𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐎𝐓, Benny Rodriguez

1

{3rd person P.O.V.}

Sitting on the front step, Scotty moped about Adina's Dad not teaching him how to throw and catch a baseball. Adina's Dad told her to go and comfort Scotty, he said it didn't matter what he said he was upset about about, that she should just comfort him. She wasn't sure what to do. Baseball was Adina and her Dad's thing. If Adina saw Scotty and her Dad playing baseball, she thought she might bawl her eyes out.

Suddenly, there was a whistle. Not a normal whistle, but the whistle that boys used when they saw a hot girl. Adina saw a boy with black fluffy hair, light brown skin, and brown eyes. As the two locked eyess, he winked at her, making Adina's cheeks frow pink. Whether that was from the heat or from the boy, Adina wasn't completely sure. Sure he was cute, but he was the kid that Scotty followed to the sandlot all the time. 

She didn't play baseball at the sandlot. She was good at it, but Adina had heard the boys talk about how girls can't play. As much as she wanted to prove them wrong, she didn't wanna be picked on by the girls at school. Adina didn't wanna be picked on, just as much as Scotty wanted friends.

~

Adina sat reading a new book from the library. It was about World War II and how a girl survived. It was fictional, but Adina knew that she'd learn about a girl from the Holocaust name Anne Frank.

All of a sudden, Adina heard laughing and, usually, she didn't hear laughing from them until it was over. She glanced at her watch, she knew they weren't done. So, what were those boys laughing at? Adina sighed, suddenly remembering that her clumsy step-brother was out there with them.

"Oh god." She closed my book, a small slip of paper holding her place. She marched over to the sandlot and saw Scotty. He was just standing there, his chin wobbling.

Adina knew he was about to cry. Unlike herself, Scotty couldn't control when his tears fell. She knew how embarrassed he'd be if the boys saw him crying. She ran over to him, silently wondering why she was always taking up for Scotty. Adina didn't like Scotty a whole lot, she thought he was annoying. Nonetheless, she still worried about him for some unknown reason.

"Scotty what happened?" He stared at Adina with watery eyes.

"I wish I knew how to play baseball like you." He muttered through gritted teeth, before running away. Leaving his baseball glove in the process. Adina grabbed his glove and turned to the group, she saw the boy who winked at her the other day. He looked at his friends in a disapproving manner. Yet, he didn't say anything. He didn't do anything either. She stared down the group of boys.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?!" She shouted, the group fell silent and just stared back at Adina. They'd seen her a couple times at school, but they'd never spoken to her. They knew that she was new and that was it. They didn't even know her name. "Idiots." She muttered, running back to her house, where she had guessed Scotty ran to.

When Adina got home, she didn't see Scotty or her Dad. She searched the house before walking into the kitchen, where Diana, Scotty's Mom, was smiling and looking out of the window.

"Where's my Dad and Scotty?" Diana jumped and turned around, startled by Adina's voice. Adina hardly spoke to Diana, despite all of Diana's efforts.

"There outside-" She started until the back door opened swung open, hitting the wall behind it, and in came Adina's Dad and Scotty covering his face.

"We need some ice." Her Dad announced, sitting Scotty in a chair. Diana handed Adina's Dad an ice pack. Well, it was actually a slab of meat.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice heavy with worry.

"I accidentally hit hit him in the face with a ball." Adina connected the dots as she saw Dad's old glove on the table. She gulped, as her Dad looked up at her, his eyes widening ever so slightly. Adina gulped, before spinning on her heel and running to her bedroom. Crying would make a scene, and since she never wanted Scotty to see her cry, so he'd never see her a weak, it was just better to cry silently in her bedroom.

After her mother died, baseball was the thing that her and her dad used to bond. If either of them was sad or angry, the other person would ask "wanna play baseball?" almost immediately. It distracted the two of them from the overwhelming feeling of grief. It may have been a great way for Adina's father to heal, but it certainly wasn't the best way for Adina. Baseball simply put a bandaid over a wound that needed stitches, the gaping wound was now uncovered now that she had to share her dad with two other people.

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Word Count:845