“Good morning Victoria, British Columbia. Its 7:00 and right now, you’re tuned into VIC FM. Here’s a song that will get all you students up on this normal Wednesday. Here is Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World on VIC FM!”
“Too early for school.” Preston Moans
Preston slides his way out of bed. For Preston, this isn’t any normal Thursday. For him, it’s the beginning of the second semester and baseball tryouts are starting today for him for his school team. Preston is a good-looking guy. 5’11, athletic build, hazel coloured eyes. He came from a nice affluent area. Everyone that went to school was middle class/affluent. His father was accountant and his mother was a real estate agent. He is in his senior year of high school and he still hasn’t figured what he wants to do in life. All he thinks about is playing baseball for a living. He’s an average student. Straight “B” student but he does exceptionally well in English class. He knows he has to get his life figured out before he goes to university.
Preston gets ready and by the time he leaves his house and gets into his Toyota Matrix, its 7:20 and he has to pick up his friend Randall. Randall is Preston’s best friend. They have been best friends since grade school. Randall’s mother worked with Preston’s mother at the real estate agency. His father was businessman. They played Little League together and the routine has always been the same since they went to high school. Preston would pick up Randall for school and after school they would go to local park and pitch to each other. By the time Preston gets to Randall’s house, he’s waiting outside with all of his baseball gear. He shoves it in the trunk along with Preston’s gear. Randall is a good-looking guy with his movie star-esque looks of dirty blonde hair, blue eyes. He stood 6’0 tall and was athletic looking.
“Hey man.” Says Preston “Hey.” Randall replies “So what did you do last night?” Preston asks “Oh, I hung with Mel last night.” Randall said
Mel was Randall’s girlfriend and they have been going out since their first year of high school. Mel and Preston are good friends and the three of them occasionally hang out together. Mel played on the girl’s softball team for the school. She enjoyed baseball as much as the other two did. Randall was really sweet to Mel. He would always have something nice planned out for them both. They were a really cute couple.
“That’s cool, what you guys do?” Preston said in a jokingly perverted tone. “Shut up” Randall said laughingly
The two get to school at 7:40. 10 minutes before the announcements started so they headed to their lockers to pick up their books for class. The two guy’s lockers were right beside each other. While at their locker, Randall asks Preston “who do you think will be the coach this year? I heard Mr. Chavez got transferred to a different school”
“Really? I didn’t know that. I guess we’ll find out after school today” Preston replied.
*RING**RING**RING*
“Crap, I’m gonna be late for class, I’ll see ya next period” Randall said in a hurry “Yeah, later man” Preston said
Preston had a spare first period. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to hit the library and just read. While at the library, Mel spots him. She waves at him signalling to him to sit with her.
Mel was a good-looking girl. She’d catch your eye in an instant. 5’6, blonde-brown hair with blue eyes. Her and Randall are a good couple. Both enjoyed baseball and they both had a lot in common. Mel was really nice girl. She did community work when she had the time. She loved to help people.
“Hey Pres, I didn’t know you had a spare 1st period” she said “I didn’t either ‘til I decided to look at my timetable” he said in a chuckle “So you still single?” she asked “Yeah, I haven’t really seen anyone since Teri” he said in a low tone “I see” she replied
Teri was the girl Preston thought was the “one”. He was really sweet to her. Always did gentleman type things like open doors for her and pulled her chair out for her. He once even cooked her a candle light dinner. He told her that he loved her on their 3rd anniversary but she thought that it was too much and broke up with him. He fell into a semi-depression and just didn’t want to do anything with anyone but he threw all that behind him. Mel was the one who really helped Preston when he was down.
“So anyways, you decide on what university you want to go to next year?” she asked “Not really” Preston replied “ I don’t really know what I want to do. How bout you?” “I’m kinda thinking about British Columbia or Victoria. I want to stay close to home you know? I don’t wanna be away from my family” “Yeah? Well that’s cool” he said *RING**RING**RING* “Ah crap” Preston said “English class. Mel giggles “Have fun” He just laughs “Thanks, see you later” “Yup, later” she said
They both go their separate ways. Preston tries to inch his way though the crowded halls to get to class but to him, it seems like he cant get anywhere. Finally he reaches his class just before the bell rings. He sits behind Randall
“Hey man, how was your first class?” Preston asks “Business?” Randall pretends to make a snoring nose. They both laugh
Just as they both stop laughing, a teacher steps in. A tall man, fairly athletic looking. Had a mean look on his face. Everyone just stops talking.
