Episode Five: Pitch Perfect Pressure
The fourth and final child at the center of our story carries his burdens with a quiet dignity and determination. Garren Anderson has always been the bright light in the world that I knew he would be ever since his spark came before me. He is kind. He is talented. He is fiercely loyal.
Percival:A true team player. A skilled athlete who is popular and well liked in school, Garren appears to have it all. But there is a deep grief just beneath the surface that he tries to control, to stop from overwhelming him at every turn. For Garren has not yet learned that there are some wounds that cannot be healed by being the best athlete. Some hurts are not cured by winning.
Percival:Glory does not fill the hole created by loss. But first things first, he must make it through breakfast.
Percival:Episode five, Pitch Perfect Pressure.
Garren:Mornings are for men who get things done, Gare, my dad likes to tell me daily. Ah, yes, another morning.
Garren:I mean, it's not like I don't like mornings or whatever. I guess I just don't get why they're this all important thing that separates the winners and the losers. Me, I like nighttime way better. It's quieter. There are no expectations, nowhere to be, no one to be, just peace and quiet, and every now and then, some fun time with friends at a sleepover maybe.
Garren:Much, much better than mornings.
Elliot:Gare, time to wake up, Son.
Garren:Dad yelled from downstairs, probably sitting on the couch reading one of his John Wooden books.
Elliot:Mornings are for men who get things done, Gare.
Garren:Told you. I'm up Dad.
Garren:I yell back.
Elliot:Attaboy, Gare. Let's attack the day now.
Garren:Time to attack the day again. Like the day is some mythical beast I'm supposed to slay with a giant axe or whatever. Can we just once let the day, like, exist by itself? Do we always have to attack it? I don't understand why it deserves to always be picked on.
Garren:I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I looked at myself in the mirror. Me? I like the person I am. Grown ups think I'm a good kid, whatever that means.
Garren:Other kids think I'm pretty cool, whatever that means. And my coaches think that I'm a talented ball player, which I am. That I do understand. I always have been. Baseball has always been the one thing where I felt I can be myself, you know?
Garren:I never feel the need to pretend to be someone I'm not or adjust what I say or what I do or how I feel. When I'm standing on the pitcher's mound, I'm in control. Me. Not the batter, not the rest of the team, not the umps, not even my coach, even though he is awesome. Most definitely not my dad.
Garren:Me. Don't get me wrong. I love my dad. I love him a lot. It's just been difficult for him since Mom left.
Garren:No. Hang on. I promised Dr. Abrams I would stop talking about it like that. Let's try again.
Garren:It's been difficult for him since mom died. Saying it still feels wrong. It still feels like I'm betraying her somehow. But Doc promised me that it's for the best if I don't hide from the truth. So this is me being truthful, I guess.
Garren:It's been almost a year now, already, since the accident. And it's like now he needs to be both a mom and a dad, you know? But all the Mom energy left Dad when she did. Now all he has is Mega-Dad energy. I know he means well, really I do, it's just...
Garren:It's a lot. There was really no avoiding any longer. I couldn't sit up in my room all day. Eventually, I had to head downstairs and face the music. Baseball season was over, and you know what?
Garren:My team, the Rockets, had an awesome season. First place in our division, undefeated. We were untouchable. It was great. I had fun and Dad, well, Dad was encouraged by our growth.
Garren:But now that the Community League season ended, that meant PONY Bronco Travel Ball. If you think my dad takes Little League way too seriously, that's nothing compared to PONY. This is where we put the work in, Gare. First step to the big leagues. Again, every day.
Garren:Okay, enough stalling. I had to get it out of the way. I headed downstairs for breakfast. Dad saw me coming and quickly bookmarked the section of the book he'd already read 38 times.
Elliot:Alright, Gare.
Elliot:I've got breakfast ready for you just the way you like it. Pancakes for carbs and then protein, protein, protein. We're gonna knock the socks off those PONY scouts. I kept telling Coach during the Little League season that if they don't draft you as the first pitcher off the board on Thursday, they're blind.
Garren:Yeah, Dad.
Garren:I'm excited. To be fair, I was, just not in the way he wanted me to be. But there are a lot of other amazing pitchers in the area. I'm just happy to be on the team, you know?
Elliot:Are you talking about that Collins boy?
