"Hey Coach T… I kind of messed up."
Tex was walking around in circles with his cell phone clutched to his ear, his voice sounding rather stressed. He had been agonizing over making this call for quite a while, but eventually decided to bite the bullet.
"I saw your son in Dallas and spoke to him without thinking. D—Don't worry though! As soon as I realized, I quickly ran away." Tex admitted, his face somber.
"Anyway… Call me back when you get this message."
With that, Tex hung up, letting out a deep sigh. "Hopefully he takes it okay…" He muttered, placing the phone back in his pocket.
He turned towards the school and walked back. He wouldn't hear the end of it if he failed to do his job properly on top of all this mess. Thankfully, no one was around to see the exchange between the two, so as long he was careful, nothing would happen.
By the time he arrived at the baseball field, the first game of the day was already underway. It was Team 1 vs Team 2 with the latter taking the field.
"Tex, long time no see." A deep voice called out, surprising him.
Tex turned to see a well-groomed and fit figure with slicked back salt and pepper hair. "Mr. Fisher!? What a surprise to see you here." He said, holding out his hand for a handshake.
The firm grip of the man showed just what kind of strength he hid.
"Mmm, I asked to attend today to see a certain prospect." He replied, wearing a knowing grin. It was clear whom he was speaking about without mentioning names.
Tex nodded, "I bet Perfect Game have been inundated with requests for Ken's results already."
Rob let out a small chuckle, "Alice has been complaining about it non-stop. She said that if he didn't attend this showcase, she would have handed in her resignation."
"Oh? Your wife works for Perfect Game?" Tex asked in surprise.
Rob nodded, "I told her she doesn't need to work, but you know how women can be… Ahem. Now that the kids are grown, she can't stand staying idle at the house."
"I see. This is why I chose the single life after all." Tex said, puffing his chest out slightly.
Rob tried to keep a straight face, but struggled immensely. "You sure that you chose it?" He asked.
"Hahaha! You're right." Tex guffawed, slapping the guy on his back a few times.
It was clear that the two held some rapport, which seemed rather unlikely given their different positions. While Tex was a mid-level scout for the University of Texas, Rob was the chairman of the WWBA.
"Whatever happened to Colleen? You guys were really close in College." Rob asked after the laughter died down.
However Tex shrugged, "She moved on, had 3 kids with another guy. You should see her now though… Really let herself go."
Rob raised an eyebrow, his eyes looking his friend up and down. "Yeah, I heard that happens when you get older."
This time, Tex scoffed. "Says you, I think you're probably more fit now than you were back on the team."
THWACKK!
The two were interrupted by a mighty sound which echoed around the field. Without missing a beat, both Tex and Rob turned their heads, locating the ball flying into right field.
Their eyes moved to the player who had hit the ball, only for a wry smile to appear on their faces. The red shirt had the number 1 on it, displaying the last name Takagi.
"I should have known…" Tex stated in exasperation.
Rob sighed, "Don't get me started. They had to take him off the mound in the 4th inning, otherwise no one on team 2 would have had a chance to hit."
"Really? How did he take it?"
"Hah. How do you think? The guy has been sulking in the outfield ever since." Rob replied half-jokingly.
Tex nodded, "Well, what do you expect? The guy is a true Ace. Taking him off the mound is like taking away his pride." He said matter-of-factly.
"Did they at least get enough information in those 4 innings?"
"I'd say so, otherwise my wife has got some tough times ahead of her." Rob sighed, hoping it was enough.
As they watched Ken jog around the bases, the two shared a few moments of silence.
"Wait, didn't you mention you worked with Ken's father?" Rob asked, as if suddenly remembering some important information.
"Y—Yeah…" Hearing Ken's dad being brought up in conversation made him remember the voice mail that he'd just left earlier.
"So I guess that means he'll probably choose University of Texas in the end." Rob stated, his expression unreadable.
"Hah, yeah right. Coach T already said that he won't get involved with Ken's decision. He said that whatever decision his son makes is entirely his own, and that he'd resign if anyone tried to force him to intervene." Tex said, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"Really? Wow, Coach T has a lot of integrity." Rob replied, his tone showing respect.
"Mmm, I think it's a Japanese thing."
The two chatted for a while longer while watching the game. Since it was a practice match, the game went the full 9 innings, despite the run variance.
It ended with a score of 12 - 2 in favor of Team 1, showing the difference in the players abilities. Generally, the organizers would try and make the teams somewhat even, but sometimes that was impossible.
Once finishing the game, Ken grabbed his things and met up with Steve who was in the audience. The guy seemed to be a little nervous, despite it just being a practice game.
"Why are you stressing? This match is nothing compared to the WWBA finals we had just a couple of weeks ago." Ken said, dropping his gear down.
"Y—Yeah you're right… But I haven't got you on my team either." Steve replied, raising his gaze.
"Stop complaining. Just lead like you usually do and there shouldn't be an issue."