The Sandlot

Chapter 2

The next morning, I woke up to them guys yelling at the old baseball field. I got up and looked out of my window. They were playing baseball again. It looks like fun. Maybe I'll go over there and hang around for a while. I won't play. Just watch them play.

I went and took a quick shower. I dried my hair and went to my closet. I put on my ripped jeans. They were ripped from sliding on the baseball field. Dad would always play baseball with me after his games. Him and the rest of the team. I put on my black tank-top and my baseball jersey. I put on my black P.F. Fliers. I put my dads old baseball hat on and walked downstairs. Mr. Mertle was at the table.

"Good morning, Mr. Mertle." I said.

"Good morning, Ariel. Do you want some breakfast?" he asked.

"No, sir. Thank you. Do you need me to get you anything?" I asked.

"No. Thank you." he said.

I walked out the back door and gave Hercules fresh water and more food. I patted his head and went back inside.

"I'll see you later, Mr. Mertle." I said.

I went out the front door and quickly found the entrance to the old baseball field. I went to the dugout and sat down. It was fun watching these guys play ball. It was like they never stopped playing the game. But then one of them noticed me just as the ball was thrown at him. The other guys got suspicious when he didn't catch the ball. They all turned to look at me. The guy picked up the baseball and they all ran over to me.

"Who are you" the guy who was at bat asked.

"Ariel." I said.

"What are you doing here?" a short kid with glasses asked.

"Watching you play baseball." I said.

"Why?" the tall kid with glasses asked.

"I like baseball." I said.

They all looked shocked that I said that.

"What?" the chubby guy asked.

"I like baseball." I said.

"Girls aren't supposed to like baseball." the chubby one said.

"Well that's too bad. I like baseball and I play baseball. Well, used to play baseball." I said. I had said the last sentence kinda quietly.

"Used to? So what? You're such a chicken that you quit playing?" the black kid asked.

"No. I got hurt really bad when I was running to home base. I got tripped and landed pretty hard on my knee. It shattered. So I can't play anymore." I lied. If I told them the real story they would never believe me.

"Oh. That must be pretty horrible." the batter said.

"Yeah. It is. So can I at least stay and watch you play?" I asked.

"Let us talk about it for a minute." the chubby one said.

I nodded and they walked away. They huddled up on the pitchers mound. They talked for a while and then walked back over to me.

"Yeah. You can watch us play." the short one with glasses said.

"Uhm. You guys know my name. What are your names?" I said.

"I'm Benjamin Rodriguez. Call me Benny. That's Timmy and Tommy Timmons. That's Bartram Grover Weeks. That's Mike Pallenourus. We call him Squints. That's Kenny Denunez. That's Hamilton Porter. We call him Ham. And that's Alan McClennan. We call him Yeah-Yeah." Benny said.

"Okay. Thank you." I said.

"Wait. What's your last name?" Benny asked.

"Oh. Uhm. Waters." I said.

"Okay. Well, we're going to play now." Ham said.

"Okay." I said.

They all went back to their positions. A little while later, the ball went over the fence. I ran over there and started to climb the fence. I heard them yelling but I kept climbing. When I was about to go over the fence, I felt someones hands on my waist, pulling me back down and setting me back down on the ground.

"What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed." Squints said.

"Yeah-Yeah, truly. What are you doing?" Yeah-Yeah said.

"I was getting the ball back." I said.

"You can't go over that fence, Shorty." Benny said. 

I wonder why. I won't tell them that I live over there. Only because I want to know why I 'can't go over the fence'.

"Why not?" I asked.

"The Beast." they all said.

"The Beast? What is that?" I asked.

"Go over to that fence. Real slow and be quiet. Look through that hole." Benny said.

I walked over to the fence and looked through the little hole. I saw Hercules' paw grab the ball. I decided to play along. Just so I could hear more. I made a look of terror and back away quickly.

"Something got the ball. What was that?" I asked. They all looked at each other, then at me.

"Campout." they all said.

"When and where?" I asked.

"Just meet me here at 8 o'clock and I'll lead the way." Yeah-Yeah said.

"Okay." I said.

They all turned and left. I quickly climbed over the fence after they left. Hercules came out of his dog house and started growling at me.

"It's okay, Hercules. It's just me. Ariel." I said.

He stopped growling and sat down. I walked over to him and sat in front of him.

"Why are those boys afraid of you? You're just a misunderstood dog, aren't you? I bet my dad would like you. Those boys want me to go to a campout tonight. They're going to tell me why you're so dangerous. But don't worry. I don't believe them. Well, I have to go get ready. Bye, Hercules." I said.

I kissed his head, got up, and went inside. I went up to my room and got my white and blue sleeping bag. I went downstairs where Mr. Mertle was.

"Hey. Uhm, so these guys want me to go to a campout so they can tell me a story. I told them I would go but if you need me to stay here, I will." I said.

"I don't need anything, Ariel. You can go." Mr. Mertle said.

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Mr. Mertle." I said.

"Bye." he said.

I went out the front door and entered the sandlot. Yeah-Yeah was already there.