Painkilling Pariah » Yeah-Yeah

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» July, 1964»

It was a quiet day in the O'Donnelly home, but it had been quiet for the past four and a half years. Mr. O'Donnelly was out at work and Mrs. O'Donnelly was hanging clothes to dry in their backyard. Darrel was riding bikes with his friends and Charla was prepping to go watch the most talked about ball game in the neighborhood. Well, at least the most talked about ball game amongst the neighborhood youth.

It was the sandlot boys against the Little League team.

She put half of her long, light brown hair up on the back of her head with a pink ribbon. She wore a white tee shirt with her pink skirt, white knee-high socks, and black Mary-Janes. She applied a bit of mascara and some of her favorite cherry Chapstick.

She stuck her head out her window and called out to her mother, "I'll be at the sandlot, Mom! There's a big baseball game about to start!"

"Alright," Mrs. O'Donnelly answered tiredly. "Be back before supper."

Charla closed her window and bounded down the wooden stairs, then out the front door. She walked hurriedly to the abandoned baseball field and hoped she would get there on time. As she neared the block, she heard the crack of a bat, a crowd cheering, and an overwhelming amount of jeers. The sun shone brightly and the air smelled of freshly mowed lawn.

Finally she reached the dilapidating sandlot and saw that both teams had a great deal of supporters. She watched The Tigers cheering joyfully as four base runners ran around all four bases. She took a seat on the dry, unkempt grass. Charla scanned the field and the sandlot boys were in their usual positions; Kenneth DeNunez pitching, Hamilton Porter catching, Timothy Timmons at first, Bertram Grover Weeks at second, Alan McClennan at shortstop, Benjamin 'The Jet" Franklin Rodriguez at third, Scott Smalls in left field, Thomas Timmons in center field, and Michael Palledorous in right field.

"I've got the big bat now, Porter!" Andrew Phillips boasted as he stepped on home plate and was embraced my the other three runners.

"Shut up, Phillips!" Ham retorted as he got back in his squatting position. Tommy threw the ball to Yeah-Yeah, then Yeah-Yeah threw it to Kenny. Kenny wiped the sweat off his upper lip and adjusted his cap. "Next batter!" Ham ordered.

"C'mon Ken, you got this! One more out, boy!" Benny encouraged.

Kenny narrowed his eyes at the gangly batter and threw a knuckle ball. "Strike one!" Next came a back door slider. "Strike two!" The next three pitches were low and before the crowd knew it, it was a full count.

"You got this Kenny!" Bertram murmured assuringly.

"Yeah, yeah, just one more," Yeah-Yeah contributed, punching the base of his worn glove.

"As long as they don't get another run, we'll win," Timmy said.

Charla's eyes widened and she turned to Yeah-Yeah's sister. "Hey Anika, what inning is it?"

"Bottom of the ninth," she replied mindlessly as she walked by.

Suddenly she heard the crack of the bat and saw the ball glide through the atmosphere right between Timmy and Tommy.

"I got it!" Tommy declared as he dove for the ball with his vibrant blue eyes shut tight. The cheers of the crowd caught his attention, making him peel his eyes open. The grin he didn't bother to hide conquered his beaming face. The ball sat perfectly in the net of his glove.

"You did it pal!" Benny praised enthusiastically, sprinting to the little boy sprawled out in the field.

"We won!" Squints cheered, running to Yeah-Yeah and bear hugging his best friend.

"Dog pile!" Bertram declared, sending all eight boys toppling on top of Tommy.

Slowly the field emptied until not one person was left besides the boys. Girls were chattering about the looks of the players, boys discussing the plays, and the Tigers grumbling under their breaths. Charla smiled at her friend Yeah-Yeah. He looked up at her with his blue eyes and tried to laugh despite the fact that Ham and Bertram were laying on him.

"Congratulations," she said as the boys all stood up. They dusted themselves off and let the last of their chuckles out. "Good job, Tommy."

They all chattered their thanks and talked about the game. Feeling a bit awkward, she stuck by Yeah-Yeah's side as much as she could. Eventually the hype wore off and left the boys fatigued and smelling of dirt and sweat and grass. They parted ways and walked home happily, but tiredly.

Charla and Yeah-Yeah were left sitting alone in the dug out. "Good job out there, big boy," she teased, which was normal in their friendship. Nothing was thought of the flirting.

"Thanks," Yeah-Yeah said brusquely as he gathered the last of the litter the crowd left. His tone of voice made Charla frown.

"Why are you being snippy?" she asked, only letting a hint of irritation seep into her question.

"Why haven't you talked to me in a week?" he shot back meanly. He grabbed his worn glove off the spent bench in the dugout.

"Yeah-Yeah, you know how my parents are," she reasoned pleadingly, following him as he exited the poorly made baseball field.

"Yeah, yeah, they don't like me. They haven't for three years, but we've managed to hang out and be friends for two. What's changed?" he asked her, trying to seem nonchalant.

Charla hit panic mode. Feelings had changed on her part. Her friendly emotions towards him were morphing into a crush. A huge crush, quite frankly. She blushed and quickly answered, "Nothing's changed. I've been busy, that's all."

"Well I'm busy, too, but I always make time to hang out with you," he told her, turning around to face her shocked features.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she dismissed the conversation. "My mom wants me home before supper."

"Tell your old lady I said hi," he requested with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a smirk playing at his lips.

Charla's gaze softened and she couldn't help but smile. "You sure do know how to push her buttons."

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm the best at doing that, so don't go replacing me," he said, referencing back to what she said about being busy.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she giggled and walked home.