"Travel team?" This was the first time that Ken had heard about such a thing.
"Think of it as an Amateur baseball club. We mostly play on weekends in either tournaments or scrimmages."
Ken's eyes widened. At first he had been bummed that the school season was over, but hearing of this wonderful thing called travel teams, he regained his enthusiasm.
"So how do I join the team?" Ken asked eagerly.
"Hehe. Well you'd just need to tryout, as long as you're good enough they'll put you in the squad." Steve said with a grin, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Ken disregarded the guys expression, focused on the matter at hand.
"Okay sounds easy enough. Can we go after school?"
"You want to go today? Damn, someones eager…" Though he said this, Steve didn't seem as surprised as he sounded, almost like he was expecting this kind of reaction.
"Well, there's a few things you need to know before you look at joining a travel team."
Steve then proceeded to outline the cons, ranging from having no free time on weekends, to the sometimes costly travels associated with playing all over Texas. There was also the fact that players weren't guaranteed playing time, unless they were really good.
Ken basically disregarded this fact. Even if his father wasn't on a lucrative salary at Texas University, he still had plenty of money leftover from his Grandpa.
"And the benefits?" Ken asked lazily.
"Hehe. Well if you want exposure to College scouts and to face the best competition in the state, a travel team is the right place to be."
This time, Steve really got Ken's attention.
'College scouts?' He thought, his eyes narrowing. There was no question, he needed to join a travel team, no matter what.
"Konichiwa."
Ken almost flinched at the horrible Japanese pronunciation from the voice behind him. He turned around, only to see a few of the nerdy guys he'd faced in volleyball earlier that day.
The guy at the front bowed slightly, which looked extremely awkward.
"Umm… Anime wa sukidesu ka?"
'Do I like Anime?' Ken's face was a direct reflection of his confusion. Who would come up to someone in the middle of a conversation and say this? And in such broken Japanese too.
Steve groaned lightly, feeling the awkwardness encompass him.
Since he was Japanese, Ken didn't like being rude, so he answered politely enough in Japanese.
"Sure I guess. My favorite Anime is Major, but I also like Hajime no Ippo. If I'm honest though, I prefer reading Manga over Anime."
The guy in front was stupified for a moment, as if he was doing his best to translate the words he heard into English. Therefore, almost an entire minute passed as he continued to think, causing the awkwardness to intensify.
"Um… High School DxD ga daisuki desu." He responded after a while, a smile on his face.
Ken's face froze. He of course was aware of what High School DxD was, but the fact that this guy would openly admit to such a thing was what made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
In his mind, it was basically just a glorified Hentai.
"Ahem… If you'll excuse me, I was just finishing up." Ken said, quickly packing up his lunch and leaving the cafeteria. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the innocent smile on the kids face.
'Pervert…'
The rest of the day went rather peacefully for Ken, although a little boring. Steve was in 2 of his last 3 classes which was good, but the problem was, he had learned all the subjects and more.
Since he was basically repeating the final few months of his Junior year, Ken knew nearly everything that the teachers were teaching. In addition, it felt like the curriculum here was a little behind what he was used to in Japan.
Still, Ken vowed not to slack off. GPA scores were also a large factor in dictating what kind of college he could get into, even when sports scholarships were involved.
As the final bell rang, Ken stretched, feeling his muscles sing out in satisfaction.
"How far is the club?" Ken asked Steve as they walked to their lockers.
"It's about 25 minutes on the bus."
"Bus?" Ken was a little worried since he'd brought his bike to school.
"Don't worry, there's a bus that comes back to the school. My mom usually picks me up from here at around 6 or 7pm." Steve assured Ken after seeing his anxious expression.
"Ah that's good."
The two walked out of the school and waited for the bus which promptly left after around 10 minutes. Ken was thankful that he had Steve as a guide, since he was going into unmarked territory.
He quickly sent his mother a message, letting her know what he was up to. It was now a habit of his, since he had gotten lost more than once and needed her to pick him up.
After sending the message, Ken sat back in his seat, his eyes scanning the bus. It was rather full, which wasn't surprising since so many kids attended the school.
He saw a pair of eyes staring in their direction from up the front of the bus. The moment he locked gazes with the girl, she quickly turned back around.
Ken felt like she was familiar, but he'd met many new faces today so it took some time to put a name to the face.
'Is that the Stephanie girl?' He thought, thinking back to the gym situation.
He turned to Steve who seemed to be looking at her direction and instantly felt there was something going on.
"Alright spill. What's up with you and that Stephanie girl." Ken said, a small grin forming on his face.
Steve's eyes widened in surprise a little, but he smiled wryly soon after.
"Ah it's nothing. We grew up together and used to be real tight, but ever since we got to High School she's been weird with me." He admitted, feeling a little exasperated.
"Oho? Is that so?" Ken said, nudging the guy with his elbow. He felt like he knew where this story was going, but seeing the clueless expression on his new friends face just made everything a lot more interesting.
Just then, Ken had a realization. 'Damn it, have I become like my mother?'
Remembering his mom who loved to play matchmaker, he suddenly had a bout of self-reflection.