head over heels | benny rodriguez, the sandlot

| chapter thirty four |

August 1st, 1982.

It's officially been 55 days here. 7 weeks and 6 days, 1320 hours, 79,200 minutes, or 4,752,000 seconds, if you wanna get scientific with it.

It's also officially my last month here, as tough as it is to admit. I go back to school on the thirtieth, and let's just say I'm not looking forward to it.

But that's not what I'm worried about right now. Right now, I'm worried about Benny.

I skipped a few days of practice, just to let the whole fight simmer down and to give the boy some space, cause I think I've only been making things worse.

But after I told Smalls I was coming back, he didn't even show up to practice today, meaning I had to make up some stupid ass lie to the boys to cover it up.

I feel awful about it too, cause it's my fault. I'm the reason Benny didn't show up to the lot today, and let's just say he hasn't missed a day of practice since the first time he caught a baseball.

Apparently, he even pulled this awesome move while I was gone, where he hopped the fence and got Smalls's ball back, and the beast chased him all over town. People are even calling him "Benny the Jet" cause of how fast he is, I think? Pretty pissed I missed all the action, but I did this to myself.

All I'm saying is that I've been feeling really shitty about all the decisions I've made this summer, and I'm running out of time to fix things.

So, after I finished playing ball with everyone, I made my way over to Benny's house.

"Hello? Anyone home?" I shouted as I knocked on the front door. I heard a rustle, a thud, and a few whispers, yet no actual response. "Helloooo?"

The door stayed glued shut as I stood there for a minute, before accepting my fate and returning home.

-

He didn't show up again. Second fucking day in a row, and once again it's my fault.

Tried going to his house again, to which I was met with nothing but silence. Not even his mother answered the goddamn door.

I even called Xavier and Mila about it, to which they both unknowingly told me the same thing - he doesn't want anything to do with me.

But I, Giselle Perlman, do not accept defeat after two measly attempts. He can't get rid of me that easy after all!

So I devised a plan: I'll just find another entrance!

-

As night quickly fell, I got ready for my excursion.

Now, of course, I wasn't planning on breaking and entering, just knocking on his window when I know he's in his room. That way if he doesn't open up, I truly know my answer.

I hadn't really thought about what I'd do if he ignored me for the rest of the summer, but I tried to ignore the thought while I got ready.

For my outfit, I threw on a comfy pair of tight, yet flowy black shorts, a sports bra, and an oversized gray zip-up, along with keeping my hair in two messy braids on either side.

I could feel my heart pound out of my chest as I hopped out the window, but attempted to calm my nerves by repeatedly cracking my knuckles on the walk there.

As I arrived at the window, I felt immediate regret for even being there. God, I am so desperate to go to his house at this hour, I mean he's been ignoring me for a reason.

But it's now or never.

TAP TAP TAP

I gently touched the glass with my fists, gradually increasing my pressure with each knock. I could see a faint gleam of light peaking through the cracks of the curtain as I peered in, yet it seemed as if the room was completely dead.