Chapter 21: First points and First game

Stephen Rose P.O.V

A week had gone by since the start of school I was lucky that this was a really smooth week except for the incident on Monday nothing really happened well if you exclude the fact that Layla had been riding back home with us every day after my baseball practice when I saw her on Tuesday I knew that something had happened because she was a little bit gloomy but as the day passed she seemed better so I didn't ask and the day after she was back to normal so I didn't mention it also god was clearly on my side during the week because Brandy wasn't at school I later learned that she had an accident in one of her cheerleader completion and had broke her wrist I wasn't one to laugh about others people misfortune but when I learn that the only thing I could think of was ' Hahaha karma bitch'

Starting school made me change my training routine since I couldn't train like I did during summer I had to change my schedule quite a bit and this was why at 8h30 pm I was driving back toward my home after training at Showtime Academy. As soon as Tuesday I start waking up at 4h30 in the morning I would take a protein shake and stretch myself before starting running for an hour after that I would do another hour of weight training and then eat my breakfast before picking up Aria and going to school. From 4 pm to 6 pm, it was baseball practice, after practice, I would bring the girls back home before going to Showtime Academy for another 2 hours of practice 1 hour of batting training and 1 hour of pitching training

While I was driving back home I was really excited when I started thinking about what Coach Terry had told us at the end of practice today. Tomorrow we would have a practice game against Rockvale, even if it was a practice game it was still my first game ever maybe I was also wondering if I would gain points or if it was just an official game I was asking myself this because yesterday I had gained my very first points since I had the system. Because of that, I realized my system was pretty unique compared to the system I had seen in novels and manga when I gained my points there was no sound or ringing tone in my head I just 'felt it' after wishing for myself to go to the system gatcha room I noticed something was written on the big blackboard '+15 (Throwing 15 000 balls in a pitcher set position)' I was so thrilled that I had a hard time falling asleep

Waking up this morning I again wished to go into the space to make sure I was dreaming last night but when I entered the room there was nothing written on the blackboard 'Maybe it really was a dream' I thought before noticing another thing at the top of the Gatche machine there was now a points panel with 15 written on it. Then it dawned on me of course my achievements wouldn't stay on the blackboard forever if that was the case the blackboard would be full in no time so it made sense and I sighed in relief knowing that yesterday wasn't a dream

Thinking about tomorrow's games I wondered if I should tell my parents about the game or not I knew I would have to tell my mother about it and that she would want to come but it wasn't a home game and I wasn't pitching Coach had given us the lineup before we left earlier and explain to us why he had chosen to let play the seconds strings except for the pitchers who would take their turn pitching except for Tanner and me, the lineup was looking like this.

Catcher- Jason Davis

Pitchers- Anotny Jackson, Caden Cobb, James Thomas

1st base- Ryan Hendrickson

2nd base- Chase Riggs

3rd base- Nathan Stein

Shortstop-Mason Sweeney

Left fielder- Mike Freeman

Center fielder- Dylan Bo

Right fielder- Ashton Dunsworth

Pinch hitter- Jared Chapman

Designated hitter- Stephen Rose

I really had conflicting emotions right now I really wanted my parents to be at my first game ever but I also wanted to surprise my dad with my pitching first so I was a little conflicted right now, maybe I should just ask my Mom to come and we can make an excuse like we are having a Son's/Mother's day I thought. That would explain why I would be gone all day since the game was taking place at Rockvale's home turf we would need to leave at 10 am with the team bus the game was at 1 pm counted 2 hours of playing and another 2 hours minimum for driving back here we would be back around 5h30 to 6 pm in the evening 

I decided to just talk about it with my Mother before making a decision I would just need to make sure my Dad isn't close by when I do so. 10 minutes later I was working my car in the driveway both of my parent's cars were there so I knew my dad was home, after taking off my shoes I walked toward the kitchen for a light snack before doing my bedtime yoga routine

''Again coming back from training this late, you sure you get enough sleep with all that training'' said my dad as soon as I entered the kitchen

''I sleep too much maybe I should wake up at 4 am and go to bed at 10 pm from now on, that's a great idea Dad I'll tell Mom you gave me a good idea'' I said with mischief

''Cough cough do you want me dead, brat your Mother is already not a fan of you being out so late if you tell her that I'm as good as dead'' said my father almost choking on his apple

''Hahaha relax I'm messing with you don't have to worry I don't plan on changing anything for now, talking about Mom is she sleeping already?'' I asked my father

