Chapter 36

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*One year later*

Senior year had dawned upon you and Benny. By this time, you'd grown up more than you ever had. Over the summer, you said goodbye to some of your best friends in the world. Yeah yeah moved away at the beginning of the summer, but if that wasn't bad enough, Tommy and Timmy started traveling the country with their dad for work reasons.

After that, you all were left wondering how you would go on playing ball. It was the thing you guys always did together, and now that parts of your team had left, you couldn't bear to replace them. You instead kept the game going without them, pretending they were still there with you, even though they weren't.

You, Benny, Ham, Smalls, and Kenny were very close, as now you all went to the same high school. Squints mom put him in a private school, so he wasn't around nearly as much anymore, but whenever he was, you still had just as much fun as you used to.

As for Bertram... well, you guys just kinda lost contact with Bertram after yeah yeah, Tommy and Timmy left. He didn't wanna play ball anymore because he just felt it wasn't the same. You knew he got really depressed when they started leaving, because he used to have so much fun, and now he refused to even play ball with the rest of you simply because it wasn't like it used to be. You understood, and didn't wanna pressure him into anything either, which is why when he decided to go to a different school, you just accepted it.

It was a sad summer to say the least. You had to play practice batter most of the time now due to Benny practicing for his school team. He was good, and you all eventually knew he would go on to bigger and better games, but you didn't think it would be so soon. Of course, you all understood his reasoning perfectly. He wanted a scholarship, and many schools had already offered him full rides if he did well this season. Even though it wasn't far along, he was doing great.

You would always go to his games with the boys, crowding down by the gates to watch, never sitting in the bleachers. You guys wanted to be closer to the field, closer to the game.

You always dreamt it would be you out there with Benny. Playing and winning, trying to get scholarships to schools you normally wouldn't even think of going to. Alas you were a girl. Girls weren't allowed to play. If you were younger you might have been able to swing your old hat on and play the part of a boy again, but now you were older, and even with the clothes you still wore, anyone could tell you were a girl.

Benny knew how much you wanted to play, which is why he tried to win every time he could. If you couldn't win with him, he could win it for you.

Benny, like all the others, was much more grown up. Just as beautiful as he ever was, but grown up. He finally lost those chubby cheeks you adored so much, and grew taller than the rest of your group. He was built well, muscular but not huge. Practical. He was your Benny, and he always would be, no matter what he looked like.

You on the other hand, while your appearance didn't change much, your interests certainly did. You started getting into art as of lately, and discovered your natural talent for drawing. You just sat down one day while looking at a picture of your mother when she was younger, letting your hand take over as you sketched her perfectly in one go.

The very next day you drew Benny, not as he is now, but as he was a few years back. You claimed to use a picture for reference, but only you knew that you didn't even need it. You could always remember what he looked like the day you met him, and every other day up until now.

This particular day was not great, as you were laying on the couch entangled with Benny, waiting for the mailman to bring either an acceptance letter or a rejection letter from UCLA. They were one of the schools that said they might offer him a scholarship if he played a good season, but still, they might have changed their minds.

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