“Man, that face is great for making the class quiet” He says laughingly “Hi, my name is Rafe Matthews. You may call me ‘Matthews’, ‘Mr. Matthews, ‘Ray’, or ‘Rafe’. Here is my only rule. If you know you can’t hand in something on time, tell me 2 days before hand and I will give you an appropriate extension. If you abuse this rule, I will have to take marks off your papers and what not. That being said, I’ll tell you a little about myself. I was born in Richmond, I am 30, I am single and I live with my dog and I enjoy sports.”
Preston thought to himself that he knew that this would be an awesome class with a teacher like that. And he was right.
“Since this is the first class of the second semester, we’re probably not do anything so just tell me about yourself one by one.”
No one put up their hands. “I see we have a lot of shy people in this class. Very well” “You” he said while pointing at Preston. “What’s your name and what do you like”
Preston a little surprised said “ My name is Preston, my friends call me Pres and I like baseball”
“That’s awesome,” said Mr. Matthews. “Are you going to try out for the team this year?” he asked Preston “Yeah” he said. “Well good luck to you” Matthews said.
“How bout you?” while pointing at Randall. “What’s your name and what do you like?”
“Umm, my names Randall and like Preston, I like baseball” Randall said quietly “That’s great, are you going to try out for the team also?” Matthews asked “Uh yeah” Randall said in a low tone. “That’s great, good luck to you as well”
*RING**RING**RING*
“We will continue this tomorrow. Have a awesome day class” Matthews yelled out
“Man, he seems like a wicked teacher eh?” Randall said to Preston. “Yeah, seems like a good guy. Anyways, where do you want to go for lunch?” Preston asked Randall.
For the guys, it was their lunch period. They always went out for lunch because they were both too lazy to make their own and they wouldn’t dare eat the cafeteria food.
In the halls of the school, they spot Mel and they ask her if she wants to go out for lunch and she obliges. While getting into Preston’s car, they Mel suggests that they go out for Japanese food and both the guys agreed. The closest Sushi shop was always filled so they just decided to get it to go and just eat it at a nearby park.
After they finished their lunch, they headed back to the school. Back at school, Preston decided to head to his locker to pick up his stuff before class started. While at his locker, he found a picture of him and Teri. “What I’d do to get her back” he quipped to himself. He folded it and hid it in his wallet when Randall suddenly jumped up beside him.
“Hey buddy! Are you goin to show the new coach some kick ass skills for tryouts today?” he said while putting his arm around his buddies’ shoulder. “You know it man. Are you goin to show him you massive curveball??” he asked “Oh you know it dude!” he yelled
*RING**RING**RING*
“Crap” the two friends, said in unison. “I’ll meet you here 5th period?” Randall asked “Yeah man, then we’re off to the Cages” Preston replied “Alright, cool, later” Randall said while hitting him on the shoulder “Yeah, later” he said
Preston made his way to his next class, which was math. He always did okay in math never above 80 but never below 70. When he was at the door, he noticed through the window that there was a substitute teacher so he just decided to skip class and head for a near by coffee shop and just hang there for a bit. When he got there, he saw a few students but none that he really know personally so he just sat by himself on the couch in the corner. He pulled out the book ‘Fletch Won’ from his bag and was reading it quietly. That’s when Randall’s little sister Kelly walked in. Preston didn’t see her but Kelly saw him. She decided to take a seat beside.
“Hey Pres” she said to him “Hey Kelly” he said surprisingly
Kelly was a year younger than Randall and Preston. Preston always thought that Kelly was a cute looking girl. She was 5’5, blonde-brown hair with green eyes. Preston was goin to ask out Kelly but he ended up going out with Teri because he knew that his best friend’s sister was off limits. What Preston never knew was that Kelly always wished that Preston was her boyfriend.
“So why aren’t you in class right now Pres?” she asked him softly “Oh, I had a sub so I decided to bail and get some reading done” he replied “Oh, I’m sorry, am I bothering you right now?” Kelly asked him politely
Preston chuckled. “No, I just got here” he replied
“Well I better get going with my friends” she said while pointing towards a group of girls. “Alright, well it was nice seeing you Kelly” Preston said “Yeah, it was nice seeing you too Pres” Kelly replied
Just as Kelly was walking away, Preston thought it was time to get over Teri for good.
“Hey Kelly..” Preston said “Yeah Pres” she replied “Do you wanna go out for coffee sometime?” he said quietly “Sure, that’d be great” she said in a surprised tone “Gimme a call sometime” “I will” he said.
Kelly walked out of the coffee shop with her friends and she had a smile on her face. Preston went back to his book and he smiled as well. Just as he finished the next two chapters of his book, he decided he should get back to school. When he got back to the school, 4th period just ended. He met Randall at their locker.
