"Soooo, Leif, right?" Jeremiah asked from Leif's left, their hands shoved into their pockets in a manner that was obviously trying to seem casual.
"How come your mom signed you up to play baseball here?" Astoria asked from his right, leaning over his shoulder with her head cocked to the side and braids dangling down.
These guys didn't know sign language, right? Maybe they were better at charades.
Leif pointed to himself, then gestured like he was rocking a baby. Then he moved his finger in a circle next to his ear.
"Oh, you're driving your mom crazy?" Asteria asked. Leif nodded excitedly, more than a little surprised. How the hell did she actually get that from his shitty charades? "Gee, I should probably learn sign language if we're going to be friends, huh?" She added. Friends? Leif felt his heart skip a beat.
"Probably. You're just here cause your mom wanted you out of the house, then? Heh. Sounds just like my uncle. Anyways, that certainly explains things. No one signs up for our team on purpose," Jeremiah explained, crossing their arms.
"Not if they want to win. Or even make it to the second round of the championships," Asteria added, making a face. Leif cocked his head to the side, curiously.
"Come on, let's talk about this further away from the coaches. Coach Nayden thinks if no one mentions it, our problems will just magically go away." Jeremiah nodded for Leif and Asteria to follow them and they moved to stand under a tree a fair distance away from the coaches.
"So, as I'm sure you've noticed already, our team is pretty short on players. Honestly, you'd think you were some angel sent down to bless our team with how excited Coach Nayden got about us getting a new member. We barely even qualify for games like this. You could blame our poor performance on that, but we can also barely afford jerseys and half of us can barely tolerate the others," Jeremiah explained. Leif nodded along. He doubted his mom would really have cared if the team were underfunded or did well at games or not. So long as it kept him out of the house, she would be happy.
Asteria frowned.
"I don't get why Nari's mom signed her up here and not at some rich kid baseball team for rich kids." She commented.
"Coach Eugenia's her godmother," Jeremiah answered with an eye roll. "Plus, she's my cousin, and my uncle signed me up here before Nari even showed an interest in sports. So of course her mom wanted us to play together."
"Still..." Asteria complained. "I mean it's not like it's just her. I don't think Toby even knows how to play baseball, and Tiberius is just so cocky. He's always acting like such a—"
"Cmon, lay off him. I know he's got a bit of an ego, but he's a good guy." Jeremiah argued. "And you have to admit he's a good pitcher."
"'A bit' of an ego..." Asteria rolled her eyes and leaned an arm on Leif's shoulder while she leaned in to explain, "Jerry's just biased. They've been best friends since grade school. And Jerry's got a big, giant crus—"
"Hey! That's enough out of you," Jeremiah moved to karate chop her, but she stepped behind Leif, grabbing his shoulders like a shield. Jeremiah's jab missed Asteria and swiped at Leif instead who let out a little yelp of surprise.
"Heehee! Whoops!" Asteria giggled, dodging further attacks from Jeremiah.
"Y'know you're not really one to talk when you've been staring at Mr. New Guy all practice," Jeremiah teased. Asteria jumped out from behind Leif and both hands over Jeremiah's mouth, giving them a look.
"Shhhhhhh! Ehehe... well, would you look at the time! I'd better head home!!" Asteria exclaimed, grabbing up her bag. "I'll see you guys at the next practice, yeah?" She glanced between them, her gaze lingering on Leif for a second longer.
Leif nodded and gave her a thumbs up.
"Yeah yeah, I'm sure you will," Jeremiah answered.
"Oh! Wait! I almost forgot. Give me your phone," Asteria turned to Leif and held a hand out. Confused, he fumbled through his cargo short pockets for a moment before pulling out his phone, the shark keychain (that matched the manta ray-themed phone case) hanging from it jingling slightly as he handed it over. Asteria took a moment to look at the keychain and exclaim about how cute she thought it was before typing something on his phone and handing it back. "There. Now you have my phone number. Oh! We should all meet up sometime tomorrow to discuss the plans for the barbeque this Friday. Jerry, you're in charge of figuring out where we should meet."
Jeremiah sighed. "Of course I am..."
"Right then," she said, turning away. "I'll be sure to practice my sign language before then!" She added, calling back over her shoulder.
"Aaand there she goes, running away again... Well, I should probably start walking home soon, too. See you tomorrow?" Jeremiah explained. Leif nodded and they also headed off across the field.
A few minutes later, Leif's mom showed up and he went home.
YOU ARE READING
Boy Couch: Homerun
HumorLeif's mom is sick and tired of dealing with his shenanigans and decides that sports may be just the key to wearing him out. However, his mother's lack of research lands him in a baseball team that needs a little... tlc. Can the team work together t...
