Jocelyn Mertle ※ benny rodriguez

Six

As a girl, I'll admit that it takes a lot to impress a girl. After today, I was more than impressed. The Sandlot boys are some of the best baseball players I've ever seen. One of them in particular really stood out. And he is the one I never really thought would become the most important person in my life. Of course, I wouldn't know it yet, but soon, I'll realize it.

Then, there is the things that would never impress a girl. The things like temper tantrums, poor humor and lack of talent. You would never guess it, okay maybe you would, but that person was Phillips.

So, while the guys were practicing, they put me on duty to watch for Phillips team.

"Hey guys! Don't mean to interrupt, but there are a bunch of dorks on bikes heading this way!" I shout.

They stop practicing and look towards the outfield.

"Here we go," Ham says.

They all walk towards the outfield where the team decided to stop and I walk beside Benny.

"What's happening now?" I whisper to him.

"I'm not sure. They'll probably go out of control and trash talk," he says.

I nod slowly while we stop in front of them.

"Hey babe," Phillips says, looking over at me.

I furrow my eyebrows while everyone looks at me.

"I'm not your babe, you little piece of shit," I say.

"Watch your mouth, sweetheart," he says.

"You watch yours."

Everybody stops before Ham speaks up.

"Why don't you leave her alone and come play us in a friendly game of baseball? Or are you too scared?" He asks.

"We aren't scared, Porter," Phillips snorts. "But there is a problem."

I roll my eyes.

"And what would that problem be?" Ham asks.

"We only play on a real diamond. Besides, you ain't good enough to lick the dirt off our cleats," he says.

"Watch it, jerk," Ham says.

"Shut up, idiot!" Phillips shouts.

"Moron!"

"Scab eater!"

"Butt sniffer!"

"Pus licker!"

"Fart smeller!"

Bertram sniffs and makes an 'ahh' sound and laughs.

"You eat dog crap for breakfast, geek!" Phillips shouts.

"You mix your Wheaties with your mama's toe jam!" Ham fires back.

The Sandlot kids cheer and I look over at Benny who keeps muttering something to hisself.

"You okay?" I whisper to him.

He looks at me and sighs.

"Not really."

"You bob for apples in the toilet! And you like it!" Phillips shouts.

Ham pauses.

"You play ball like a girl!"

Everyone stops, especially me.

"What the hell did you just say?" I ask him.

"Sorry, its offensive to guys," Ham says.

My jaw drops. I look over at Benny who is giving himself a face palm.

"This is what you were worried about, huh?" I whisper over to him.

Benny nods, with his palm attached to his face.

"Come on! We're taking you on right here and right now!" Phillips shouts. His team starts to pedal to the first base dugout while our team jogs to the third base one.

"We're home team!" Ham shouts.

They run onto the field but before Benny went to third base, he stopped by me.

"Just stand in the dugout. Make sure to cheer for us," he says.

I smile.

"Will do."

He smiles back and runs to his position.

"Hurry up, batter! This is gonna be a short game and I gotta get home for lunch!" Ham shouts.

The first batter goes up, and Kenny easily strikes him out. I could tell Ham was talking to the batters to distract them, because when Phillips went up to bat- uh yea.

"Is that your sister out there in left field, naked? She's naked, ya know," I hear Ham say.

The pitch comes and Phillips swings and misses.

"Shut up, Porter!" Phillips shouts.

"Hey, hey! I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation! Sheesh!" Ham exclaims, throwing the ball back to Kenny.

<><><>

Shortly after, its the Sandlot kids turn to hit.

"Come on. Show me your stuff. Lemme see what you got," Ham says.

The pitch comes and Ham hits it in my backyard. Ball 737.

"Yea!" Ham silently cheers.

A kid that was sitting in the first base dugout reaches into his baseball bag and grabs a baseball. He throws it to the pitcher who gets ready to pitch to the next batter.

All of them could hit really well, even Smalls who literally learned how to play baseball just today.

Then Benny was up to bat.

"Come on, Benny!" I shout.

He looks over at me and manages a weak smile. He gets in his hitting stance and gets ready for the pitch.

"Come on, Benny. Hit it into my yard so I don't have to do anything with Phillips. And the ball can be part of my collection," I mutter to myself.

<>¥Benny¥<>

I grip my bat as tight as I can. The pitcher starts his windup, and my focus is only on the baseball. He lets go of it and the ball travels towards me. At the right time, I swing the bat. The ball soars until it finally lands in Mr Mertle's yard. I do a fist pump and run the bases while Phillips' team throws their gloves down.

"Nice, Benny!" My team shouts.

I touch home plate and smile. Jocelyn runs up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, two things. Amazing hit! And thanks for winning the game. If you lost, I don't know what Phillips would have done."

I chuckle.

"You're welcome."

She smiles and I feel my heart skip.

"Say, we all live in the neighbourhood. Maybe I can visit and watch you all play sometimes?" She says.

I nod.

"I'd like that."

She smiles.

"Good. But I won't be able to come everyday. I have a summer job," she says.

I nod.

"Sounds good."

She giggles. She leans up and kisses my cheek. My heart seems to bounce around in my chest.

"I should get home. Bye Benny!" She shouts.

She runs off and I sigh.

"This isn't the last time you'll see us, Rodriguez," Phillips says before he and his team ride off.

We all laugh.

"How about we all go to the carnival tomorrow night to celebrate the win?" Bertram asks.

We all agree and after awhile, start walking home.