“Hey Pres, how was math?” Randall asked “I skipped. There was a sub so I headed to the coffee shop to do some reading” Preston replied “How was science?” he asked “Boring as hell man. I’m just glad we’re heading for the Cages now!” he laughed “Yeah man, lets jet” Preston said
The Cages was a baseball complex the guys frequently went to. It was a place where you can practice batting, pitching, and fielding. The guys got into Preston’s car and headed to the Cages which was 10 minutes away from the school. When the guys got there, they took their gear out of the trunk. They went to the change rooms and changed into their baseball pants and shirts and put on their cleats. When they excited the change rooms, the guys went to the bullpen. Randall was a pitcher by trade. He had an awesome arm. His fastball had good velocity, his curveball had a curve and sink too it, and his knuckle ball was simply amazing. It had zero spin and it baffled the batter. He also had good stamina. He is able to go the full nine innings and up to 110-140 pitches a game. He is a great pitcher. Preston on the other hand was an all around player. Whatever position the coach wanted him to play, he would be able to play it with great skill. He is a great player.
Whenever Randall pitched, Preston would be his catcher. They knew each other well and Preston always gave the right signs. The two were known as a great pitcher/catcher duo because of that.
“My arm feels good today” Randall commented “Yeah, well you’re throwing really well man” Preston said. “Anyways, I’m gonna take off this gear so I’ll meet you at the batting cages in like 5 minutes?” “Yeah man, 5th cage alright?” Randall said “Yeah see you in 5” responded Preston
Preston ran to the change room to put away his catcher’s gear in his bag. He took a second to sit down and just think for a minute. He thought to himself, did I do the right thing asking out Kelly today? Should I tell Randall? He thought over all this but he decided to keep it quiet for now. Little did he know that he was making a little mistake.
Preston ran to the batting cages and he saw Randall hitting ball really well. “He Pres, I thought you ran off for a sec” he laughed “Do you think I’d ditch my best friend like that?” he said in a chuckle. “Man, I know you wouldn’t. You’re my best friend. I know you wouldn’t ditch me and you wouldn’t lie to me on purpose. I trust you man” Randall said. “It’s friendship is all about trust, without it, it’s nothing.” “Yeah, trust….” Preston said quietly.
In his mind, he was debating is he should tell Randall now or later. But he thought to himself, “I don’t wanna tell a protective brother who is wielding a baseball bat.” Randall is very protective of his sister. He once almost beat the living daylights out of a guy who was drunk and hitting on her during a League baseball game. Randall was up to bat and he heard his little sister scream. He stepped out of the batter’s box and was about to hit him with his bat until his team-mates held him back and pulled the drunk guy away. With this in mind, he decided to wait again. Preston went to bat a few times then they looked at their watches and it was 2:36 and they had to change and get back to school. School ended and 2:40 and they didn’t want to be late for tryouts. By the time they got back to school, it was 2:55. There was a road accident that caused traffic to be slow. They didn’t change out of their baseball gear and they ran towards the diamond where the other guys were already warming up.
Preston asked a team-mate “Where’s the coach?” and the team-mate pointed to where the infielders were. The two guys ran to the coach and said “Sorry we’re late coach….” As the man turned around, the discovered that the coach was Mr. Matthews.
“Boys, please don’t be late again. I really wouldn’t want to cut the two best players” he said in a polite yet stern manner. “Sorry sir” the two boys said “Now, I want you guys to do five laps around the field. When you’re done that, I want you, Randall to go over there where Mr. Kim is. He is your pitching coach. And I want you, Preston to come with me. Get going on those laps now boys”
The boys got started on those laps. When they were done, they headed for where the coach told them. While Preston was walking towards Mr. Matthews, he thought told himself he’d tell Randall after tryouts. When he got to Matthews, he told Preston to sit down. Preston sat down on the bench and Matthews sat beside him.
“Preston, I don’t want to make it sound like I’m favouring you and Randall but you two are on the team. There isn’t any need for you guys to tryout. I saw you guys’ play last year when I was the coach of Richmond High School. I mean your stats are amazing, as is Randall’s. I mean you batted .419 last year, had 25 stolen bases, 47 RBI, and 7 Home Runs to go with that. How about Randall? 12 games started, 11 wins, zero losses, 1.16 ERA, 1 no hitter, and 3 complete games. I mean you guys are really good and I honestly think good enough to get scholarships to U.S colleges. Keep working hard Preston and you’ll reach your dreams.” “Wow, thanks Mr. Matthews” Preston said “No problem. Anyways, I want you as a full time catcher this season. Is that alright with you Preston?” Matthews asked “It’s alright with me. I’ll play any position” Preston said proudly “Very good” Matthews said “Well get some catching in before tryouts are over alright?” “Yes sir” Preston replied
Matthews smiled and walked away.