''Humph scaring your father like that and yes your mother is reading upstairs I still need to get some work done so I'll head down to my office you will probably be already asleep when I'm done so I'm wishing you a good night in advance son'' said my father before walking toward the stairs leading to the basement

Well talking to my mother without my father around will be easier than expected I thought taking a basket of strawberries and a banana before climbing the stairs to go talk with my mother

''Hi Mom, I'm back'' I said lying at the foot of her bed while eating my banana

'' Can you not eat that banana in my bed I just washed the sheet'' said my Mom 

''Oh sorry, so you won't eat these strawberries with me either I supposed'' I said lifting up my hand that was holding the strawberry basket

''Did I just say something I can't seem to remember'' said my mother snatching the strawberries away from me

''Hahahaha I don't know maybe I'm getting too old, I didn't hear anything hahaha'' I said laughing at the cute actions my Mom just did

''Humph stop laughing at your mother, so how was practice today did you have fun?'' asked my Mom 

''Yep, Terry also told us we would have a practice game tomorrow and I was wondering if I wanted to tell Dad or not but ..sigh I really want the first game he sees me play in to be a game where I would pitch and tomorrow I'm only playing as the designated hitter so this leads me to this question. Do you want to come tomorrow for my first game ever? I would still love having at least 1 of my parent cheering for me'' I asked my mother 

''OF COURSE, I'LL BE THERE JUST TRY PREVENTING ME FROM GOING HUMPH'' said my mother loudly

''Sush, not so loud Mom geez we are lucky Dad is in his office, anyway what do we say to Dad for tomorrow do we use the Son's/Mother's Day again?'' I asked her

''Yes keeping it simple is the best way, so where is your game, and at what time?'' she asked with enthusiasm

''Rockvale at 1 pm but I will need to be at school at 10 am and take the bus with the rest of the team also Aria wanted me to ask you if you could pick her up if you were coming to the game'' I said picking a strawberry form the basket and eating it

''No problem ill send her a message tomorrow morning to let her know ill pick her up after dropping you at school hehe I'm going to see your first game, I'm so happy, damn it, you could have waited until tomorrow morning before telling me this now I won't be able to fall asleep'' said my mother while pouting at me

''Haha I didn't really have a choice what if I couldn't tell you tomorrow because Dad was always beside I would rather not take any chance and also I should be the one too excited to sleep not you'' I said laughing

''Hmm you're right are you nervous?'' asked my mother

''Strangely no, maybe I'll feel it tomorrow but I feel ...calm and a bit excited I can't wait to step onto the field and that's why I'm going to do my yoga and then hit the bed right after. The faster I fall asleep the sooner tomorrow will come I said getting up before starting to walk toward my room

''Good night sunshine I love you'' said my Mom

''Good night, love you too'' I responded before getting out of my parent's room

30 minutes later I took off my clothes and wiped my body with a clean towel before lying under the blankets I opened my phone and sent my usual good night message to Layla then looked at today's game highlights of the Oakland Athletics. After watching the video I was about to put my phone down and close the lights when I received Layla's text message

-Layla: Good night hehe :) also, good luck for tomorrow's game I'm rooting for you(*cheering emoji*) 

-Stephen: Thank you, with those good wishes I'm at least 2 times more powerful than usual hehe (*big muscle emoji*)

With a big smile on my face, I closed my phone and then my eyes. I woke up the next morning at 4h30 to start my day with running and training as usual, if I was pitching I wouldn't do that but since I was only the designated hitter today I chose to stick with my routine, it's not like I planned to spend a lot of energy at today's game 'I will crush that ball so hard the stitches will break' I thought while making my way downstairs to take my daily protein shake

Going back in the kitchen after my training i could see my mother standing in front of the coffee machine yawning

''Already up Mom wow that's rare'' I said while opening the fridge to take out ingredients for my breakfast

''Humph and who's fault is this y... Wait! Did you also train this morning, you know that you have... we have a long day ahead of us right what if you lack energy'' asked my mother talking in riddles just to be sure that my Dad wasn't hearing us

''Dont worry Mom I know my limits it's not this light training that will drain me i can sop with you all day'' I said with a wink in her direction

''Well if you are anything but in perfect conditions throughout the day I will have to ban training in the morning and talk to the council about it'' said my Mom clearly taking pleasure in talking in riddles like this

''And what are the criteria for perfection'' I asked amused by her

''That's for me to judge hmph now make breakfast for me too, I'm hungry'' said my mother sitting at the table while looking at me smugly

After a healthy breakfast, I walked to my car and took my bag out of the trunk before putting it in my Mother's car. Being done with this I went to take a shower and then just sat in the living room relaxing while watching TV and waiting for my mother to get ready. 2 hours later at 9h15 am we both left the house after bidding my Dad goodbye.