Elliot:He doesn't know a fastball from a knuckleball. He's a knucklehead if you ask me. You've got nothing to worry about there. Trust me.
Garren:I don't know.
Garren:My shoulders drooped hard. Trevor is really good, Dad, and he's my friend. It's okay that there are other good pitchers in the county. That's kind of the whole point of a pitching staff. Dad laughed as if he had heard a joke that was so bad it was actually hilarious.
Elliot:Of course, Gare, of course. You know I'm just teasing.
Garren:He was definitely not teasing.
Elliot:I just want what's best for you, Gare. It's what your Mom would want too, you know?
Elliot:We're doing this for her as much as we're doing it for you, right?
Garren:Weird. For some reason, I'd thought I was doing it for me. Crazy, I know. Yeah, Dad, for Mom, of course, but don't you think...
Elliot:Good.
Elliot:Good, Gare. I know she's proud of you.
Garren:For just a moment, there was the slightest crack in his Mega Dad energy. One tiny little sniffle, then snap, straight back to Mega Dad.
Elliot:We're gonna put the whole PONY League on notice this season.
Garren:He really had no idea how to be a dad without Mom there to balance him out. To be totally honest, I didn't really know how to be his son either. So, time to go put PONY on notice, I guess. I let out a sigh straight out of a sitcom where someone was trying way too hard to get everyone's attention.
Elliot:Oh, don't stress over it, Gare.
Elliot:You are gonna be dynamite out there. This is what we've been working for. You've put in five times more work into your game than any of those other kids. You know that.
Garren:He clapped his hands, startling me into dropping my fork.
Elliot:You've got it, Gare. You hear me? Trevor Collins and his terrible excuse for a slider? He does not have it. You understand me, Gare?
Garren:Yeah, Dad. I... I get it. I get it. Understood. At this point, I was so desperate to escape this conversation, something unthinkable happened.
Garren:I found myself actually looking forward to day one of a whole new year of boring science lectures, reading assignments, and math homework. Ah, peace, quiet, something about typhoons. It sounded glorious. I looked over at the clock in the living room. Perfect.
Garren:I had just enough time before the bus arrived where I could realistically pretend I needed to rush. Alright. I gotta catch the bus. But, hey, how about we field some grounders when I get home? I said, hoping he would be impressed by my work ethic.
Elliot:There's my boy, atta way. But if you think your old man is gonna take it easy on you, you got another thing coming. PONY on Thursday, remember? The clock is ticking. We can't leave anything to chance.
Garren:Heaven forbid.
Elliot:Remember what Coach Wooden says, success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. We're gonna make the best out of you yet, Gare.
Garren:I raised my fists and pumped them with as much excitement as a kid going to the dentist instead of a theme park. Yay.
Garren:This was it, my golden opportunity. I shoved the last bit of soggy pancake into my mouth, grabbed my backpack, and walked to the door. Alright, seventh grade. Let's learn about some typhoons. Hey, maybe we can get scouted for the big leagues while we're at it.
Garren:Coach Wooden would be so proud.
Percival:Garren steels himself for another year of school, baseball, and managing the expectations placed upon his young shoulders. What Garren does not yet know is that three other children are making their way to school this very morning, unsure and unaware, like he, of the life changing events about to unfold. A girl with glitter and nuts in her hair, a boy in mismatched socks, a girl with a clipboard and 27 things left to do. Little do they know that the four of them are about to change everything.
Percival:Together, they are about to author a story like none ever before told. A story that I have titled The Epic Bedhead Saga. And it all begins now, on the first day of seventh grade.
Announcer:Thank you for listening. If you'd like to support the show and help bring the story to life, please consider joining us on Patreon at patreon.com/epicbedheadsaga.
Announcer:Patrons receive episodes one week early and exclusive behind the scenes content. You can also find us at epicbedheadsaga.com and on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. And if you're enjoying the show, please follow us on your podcast app of choice. It helps more than you know. The Epic Bedhead Saga is written, produced, and directed by Tyler Michael Jonsson.
Announcer:Episode Five features Tyler Michael Jonsson as Percival, Garren Anderson, and Garren's Dad. This episode was made possible with the support of our Dreamtender tier patrons, Nancy and Grant Jonsson. We'll see you next time. Until then, keep dreaming.
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