Fandom One-Shots

The Jet - A Sandlot One-Shot

     "Yeah-Yeah, get two!" I heard him yell. Benny Rodriguez. The best baseball player in town, and the love of my life.

     I had watched the boys of the Sandlot play ball every school day during lunch since I had moved here. So, naturally, I knew them all by name.

     First, you've got Timmy and Tommy Timmons. Tommy never had a thought for himself, all he did was repeat his older brother. Then, you got Bertram Grover Weeks. He sailed through life without a hitch. Next, there's Kenny DeNunez. He was well known for his pitch "The Heater." Up next is shortstop, Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClellan. They called him Yeah-Yeah because, well, he was always repeating the first word of his sentences, which was usually "Yeah." Then, you've got Michael "Squints" Palledorous. With thick rimmed glasses and an awkward smile, Squints had only one care in the world. Wendy Peffercorn, the lifeguard at the public pool. He would spend everyday staring at her if he could. Moving on, you've got Hamilton Porter, better known as Ham or The Great Hambino. And, lastly, there's the one and only, Benny Rodriguez. He was by far the best player on the team. I had always admired how confidently he played baseball.

     The day before, the Sandlot kids got a new recruit. Scotty Smalls, a kid who knew less about baseball than most girls. I was the exception. Smalls was kind of like Elswood's replacement. He had moved to Arizona a little while back.

     On this day, I finally decided to take action. I strolled across the Sandlot behind the outfield, still going unnoticed.

     "Smalls, throw it to second!" Benny yelled. The ball was going way over Smalls' head, so I jumped. I jumped and I caught it. Without hesitation, I threw it two second base.

     "Hey, you got good game," Benny said, walking over from home plate. Ham shook his head.

     "Bennyman, she's a girl," he reminded him.

     "She can't be any worse than Smalls was," Kenny remarked.

     "You guys saw her, and she's not. Actually, she's better than most of you," Benny said.

     "So she can catch. But the question is; can she hit?" Ham asked.

     "Better than you could ever dream, Porter," I shot back.

     "Ouch," he smirked, handing me a bat. "Then you're up."

     I grabbed the bat and walked up to home plate. "Hey, Kenny. Go easy on her," Benny said. I glared at him and asked Kenny to give me his best. He pitched his famous Heater. I saw it coming and

     BAM

     I had hit the crap out of the ball. I sprinted to the first, then turned, ran to second, and made it to third. Meanwhile, the guys were scrambling, trying to get me out. As I rounded the corner to run home, I made eye contact with Benny. He looked impressed. Once I had made it home, the team came up to me.

     "How'd you learn to play like that?" Bertram asked. I shrugged.

     "It comes naturally, I guess," I replied. It was entirely true. I had never played in an actual baseball game in my entire life.

     "So you're saying that you, like, don't even practice, and you're that good?" Smalls asked.

     "Yeah, yeah, what's your secret? You, you have to have something," Yeah-Yeah insisted.

     "How could I? You saw Ham's reaction about me being a girl. What team would allow me on?" I remarked.

     "This one. That's what," Benny said. I was in shock, and so was the rest of the team.

     "Bennyman, come on," Ham pleaded. I rolled my eyes, smirking.

     "Oh, can it, Ham. This is probably the closest you'll get to a girl all summer," Timmy said.

     "All summer," Tommy repeated. In the end, I was allowed on the team and I stayed around for the rest of the day.

     "Hey, wait!" Benny yelled as I began to leave. I turned around. "We never got your name!"

     "Who cares?" I called, walking backwards.

     "I do," Benny said, jogging to catch up to me.

     "If you must know, it's Ella," I told him. He smiled, walking next to me.

     "I like that," he said. "Hey, would you maybe wanna camp out with us tonight in the tree house?"

     "Sounds great," I replied. Benny let out a sigh of relief.

     "I'll pick you up at 8, okay?" I nodded. Benny leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Seen you then, L."