𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚-𝑻𝒘𝒐 | b. rodriguez

the pool

Suddenly, stepping out onto the street with Scott and Benny I lost any confidence I may have ever had. I tried to stay away from that boy, the one I had a crush on. Scotty walked between us. I was completely and utterly afraid to expose myself in the sun wearing a showy swimsuit, no matter how much Kate had loved it.

I wore the blue suit underneath a black tee-shirt, and shorts, instantaneously regretting the black tee-shirt decision.

Scotty was sporting his new trunks and a plain light tee-shirt and Benny wore his blue trunks and a white sleeveless shirt that was much more adaptive to the heat than my shirt choice. I was torn between wanting to see Benny shirtless and cooling off in the pool, and running back inside to the shade and shelter of my home where no boy could eye me.. or ignore me, I guess. Pretending not to exist just seemed a much better idea at the time.

However, I wouldn't allow myself to chicken out, and neither would Scotty – if I'd have said I was just going to skip the pool and stay in for the day, my brother would've done so, too. I think. That's the way he's been for a while. He'd always been timid, but after dad died he was as clingy as a newborn kangaroo.

I knew I needed to push him away sometime, gently but firm enough to make him do things on his own. But he was my little brother and.. I promised dad I'd take care of him.

"Man, it is pretty hot.." Benny said, breaking the lull of silence between the three of us as we walked to the pool.

"But not too hot for you to wanna play baseball, huh?" I asked smiling down at the pavement from which heat waves radiated.

"Nope."

I glanced over sideways at him, and he was grinning at me, even before our eyes met. It seemed as if he knew in that moment. He knew that I knew that there were few things in the world he loved more than baseball. Benny loved his friends. And I was one of them.

"How close are we?" Scotty asked.

"So close," Benny said. And in that moment we turned a corner on the small suburban street and the chain-link fence guarding the pool came into view.

"What took you guys so long?" Ham yelled from across the street. None of us answered until we jaywalked our way towards the gang, meeting them in front of the locker rooms that led to what I expected to be some sort of paradise.

"We had to walk further than you guys," Benny pointed out.

"So, this is it, huh?"

"Yeah," Kenny said, looking at me and then at the doors of the men's locker room. "What are we waiting for? I gotta get in the pool guys– it's too hot out here."

"Yeah, lets go!" Timmy said.

"Yeah, lets go!"

Bertram was already walking towards the door of the locker room you had to pass through to get to the pool, and Kenny and everyone else followed after him.

Being the only girl, I had to go into the Women's room by myself. I could do it. I was a big girl.

Why do I have to be a girl?

Why can't Kate be here?

I am NOT taking off this shirt.