticing it the whole rides to school.
"Okay.. what's up Reagan." Jamie rolled his eyes, Mason could always tell when something was up.
"Nothing"
"Nothing? I call bullshit. I've known you for sixteen years." Jamie laughed at his remark.
"Alright, school is what's wrong." Mason stayed quiet not really catching on. "My whole family has been coming down on me lately about what college to go to and i don't really want to stay in New York."
"Well Reagan this is your life, my mom isn't too happy about me leaving for UCLA either but I am." Mason pulled into the parking spot at school. "My point is, you're doing the right thing whether it's moving to Los Angeles or staying here in Brooklyn if it's what you! want then do it."
"You're right, I just overthinking things until it eats me alive." Jamie agonized
"We all know that," Mason said sarcastically.
"Here we go." Jamie and Mason grabbed their bags from the back, making their way into the school.
"Alright, class. I'm going to do something different this quarter, and that assigns seats." The class up-roared at his announcement. 'Mr. Troy come one!' 'This isn't fair!'
"Will you guys calm down it's just this quarter, A lot of you stay partners throughout the school year, making no room for growth... Meet new people, talk to new faces, i already have a seating chart so if everyone would please grabbed their stuff and move to the front of the room." Jamie and Mason stared at each other in confusion grabbing their stuff and moving to the front of the room to look at the new seating chart.
"I'm sitting with Alex, sorry Reagan." Mason grabbed his stuff and moved it to the other side of the room, Jamie scanned the chart in search for his name. Jamie mumbled the name under his breath.
"Who's Edit… Janko" Jamie read 'Edit' exactly how it's spelled.
"Its Edit." She pronounces her name correctly. Jamie turned around shocked.
"This is our new student. Edit." Coach Troy pronounce her name correctly, making Jamie feel even more like an ass. "Edit just go ahead and tell us about yourself." The whole class including Jamie made their way to their new seats, leaving her and Coach Troy upfront.
"Well my name is Edit but my family and friends call me Eddie, I moved to Brooklyn from upstate because my dad has business in the city now and yeah.." The class gave a short round of applause,
"Thanks for that Eddie... Why don't you sit at your seat Eddie it's over here." He showed her to hers and Jamie table. Jamie could hear snickering in the back, he knew it was obviously Mason. Coach Troy continued on with today's lesson until the bell rung ending the school day. Jamie gathered his things giving Mason a sign he'd meet him outside the class. Jamie watched Eddie gathered her things
"Hey, Eddie?" Her marble blue eyes made contact with him, he had small butterflies that freaked him out. "I um.. want to apologize for the way i said your name"
"You're not the first." she smiled at him. "I guess it sounds the way it looks." She tossed her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow? Jamie right?"
"Yeah, I'll see you." He replied when she was halfway out of the room. Mason walked in.
"Let's get to the locker room Reagan," Mason shouted echoing in the classroom, snapping Jamie out of wherever he had been.
"Yeah yeah." Jamie grabbed his bags.
"How many schools in New York do you think to have one of these?" Coach Troy slammed last years state Trophy onto the table killing the chatter in the locker room. "Freshman?"
"My name's Xavier."
"I know your name. Freshman?"
"Dozens" Freshman players answered.
"But how many teams have earned two back-to-back?" The coach paused letting his question marinate in the room. "Almost none. You know why? cause players get cocky!" The coach shouted.
"What?"
"What?" The coach mocked in an annoyed tone. "They get complacent. Look at my veteran players!" They all looked around at each other. "None of you are dressed for practice. So, say goodbye. It's not yours anymore. It belongs to last year's team. I don't want you to think about being ranked number one. I want you to think about what we're gonna do this year, today. Which is, one point at a time we're gonna play Bedford Baseball. Ten laps around the Track field" the team groaned. "Captain, the team is yours." The coach stormed off into the office
"Let's get ready boys, state won't win itself!" Mason was optimistic
" I think I'm going to throw up" Jamie moaned, dragging his baseball bag to his porch.
"You think?" Mason replied, his hand on his ribs. "He's coming down on us hard because he doesn't want us to fall off."
"What's up with you guys." Danny wondered watching the two teens slump on different couches.
"Conditioning. We ran a thousand laps and did the million different workouts." Mason exaggerated out of breath.
"Maybe if you two didn't eat pizza and junk food on the weekends while you play video games you'd be more condition." Danny blurted.
"Whatever Danny." Jamie ignored him, He definitely didn't have the energy to argue back.
"Hey Mas, Jamie." Erin greeted. "Oh Mas, your mom called, She wanted you to come home straight after practice something about dinner." Mason jumped up from the couch, winching a little bit.
"You okay kid?" Danny watched him.
"Yeah I'm good it's just my dad has a firefighting dinner thing, I forgot. Alright J I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thanks, Erin for the reminder see you guys later." They said their goodbyes watching the kid leave.
"Are you hungry Jamie? I can make you a sandwich." Erin offered.
"It's fine Erin I have a boatload of homework to do." Jamie headed to his room.
"You should shower first kid," Danny mentioned. Jamie just continued up the stairs. Erin slapped her brother on the arm. "What?"
"You are so rude," Erin shouted, Storming off into the kitchen.
"If didn't say anything the kid wouldn't have." Danny protest, following her into the kitchen.
"How was the fire fighting thing yesterday." Jamie asked Mason walking to their lockers in school the entire ride to school Mason hasn't seemed himself he was quiet and definitely tired.
"It was long, I had to talk to thirty different people about my dad and what I'm doing in school. I didn't even get home last night until 1 a.m.
"Sheesh."
"You're telling me." Mason stuffed his large sports bag into his locker grabbing the books he needed. "All i heard last night 'Why don't you become a firefighter like your dad?' 'Why don't you join public service like your older brother' and all I wanted to say was, I'm not them, I'm not my dad or my brother, I definitely don't want to be an accountant like my mom. I want to be me… Mason Reid."
"Seriously five hours of all that, I understand that all the way I had a dollar for every-time one of my brothers or dad's friends ask me if I'm going to the academy when I'm of age."
"Basically Jamie, but we leave for college in a few months and we won't have to deal with the questions anymore." Mason closed his locker, Jamie followed. "Thankfully, but on a better note, I'll catch you at lunch, I have to get to calculus, Mr. Tedesco has been trying to ring me a new one all year." He hurried off. Jamie continued on route to his next period when he was suddenly stopped by Miss Harris, his counselor.
"Jamie, can I have a minute with you please?" She asked. Jamie hesitant looking down the hall to his classroom. "It'll only take a minute and if you're late I'll write you a pass." Jamie entered her office taking a seat.
"Have you made a decision yet?" She crossed her arms on top of her desk.
"Decision?"
"You know, Jamie. I already know you got your letters from UCLA, Columbia, and Stanford."
"I-" Jamie hesitated.
"Jamie you're on top of your class, You play sports and you're also this year's valedictorian at graduation. Don't doubt yourself."
"I'm not, at least not on purpose, its always been a dream of mine to play college baseball at UCLA-"
"Then why haven't you committed, Almost all of the seniors with offers on your team have committed to their colleges but you haven't, why's that?"
"I want to play ball i just don't know.. its hard to explain." Jamie replied.
"Just keep me updated will you please? you have a month to commit or you lose your scholarships." He nodded his head. "Here's your pass, get to AP English."
"Thanks Miss Harris."
TBC
Let me know if you like the story i posted two chapters just to give a better feel to the story! Lots more to come so please review and follow! Next chapter posted tomorrow!