When we arrived beside the baseball field of the school I could see the bus and my teammates who by now knew that I was already part of the team when everyone found out yesterday nobody was surprised but I did see Antony frowning a bit before he returned to normal but I already had forgotten all about this 

I kissed my Mom goodbye and reminded her to not forget Aria before stepping out of the car with my bag and walking toward my teammates.

Aria P.O.V

I didn't think I would be having so much fun helping the baseball team with Mary and Leslie, we discovered that Leslie was a pure klutz when it comes to laundry the first time she used the school laundromat she made a mess she came running at us asking for help with soap bubbles all over her I hadn't had a laugh like this in a long time after taking care of this mess when then spent the rest of the afternoon teaching her how to use a washing machine 

Mary was really in love with her tasks she was asked to observe players and record their stats. Leslie complained that Mary was lucky to be on the field smelling their sweat up close of course we just acted like we didn't hear anything as for me taking care of the equipment wasn't hard I just had to help for 15 minutes at the beginning and end of the practice there's of the time I would either help Leslie or do my homework I had to say Stephen idea was really good once at home I was free to do whatever I wanted and my Mom wasn't on my back and was happy with me so it was a win/win situation

I really wanted to see Stephen's first game even if I knew he wasn't pitching it was still his first game. I could see how much he was excited about this even if he was acting like this was not a special day...' maybe he hadn't even realized it himself yet' I thought

I had asked Stephen if he planned to tell his parents about today's game but he didn't knew at the time so I asked him to tell Aunty to text me if she was going to the game so that she could pick me up and this led to the situation right now.. of me, lying in my bed with my phone in my hand waiting for my Aunt to send me a message

I had to wait until almost 10 am before I finally received a message from my aunt

-Aunty: Get ready sweetie I'm on my way :)

-Aria: I'm already ready, what took you so long Aunty (*pouting face emoji*) you could have told me you would pick me up this morning, I waited all morning (*angry face emoji*)

-Aunty: Sorry I was so excited that I forgot if Stephen hadn't reminded me I would have started driving toward Rockvale already (* shocked face emoji*)

-Aria: Humph that will take a lot of ice cream for me to forgive you (* girl looking back with her arms crossed emoji *)

-Aunty: Hehe alright alright just don't hurt my purse too much (* empty wallet emoji *)

-Aunty: I'm leaving school right now I'll be there in 25 minutes (* big kiss emoji *)

Knowing that Aunty was coming I left my room with my vintage backpack purse that my dad had bought me this summer to wait for Aunty in the living room since I could see the road and our driveway from here

 I was waiting playing with my phone for 15 or 20 minutes already when my mother came out of the kitchen and sat beside me

''What are you doing, honey?'' ask my Mom

''I'm waiting for Aunty'' I said 

''Which one?'' asked my mother rolling her eyes at me

''Teehee, Aunty Catherine'' I said with a giggle

''She didn't tell me she would come to visit us, why are you waiting for her'' she asked confused

''I can tell you but you have to keep it a secret you absolutely can't tell Dad or Uncle Dan about this'' I said really seriously, my Dad was really the worst at keeping secrets

''I promise'' said my mother

''We are going to Stephen's first baseball game'' I said while looking at my phone because I had received a message, Leaving my mother blinking her eyes in shock after having learned the news

-Layla: Are you going to see Stephen's game?

-Aria: Of course, I can't miss this, it's his first game ever that's a big day hehe (* fireworks emoji *)

-Layla: Do you think he would be happy to see me there? (* shy face emoji *)

-Aria: Girl of course he would be more than happy and I bet this would mean a lot to him having people who care about him be there for his first game (* star eyes face emoji *)

-Layla: I don't have a car... how are you going there can you pick me up? (* panicked face emoji *)

-Aria: No problem get ready, and send me your address hehe (* car driving emoji *)

-Layla: I live at ****** I'm going to pack my things right now (* super happy face emoji *) 

Hehe I think she is starting to fall for my cousin well as a good cousin I should lend a helping hand I thought while looking through the window just in time to see my Aunt driving up our driveway

''Bye Mom I'm going, love you'' I said running out of the house and climbing into my Aunt's car without giving her the time to say something. Once in the car, I buckled my seatbelt and then looked at my Aunt 

'' Hey Aunty, do you want to meet your potential future daughter-in-law'' I said with a mischievous smile