The Headmaster of the Wingham School for Boys, Dean Williamson, was a very strict man and only hired the finest teachers for us.

He favored Tennis and Rowing as the school's extracurricular activities, and those were the only sports allowed on the premises. Here, the coaches also dressed in preppy shorts and polo shirts, which made me laugh.

These games lacked the character of the thrill and excitement I was looking for; but tried them both despite my disapproval.

Tossing a tennis ball between tennis rackets was great for a while, but it soon lost my interest after I tried a session with a lousy opponent who couldn't even serve and hit the ball. Then, paddling a boat with an oar while another person who shouts "ROW!"repeatedly through a blow horn,  was not quite my style.

So, I settled on playing baseball with the boys every time we had a lunch break and on weekends. However, we had to play it in a discrete section on a side of the campus that was barely used, in order not to be detected.

Neil's brother Kyle was our look out, just in case Mr. Williamson saw us. Kyle never played with us, but would sit down and read books on the nearby benches. To pay him back though, we allowed the fifth grader to sit with us in the cafeteria as part of our cool crew.

Levi would steal some chalk from one of his classes, and drew large squares on the ground that represented the three bases we had to run across before a home run could be scored. In addition to this, since my dad kept sending me money that was supposed to be used for my allowance, I used it instead to buy a baseball bat and gloves for each of my new friends to use. Thus, we all tried to make it look like an actual baseball field, even though the area we played in was not as large as a ballpark. And after every game, we were careful to erase everything on the ground and carry our items with us, so there wouldn't be any evidence left to trace our tracks.

~~

During our practices, I would hit the ball so hard that it would even go over the fence that separated our campus from the residential areas, and that irritated some of the school's neighbors.

Residents soon complained to Dean Williamson about the noise; but let's just say that was our first warning, since he never knew who was responsible for hitting the baseballs in the first place.

However, since the boys and I did not want to give ourselves away, he threatened every student in the school to sit in detention if he got another complaint. Thus, we were careful not to hit another baseball as far as the fence.

~~~

"Ouch, like I'm shaking in my pants!" Xavier satirically announced as we got out of the school building.

"Dean Williamson, can't touch us, we got game! Isn't that right boys?

"Yup," Max exclaimed as he gave a high five to Xavier.

"Count me in too," Levi and Neil both announced simultaneously.

All eyes were now suddenly on me. I had to answer sooner or later, but knew Mr. Williamson would eventually know who we were, but couldn't back out now, could I? I mean if I did, they'd probably call me a wimp or something like a 'chicken.'

Sigh! What to do!

But I did the only thing that was on my mind that day.

I finally gave in and said, "I'm all in too, guys!" But I don't think that was what I wanted to say.

~~

Marlene, my code name is Titanium. It was my nickname in our baseball group, since we had to keep our true identities a secret. Do you remember when we were beaten up or when you performed CPR on me? Well, in actuality I believe no one can really break me apart. If they did destroy me, they must be strong enough to battle 'Owen the Great'. (I'm laughing now at my own comment).

You see, one day our ring leader had this great idea. It all started with his suggestion of our group name.

"Let's make a name for ourselves, so we'll be kind of like a special association in this school," Xavier announced.

"Really Xavier? You think that's what we need to do?"

"Levi, have some faith in me, okay? I think we need to keep a low profile because right now cousin, we are unknown and play baseball just for fun. But if we have a special name for our group and get caught, Dean Williamson won't know who we really are. Besides I heard the nearby boarding school for girls are just waiting to meet hunks like us!" Xavier winked after his reply, which made me giggle.

"Sigh! Girls, are always on your mind Xavier! Fine! Give it your best shot then. What do you want us to be called?" replied his cousin.

But before anyone could retaliate, Neil interrupted them.

"Hey, can I cut in before you guys continue with your argument? Max has something to say," remarked Neil.

"Okay, go ahead Max you have the floor," Xavier stated.

"Well, would you like it if we all gave ourselves code names we'd only know about? It would make it even harder for Mr. Williamson to learn our true identities. So what do you say?"

All of us nodded yes to his suggestion, and it wasn't a surprise that was the first thing we voted upon.

I was chosen to be the first to assign my name, and since my bat was made out of aluminum, that's what I selected.

However, since it was not a catchy name, Max suggested the metal of titanium instead. I liked it and soon agreed to that nickname.

To make a long story short, we all agreed to name ourselves the 'Outfielders' of Wingham School for Boys.

The code names we each took were taken from the periodic table, except for Levi, Neil and Xavier's, since they refused to be named from a part of science. We also included Kyle as our "Watchdog" since we did not want him to feel left out.

So, Levi was now known as Neo, Max was Metallic, Neil was Nitro, Xavier was Epic and I was known as Titanium.   A secret handshake was also developed that consisted of high-fives. Thus, that sparked one of my 'smooth' sides in middle school.

It was an awesome experience while it lasted, until one of us accidentally hit a window of a nearby apartment. The tenant shouted at us, but we ran so fast to avoid any conflict, and I didn't think he exactly saw the culprits.

Thankfully, we were never caught, but the school was soon sued for the damage.

~~

Hello fellow readers,

The "Outfielders" and the code names came from my imagination, but am sure some guys like to make a name for their group that's sophisticated and cool.

The name "Titanium" actually came to mind due to the song by David Guetta and Sia. Dedication goes to fellow Wattpad author pegacornhalo. Thanks for following me. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Above is the song included in the movie "The Hunger games".

Soon, Owen will learn to be a ladies man in the next chapters and even serenade one in the streets, which will keep Marlene deeply interested. Please remember, I am writing this as a journal entry she is reading. So please stay tuned!

Please don't forget to comment and vote!