she's alright {benny rodriguez}

~16~

You were all in Timmy and Tommy's tree house above the Beast's yard, waiting for Smalls. You were sitting on your sleeping bag and holding your pillow, talking to Benny and Yeah-Yeah.

There were footsteps outside, and Smalls' head peeked in the entrance. He climbed in, and said, "sorry I'm late. My mom made me put on my jacket and then she made me do the dishes." He sits across from Ham on a stool, next to you.

"Aw, your poor wittle mommy made you do the big bad dishes," Bertram teases and you chuckle.

"Leave him alone, Weeks." You lean back against the wall and watch Ham and Smalls' interaction.

"Hey, you want a s'more?" Ham asks, sitting in front of a candle and s'more supplies. Your stomach growls at the mention of food, and Benny gives you a funny look. You make a face back at him, laughing afterwards.

"S'more of what?"

"No no no, you want a s'more." Ham clarifies.

"I.. I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have s'more of nothing?"

Did he seriously not know what a s'more was?

Benny gets up and steps over your legs, walking over to the other guys.

"You're killin' me Smalls. These are s'more stuff, 'kay? Pay attention. First, you take the graham." He grabs a graham cracker and holds it up. You look at them, amused. "You stick the chocolate on the graham." He places two pieces of chocolate on the cracker. Benny climbs back over your legs and sets up his blanket next to you. "Then, you roast the mallow. When the mallow's flamin'," Ham blows on the roasted marshmallow and the smoke hits Smalls' face, "you stick it on the chocolate. Then-"

"Don't set the place on fire, Ham!"

"-you cover it with the other end."

"Hey Ham, make me one of those!"

"Yeah, me too!"

Ham ignores them. "Then, you scarf." He takes a large bite and hands it to Smalls. "Kinda messy, but good. Here, try some."

You all make s'mores and eat them while making small talk.

After a few minutes, Squints, from his perch up above you, looks around at everyone talking. "Okay, quiet, you guys. Quiet! Are you trying to wake it up?! It just went to bed!" Oh. The Beast. Right.

You all quiet down immediately, and pay attention to Squints. Except for Smalls.

"What just went to bed?" he asks out loud.

"Shhhh! The Beast!"

"Oh, yeah!"

"SHHH!"

"Sh, now quiet." Squints grabs the giant flashlight and holds it up to his face. "The legend of the Best goes back a looong time..."

And Squints tells the story. All the boys were sitting there, pale as ghosts as he talked. Even Benny was tense. You, on the other hand, weren't as scared, knowing he was exaggerating.

+++++

"... foooreverrr." Dramatic pause. "And so, the Beast sits there under that lean-to, dreaming of that time when he can break the chain and get out. To the time he can chase and kill again." Squints plopped the huge light next to him for the grand finish.

"See man? That's why you can't go over there. Nobody ever has, nobody ever will," Bertram warns.

"One kid did..." Ham reminisces. "But nobody ever seen him again." He forlornly eats his s'more.

"That ain't true!" Kenny protests.

"Yeah, it is! He got eaten..."

"Nuh uh," Smalls shakes it off. "No. None of that's true. You guys are just makin' this up to scare me."

"Oh yeah?" Squints jumps down from where he was sitting. "Stick your head out that window. And look down."

Everyone gathers at the opposite side, and Smalls walks to the window. Benny puts his arm in front of you protectively.

He watches for a bit, but there was a crash and he screams "AHHH!" as he runs away from the window. "He's down there!"

"You bet he is."

"Whatever goes over that fence..." Ham lets out a breath. "Stays there."

Yeah, because you guys are too scared to ask for the balls back.

"Becomes the property of the Beast. Forever," Squints warns. Smalls was truly scared now. You could barely see his face in the dark, but it was enough to tell that he wouldn't climb that fence anymore.

You all settled down in your sleeping bags, and small chatter was heart until everyone finally fell asleep. You just lay there and listened to the crickets and the boys' soft snores until sleep overtook you.

{mar. 19, 2021}