Sandlot Love

1

I sat on my bed, the sheets were off white and crisply folded. The walls around me were bare. There was nothing about the room to suggest that it was now occupied. I missed my old house, I missed my poster covered walls, my cupboard full of my clothes, my stuff scattered all over the floor. Being neighbours with Maddi and Phillips. I was so excited when my mum told me we were moving back to the valley I had grown up in. My mum and dad had divorced and there was nothing keeping us halfway across the country from my home town. I had been less than thrilled to discover that we weren't moving back into our old house near the baseball field where Phillips, Maddi and I had played as kids. Too many memories of my dad, my mum had said. So here I was all the way across town, in an out of the way cul de sac that I hadn't even remembered had existed.

"Ashley, the truck's arrived" I heard my mum yell from somewhere outside, the front yard probably. I stood and went outside, a removalists truck had parked itself in the driveway and mum was pulling boxes out and sitting them on the lawn. I hurried over to help.

Within half an hour we had all the boxes stacked in the rooms where their contents belonged and mum was pottering about in the kitchen trying to get it set up to make dinner. I was picking up the last box, my baseball stuff, when I tripped over the protruding edge of the driveway and fell flat on my face in the grass, the box falling from my hands and spilling memorabilia and gear all over the drive. I lay there for a second, stunned until a pair of hands grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.
"Are you ok?" A boy a few years younger than me was standing facing me, he was cute in a little brother way and was looking at me intently.
"Yeah I'm fine"
"Is this yours?" He asked, gesturing to the baseball stuff scattered across the yard.
"Yeah"
"You play?"
"Yes" I said defiantly, titling my chin, daring him to challenge me.
"Hey calm down, no one though I could play ball either but I got pretty good once someone bothered to teach me"
"Oh" I said, defaulting when I realised he wasn't picking on me.
"You want some help with that?" He asked
"No it's fine-" I tried to say but gave up when I saw him already picking up my stuff and putting it back in the box.
"Hey!" The kid said, picking up a ball and sitting it on a stand "this is signed by Babe Ruth"
"Yeah? I know" it had taken a lot of persuading to convince my dad to buy it for me and it hadn't come cheap. The kid began telling me about a similar ball and how he'd played with it and had to fight a dog to get it back. I hadn't laughed so much in years.
"You wanna come in?" I offered, taking the box off him
"Sure. I'm Smalls by the way, Scotty Smalls"
"Pleasure to meet you Smalls. I'm Ash, Ashley Levi"
"Cool name, contraction or nickname?" He asked, knowing his own was self explanatory.
"Both, short for Ashley and because if you try hit my heater it'll turn your bat to Ash" he laughed and I pushed open the door.
"Oh hello, I though I hear voices, who's this Ashley?"
"Hi I'm Scotty Smalls, I live next door I wanted to help Ash unpack her baseball stuff if that's ok?"
"It's fine deary, she didn't have many friends who liked baseball where we were living before I'm glad she has a friend already"
I headed up the stairs, Smalls following closely behind.

Pushing open the door to my room I sighed upon seeing the blankness inside.
"I know how it feels, I only moved here last summer, come on let's get this set up" he said, seeing me set the box down by my chest of drawers.

It took us 15 minutes to get my collection set up exactly right and by the time we were done Smalls was starting to look anxious.
"What's wrong?" I asked
"Hm? Nothing I'd just usually be playing ball with my friends in the Sandlot by now"
"Oh, it's ok if you have to go" I said, disappointed my new friend was leaving so soon.
"Nah that's ok.. hey what about you come with me?"
"You sure I won't be in the way?"
"It's fine, grab your mitt and bat let's go" he said, excited now.

I grabbed my mitt and bat and raced downstairs after Smalls.
"Mum I'm going to play ball with Scotty and his friends"
"What's that sweetie?" She sounded distracted
"Mum you ok?"
"Fine darling I just haven't got his blasted kitchen set up and I should be cooking dinner"
"You can come for dinner at my place if you want" Smalls offered "if you really want to cook I'm sure you can help my Mum"
"No really I wouldn't want to impose" she said
"No it's fine my mum is always asking me to help but if you help I won't have to"
We both laughed at his childlike view of the world and my mum finally agreed to having dinner at his house tonight. We raced next door and after a hurried introduction to his mother he grabbed his mitt and we headed out.