The Jet (A Sandlot Story) Benny Rodriguez

Chapter 21

Summer was here again. It was here but there was a problem, you weren't in the same city or even the same state as your friends. You had some nice girls to spend time with, but as far as you knew, they didn't find interest in the same things you did.

Today was the third day of summer, and your mom was badgering you about staying inside the house all day.

"You need to get out into the sunshine, go see if there are any kids to play with." She pointed to your bat and glove that were in the corner of the room. They had been there since the day you moved in, and haven't been touched once. "Your therapist said that opening up and making new friends would be good for you."

You were laid on your bed, reading a pre-season stats magazine. You didn't really zone into her whole lecture, but when she said the last part, you dropped your book on your lap, glancing over at her.

"I don't want new friends; I want my old ones back." You gave her a soft glare, momentarily seeing the annoyance on her face before you turned your head back to your magazine.

You had said that to her at least three times this week, and every time she had the same response.

"With that attitude, you'll end up with no friends."

You just sighed heavily, rolling your eyes when she said it.

"Now what about those two girls that you hang around at school? They seem to like you." She walked over to the bed and took the book out of your hand and dropped in in a pile on the floor.

"Mom, look. I really appreciate you trying to help, but I'm really not in the mood the get all close with new people." You responded rather harshly, but your mother didn't take much offense to it.

"And why is that?" She crossed her arms in front of her, letting you know that she meant business.

"Because I don't wanna get too attached. At some point, I will be going back to Glendale. Back to Benny, and back to my friends." You raised your voice, but not too much, knowing your mom might ground you if you did. "And I don't wanna leave behind more friends. I already did that once, and it really sucked." You finished, taking a deep breath in and holding it while waiting for your mother's reaction.

"Honey, I know you miss your friends, but that's no reason to isolate yourself from everyone else. And besides, I'm not sure how long it'll be before we go back to Glendale. It could be a while."

"Then I'll wait. I'm not gonna go and make more friends because then I'll be sad to leave them too."

At this point, you were trying your best not to explode, after all, none of this was your fault and somehow everyone was making you feel as though it was. Everyone was saying that the reason why you even came here was because of you and your recovery from the incident.

"Ellis, I'm not asking you, I'm now telling you. You are going to make some friends like you did in Glendale. It's not healthy for you to be inside all day. You should go down to the park and see if there's any boys to play ball with." She now stood in the doorway, telling you how it was going to be before she shut the door, leaving you to groan. You interrupted her though.

"Mom I can't go out and play ball like I used to, remember how bad it was last time? Boys just don't think girls should play baseball and I'm not going to be able to change their minds." You ranted, remembering all the harsh rejections you would get from the boys at your old Phoenix school.

"What about the boys in Glendale? They loved playing with you." She reminded you. As true as that was, only two of those boys even knew you were a girl. Benny and Ham were the only ones out of your entire team. Of course, Philips and his friend knew too, but we all know how that ended up.