***
The next day, Michael made the trip to Condron Ballpark from the hotel which only took around 10 minutes on the bus. When he arrived, there was already quite a few people lining up to get into the stadium.
Such a thing couldn't change his mood, no, he had been waiting for this moment for far too long. Just knowing that he would be close to Ken was enough for the smile to creep back onto his face.
"Hey, watch it."
"Ah sorry about that." Michael replied. He had knocked into someone beside him by accident while daydreaming.
The man had dark skin and was athletic with thick eyebrows. Despite looking imposing, he had a kind face.
"Don't worry about it. Are you here by yourself?" He asked offhandedly.
"Yeah, flew all the way from California to be here." Michael replied with a smile.
"Oh? That's quite a way. Are you a fan of the Crocs?"
Michael shook his head vehemently. "I only came here to see one player…"
"Oh good… I came to watch UF get smashed." He replied, wearing a grimace.
"You don't like UF? Are you local?"
"I'm originally from Texas, but I play for Florida State right now. The crocs are kind of our rivals I guess." He replied letting out a small chuckle.
Michael's eyes lit up, "You're a college player? That's so cool! I'll be playing next year at California State."
The man turned his gaze and assessed Michael briefly, letting out a small nod of appreciation, "Mmm, you have a solid foundation." He replied, putting a hand out, "The name's Latrell White, I play in the outfield."
"Oh." Michael quickly wiped away the sweat from his palm and took the hand, "Michael Thompson, I play shortstop."
"Nice to meet you Michael." Latrell said with a smile, "You said you were here to see one player… Is it Leo Cameron?"
Michael shook his head, "I'm actually here to see Ken Takagi."
Latrell's eyes lit up and he let out a hearty laugh, placing his hand upon Michael's shoulder, "You've got good taste my friend. Ken is an awesome player, we played together back in High School. He's a tough bastard who will keep training until he makes you either cry or vomit."
Though his words sounded bleak, they were full of cheer.
"Eh? You played with Ken!?" Michael's eyes shined. He had not expected to bump into a former teammate of Ken's while lining up to get into the stadium.
"Hehe, you better believe it. We won the WWBA National Tournament and the State Championship the following year. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have been scouted so heavily." Latrell replied in good spirit.
"Wow, that's so awesome." Michael said with shining eyes. "I first watched him play in the U18 World Cup… he told me to dream big and never give up. He's the reason why I didn't quit baseball."
His tone turned solemn.
"He's a good guy…" Latrell replied. "Speaking of U18 World Cup, this will be the first time Ken and Leo will match up since then. I wonder if the end result will be the same."
"I hope so." Michael replied. He could still remember Leo facing Ken in the batters box. It seemed that the guy would never get struck out. Every pitch he would foul off, slowly and steadily hunting down the ball to end the game.
If it wasn't for the heroics of the 3rd baseman diving into the stands to catch a foul ball, they end result might have been different.
"Hey, I'm also here by myself if you wanted to sit together. Since we both know Ken we can cheer for him together." Latrell suggested.
Michael nodded like a pecking chicken, "That would be great thank you."
The two chatted for a while before the line finally started moving and people were let into the stadium. It was a fine facility and could usually seat up to 7,000 people. But since this was the Super Regionals, an addition 3,000 seats were sourced.
Latrell and Michael made their way into the additional seating located near the right outfield. Michael's reasoning was to be as close to Ken as possible, even though it was not guaranteed that he would be playing in the outfield this game.
The sun was high above their heads, causing a stinging sensation on his neck and shoulders, but little could detract from his excitement.
It wasn't long before the players came out to warm up on the field. Unluckily for Michael and Latrell, the UF team was on this side of the field, going through their drills.
Michael recognized Leo among the players. Even in the orange uniform, the guy looked like a model. His cool and calm expression never faltering as he went through the warm up drills.
"There he is." Latrell got Michael's attention, pointing him to the opposite side of the field. Ken was stretching, his tall frame towering over most of his teammates.
Michael felt his heart thump in response, wanting nothing more than to call out to the person he had traveled all this way to see. But he knew that it would be too far for him to hear, especially with the chattering of the crowd.
So he settled on watching from a distance. There would be plenty of time to try and get his attention since it was a three game series.
Just as he thought this, Ken turned in their direction, causing his heart to soar. He waved emphatically, as did Latrell beside him.
Instead of waving back, Ken turned away and spoke to one of his teammates, filling Michael with some disappointment.
"Maybe he didn't recognize us." He said, turning to Latrell.
But Latrell was grinning, "Then why is he coming over here?"
"Huh?" Michael turned and saw Ken jogging over, wearing a carefree smile upon his face. Now his heart was thumping wildly in his chest as thoughts bounced around in his mind.
'Will he remember me?' Michael asked in his heart.