Chapter 381 Family Tree

The injury to the A's Maberry was a hot topic before Saturday's game. Our whole team was talking about it through warmups until Zeke shut it down with a simple glare. The talks picked up again as we sat in our dugout and prepared to officially take the field. Coach had decided on Garret being the starter today, shifting Mahki back to left field, and putting Tanner in right.

Garret was given a limit for pitch count, and really pushed it to the max. He covered six innings of no runs, and only two hits. If that wasn't amazing enough, he struck out ten batters within the six innings.

James closed it up in the seventh but not until he gave up a two-run homerun. Our team didn't mind it though. We were already winning 9-0. We just couldn't get that tenth run to end it.

Everyone on the team got a hit so it was a great day. Lots of happy faces. Noah had two hits out of four appearances, and scored one run. I went 2-3, with a walk, and scored the three times I reached. Zeke overshadowed us though; going 4-4, with a homerun, five RBI's and two runs scored.

The rest of the day was spent lazing at home, until Mr. and Mrs. Atkins treated us to a dinner and movie at the mall. It brought back a lot of memories...from when I was first placed with the Atkins. I didn't speak at all. Now, I was better. Not completely cured or fixed, but still, better than nothing.

Sunday, I spent the day with the boys at The Arcade. Only Zeke, Noah, and I, went to the cages while we were there. Zeke spent more time out there, while Noah and I broke up our time accordingly. We played some video games with the twins, practiced in the cages, and then challenged one another in mini golf. By the time we got home, I was wiped.

"Have you two made any progress on your family tree projects?" Mrs. Atkins asked when she got home from showing an open house. Her and her husband were gone all day, working. They were so busy that they came home with takeout instead of actually cooking.

Not that it's a bad thing. Just different.

"We'll do it after dinner." Noah replied while he set the table.

Mr. Atkins laid out the food, then looked up at his wife. "Let's eat first. Then you can help them with their project."

Mrs. Atkins looked like she wanted to say something, but held back after seeing us dig in.

After eating dinner and making small talk, Mrs. Atkins asked for me and Noah to do our project at the kitchen table. We gathered our sheets and Noah grabbed an old one he had done in middle school. We both sat down and began.

Noah just had to copy down the names from his previous project. I finished in two seconds after writing two names...mine and my mom's.

Noah frowned when he saw that I stopped so soon. He looked up and saw my mostly blank sheet. "Don't worry, I'm sure that they can't dock you for not knowing. It's the hand you were dealt."

Mrs. Atkins walked in just in time to hear Noah's words of comfort. She was holding a piece of paper, that was longer than normal, in her hands. She looked nervous, but as soon as we made eye contact, she regained her composure. "Jake. I did some research for you." She showed me the longer paper in her hands.

It was a family tree..? An odd looking tree. It was like two trees put together at the trunk.

"It's called a mirror family tree." Mrs. Atkins explained. Noah and I were both looking at it. "I was thinking you can put your birth family on one tree and then us on the other." She smiled, yet it felt sad. I felt sad. "We consider you as family, so it's okay for you to consider us as your family."

It became hard to swallow. Mrs. Atkins was a real mom. A true mom that really showed what kindness is. She didn't just disregard my only birth parent, but included her. Two trees for two families. One before, and one after.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I took the longer sheet of paper. I placed it on the table and began. I wrote my name, then my mother's. Then I completely flipped it and started on the other tree, writing my name first.

"Does that mean I can put Jake in my tree too?" Noah bounced around in his seat. "I mean, it would look weird if he turned his in with me on it, and then I didn't do the same."

I froze.

"Of course, silly." Mrs. Atkins said lightly. "Make sure to use your nice handwriting. I don't want your teacher to think that you still write like a first grader." She went back to stern-mom-mode. "After you write it in pencil, and make sure there are no errors, then go over it in pen."

"Yea, sure." Noah said without looking up. He just started his own tree, using the old one as a reference. She walked away, leaving us to our work. Noah noticed that I still wasn't writing and looked up. "What's up? Are you unhappy with the extra work?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Not at all. I'm—touched. Your mom is...really different than mine."

He tapped my sheet. "She's your mom too." Then he leaned over and pointed at the blank lines for siblings. "Don't forget to arrange us by age. Oh and for grandparents, we write their names and then in parenthesis, write deceased."

"Oh, okay." I started to write, using Noah's old work as a base. When I got to Mr. Atkins parents, I felt slight anger on his behalf as I wrote down his dad's name. He was mean and hurtful, yet still got to be in the tree? Mr. Atkins is too kind.

I paused after that last thought, then glanced at the upside down tree. I...wrote down my mom's name. I sighed to myself. I guess we're the same. Just fools that still have a longing for the family that raised us. That gave life to us.

I looked at the empty dad line. The empty siblings line. It..couldn't hurt...to look for them. I guess. I don't have to tell anyone. I frowned. But where do I start? If Mr. Duncan can't find my father, then how can I? I sighed and shook my head. No time to think about it now. I have to finish this little project, then prepare for school. Tomorrow we would also have a game against a non-league opponent.