Curveball: A Sandlot Fan-Fiction☆

4☆The Sandlot

That night she dreamt of her old house and her perfect old bedroom.
     The next morning, a loud knock hit her door and she called out drowsily, "What?"
     "It's Scotty! Get up!" She looked at the clock that sat besides the mattress on the floor, "It's eight o'clock on a summer day, seriously?"
     "Now or never, Y/n." With another loud groan she sat up and stretched, "Give me five minutes."
     "I'll be outside, you got a baseball glove, right?"
     "Uh... my dad should have one in the garage?"
     "Okay! Grab that and meet me in your driveway!"
     Y/n quickly got ready and tied her hair into a loose ponytail as she rushed out the door to the garage. She shuffled through boxes, trying her best to hastily find her father's old baseball glove. After a moment of searching, she retrieved the glove, exited the garage, and stepped onto the driveway, where Scotty was patiently waiting for her. "Took you long enough," teased Scotty.
     Scotty started walking and Y/n followed, still tired but eager for adventure.
     "So, where're we going?"
"The Sandlot," Scotty smiles excitedly. "It's right behind your house actually." Together, they walked around the fence guarding her property until they reached an opening surrounded by fences and covered in thin patches of grass. 
      Further away there was a tall rusty backstop, crumbling dugouts on either side of it, and, of course, four bases forming the rough shape of a baseball diamond.
     "Whoa, what is this place?" Y/n asked her friend in awe. Something about the rundown simplicity and isolation of this place was so magical.
     "This is the Sandlot."
Soon enough, Y/n could see and hear a group of boys in the dugout.
     "Have you guys heard that some family moved into Mr. Mertle's old house?"
     "Yeah, yeah! I wonder who it is, maybe some new kid who knows how to play baseball?"
     "Let's hope not, we don't need anybody else on the team!"
     "You're just scared of him being better than you!"
     "Am not!"
     The rambunctious bickering and arguing continued as the pair made their way towards the group of boys. Suddenly and humiliatingly, a derpy looking boy with large glasses pointed a finger at Scotty and Y/n and shouted, "Look! Smalls brought a girl!" Y/n felt her face burning at this and looked over at Scotty. He just shook his head and said nothing until the two reached the group of boys. Scotty took a breath and announced, "Guys, this is Y/n."
Y/n waved awkwardly, toying with a bracelet around her wrist. The boys eyed her quizzically, visibly annoyed by the fact Scotty had brought a girl into their strongly 'no-girls' sanctuary.
     "...Hey Smalls, come 'ere a sec," a chubby ginger boy called. Scotty and Y/n took a final look at each other as he made his way towards the group of boys awaiting ominously ahead. The fledglings huddled around Scotty, engulfing him inside a shell of his angry friends.
     "What the hell were you thinking, bringing a girl here?!"
     "Yeah-yeah man, why'd ya have to invite her?!"
     A smaller, young sounding voice said, "She's kinda pretty..." The group stared at the speaker in confusion, until the derpy short boy from before sassed, "She ain't no Wendy Peffercorn!"
     "Man, where'd you find that chick?!"
     "She don't know how to play ball!"
     "And even if she did, she ain't allowed to play with us!" They all yelled angrily over each other until Scotty finally shouted in exasperation, "Guys, please! She's my friend! You don't even have to let her play! Just please, be nice to her!"
     "You're killin' me, Smalls! I don't care if she-"
     "Hey, hey! Hey! Guys! Take it easy, alright! If Smalls brought her here, she can't be that bad! I mean, we could at least try to trust the guy! Let's just give her a shot." At this, the guys seized their cries at Scotty and turned to face Y/n again.
     "Hey, what's your name?" A tallish boy with tan skin and dark brown hair voiced. Y/n presumed that he was the boy who was able to calm the group down.
     "Uh, Y/n," she responded nervously.
     "Are you really friends with Smalls?"
     "Yeah, we've been friends for uh, like, um- a long time," She cringed internally at her anxiety-driven stuttering. He smiled kindly at her, "Well, anyone who can put up with Smalls can't be half bad! And don't worry 'bout the guys, they're just scared 'cause they don't know how to talk to girls."
     This comment put Y/n at ease and she smiled, despite still being scrutinized by the other boys.
     "I'm Benny, Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, by the way. How 'bout I introduce you to the rest of the guys."
     Soon enough, Benny had introduced the 7 other boys to Y/n. She learned that the chubby ginger was Hamilton 'Ham' Porter and that the short boy with large glasses who'd originally called her out was Michael 'Squints' Palledorous. As Benny reached the remainder of the group, Y/n had learned all the rest of their names: Alan 'Yeah-Yeah' McClennan, Bertram Weeks, Timmy and Tommy 'Repeat' Timmons, and Kenny DeNunez, who all spat on the ground as they were introduced, which moderately disgusted her.
     More awkward and unwelcoming silence followed until Benny said, "Let's play some ball!" Once that was said, the tension immediately eased and the group eagerly rushed into their given positions. However, Scotty remained at Y/n's side. Y/n shuffled her feet in the dirt uncomfortably. Quietly she muttered, "Maybe I should just go home." Scotty looked at her, defiance in his eyes, "No way, don't give in to them! Why don't you just sit there,"— he gestured to the dugout bench— "and I'll try and get them to let you play." With that, he clumsily ran off to the outfield, leaving Y/n to her own thoughts.