Kool-Aid

Maybe its Destiny?

The sound of tires on tar roared through the thin wall of trees that separated the highway from the baseball field. It had been around so many years that the dugouts were so rotted that it appeared as if they could fall to pieces if you even did as much as looked at them the wrong way, yet the little league insisted on continuing to use the field to play on, even though there were several other spots they could go to instead. Summer was on the brink and kids were growing anxious for school to let out, and many of them got much more daring with their bedtimes- they chose to stay out later than when the streetlights began to blink and flash in warning that night was close, and often fell asleep sometime around eleven.

The teams that played just then were the t-ball teams, and the parking lots were full of small children who clung tightly to their parents' arms, knees covered in dust. It took a while for everybody to clear out, but once they had, a teeny little boy emerged from the bush he had been hiding in for the past hour, skinny arms scraped from stray twigs. He tripped over a root and smashed his face against the dirt, but it hardly fazed him; he just stood back up and wiggled one of his front teeth curiously. It had been loose before, and his fall had just loosened it a bit more. Pretty soon, he might lose it, and then he'd get a couple quarters he could spend on candy! Letting out a hum, he brushed himself awkwardly and scurried across the gravel to the side of one of the dugouts, where he stood in wait.

Peering around the corner with his big eyes, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his scalp, and he let out a yelp and shoved a hand in his overly-poofy curls, feeling around. Making a face upon finding it, he pinched the back of a small spider, who kicked its legs angrily when he pulled it out of his hair. Beavis let out a whimper of pain much as a boy his age would and he flung it to the ground, stamping his foot on top of it. Satisfied upon hearing a crunch, he reached back into his hair and rubbed the spot gently. He would forget about the bite minutes later.

A Ziploc bag poked out from the pockets of his shorts. He wore faded sneakers that were visibly several sizes too small, and his toes were so cramped that they always went numb when he wore them, and in order to get to the field he had to detour through the woods and wade through creeks, so the canvas was worn thin and ripped in many places. Since the last time he had tried to hop on the rocks through the brook he slipped and smashed his head pretty good, he chose just to swim through them (as he couldn't just walk; he was very, very small and his head would be under). By the time he finally would get to the fields, he would be soaking wet and freezing to the point of shivers, but it was worth it.

The scorching sun had dried most of it by now, and whatever was left of the dampness was going to have to stay, since twilight was here and the sun was resting on the horizon. Not sure when he was coming, little Beavis sat down in the gravel and picked at a scab on his knee he had earned when he fell down the steps of the trailer he lived in. He quietly shivered under the sun's dimming red light and felt the bag in his pocket. Hopefully he was still coming and didn't just lie to him like everybody else did. The blond boy told himself that if he didn't come by the time the fireflies came out then he was just gonna go home.

He continued to pick at his scab, but when he heard the sound of tires running over the rocks he shot his head up and hurriedly stood up, looking around the corner, practically shaking with excitement. He wanted nothing more than to sprint towards the blue truck that had just pulled in, but he almost forgot- look for the signal. Beavis twitched with hunger and kept switching the foot he had most of his weight on (though it wasn't much) in wait. Finally, with three flashes of the headlights, he was in the clear and shot across the lot like a firecracker, running to the driver's side door as he was too short to open the passenger's side.

"Dave!" he squeaked quietly, knowing he didn't like it when others knew they were there. The man inside gave him a small wave and motioned for Beavis to step back so he could get out. The blond did so eagerly and the man stepped outside.