My One & Only

Ch 1: The Wonder Years

Ricky walked down the Salt Lake Park trail alone, licking the lollipop his dad bought him before he lost him in a crowd. Despite being vulnerable to the world at his age, he didn't fear potential threats. He was used to being alone anyways due to his lack of friends. He just minded his business and hoped to eventually bump into his dad again before it gets dark.

As he was walking by a basketball court, a ball hit him hard on his arm. He yelled in pain and rubbed the stinging area. He looked around to see where the heck it came from and saw a girl with pigtails running towards him with a worried expression.

"Oh my goodness! I'm super-duper sorry! I swear it was an accident! Please forgive me!" She says frantically and breathlessly.

At first, he was angry. After seeing just how sorry she was, he calmed down a bit since it's clear she didn't mean it. "It's okay. It was my fault for walking too close to the sidelines anyway."

"Here, let me make it up to you. Stay right here; I'll be back!' She runs over to who he assumes is her mom, and she runs back over with something in her hands. She holds up an ice pack. "Take it; it might bruise later."

He smiles and accepts her offerings, placing the ice pack on his arm. "Thank you."

"I'm Nina." She holds out her hand.

He takes her hand and firmly shakes it. "I'm Richard."

She grimaces at the sound of his name. "Richard?"

"Uh yeah, that's my name."

"You're far too young to have such an old man name like that. I'm gonna call you...Ricky! Yeah, that suits you much better! What do you think?"

He's never been called a nickname before, but he admits Ricky does roll off the tongue easier.

"Yeah, okay. I like it."

"Cool, so what brings you to the park all alone Ricky?"

"My dad and I are here to attend the junior baseball game here, but I lost him whenever he was walking to get us some hot dogs."

"Oh, that's scary!"

He shrugs. "I guess."

"Do you want me to stay with you until he finds you? I think that'd be better than walking in a park alone. My moms say that bad people come here sometimes to snatch kids the size of us."

Ricky didn't even think about that, and he suddenly realized how dangerous it was. Staying with company would definitely be his best bet, even if she was a stranger. He wasn't sure what it was about this girl, but something told him she was trustworthy.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

She perks up and claps her hands. "Great! We can play a round of basketball!"

He scrunched up his face and shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm really not into sports."

Her smile falters a bit, and her head tilts. "Oh, but I thought you were here to watch baseball?"

"Yeah, my dad wants me to get into it, but it doesn't interest me. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I said yes."

Nini nodded in understanding. "Well, that's fine. We can just do something else. Do you know how to play Uno?"

He beams and nods enthusiastically. "Heck yeah, I do!"

"Cool, let's play! But I have to warn you, I'm the queen of it."

"I happen to be the best Uno player at my school."

"What school?"

"East Elementary."