ARABELLA ⇢ BENNY RODRIGUEZ

one

"Hey, guys! Scotty's back!" Arabella heard someone call as they entered The Sandlot.

She watched as the group dropped their gloves and jogged towards the Smalls siblings.
"Everyone, this is my older sister, Arabella." Scotty smiled.

"Arabella, huh?" A small boy with glassed asked.
Arabella nodded. "Uh, yeah."
"That's a pretty name." Another tanned, taller and attractive boy with brown eyes said. To Arabella, he looked like he was the oldest in the group - perhaps her age.
She softly smiled. "Uh, thanks."

"This is Mike Palledorous, but we call him Squints." Scotty began.
Arabella's brows creased in disgust as he spat on the ground in front of her.
"That's Timmy and Tommy Timmons, Alan McClennan - we call him Yeah-Yeah, Bertram Grover Weeks, Kenny DeNunez, Hamilton Porter, we call him Ham, and Benny Rodriguez."

Arabella followed her brother's finger as he introduced them, each of them spitting on the ground once they heard their names - apart from the attractive boy at the end.
"I would spit, but you seem pretty disgusted." Benny chuckled.
Arabella lightly laughed, feeling a little more comfortable. "Thanks, I guess."

"Is it okay if Arabella watches?" Scotty asked his friends.
Ham smirked. "She can watch me all day." He said, emphasising on the word 'all'."
Arabella immediately felt awkward and uncomfortable once again. "Uhm-"
"Hey, cut it out." Benny ordered as Ham eyed Arabella. "Have some respect."

So far, Arabella only felt comfortable around her brother and Benny - she also disliked Ham.

"Sorry." Ham mumbled.
Benny nodded in approval. "Sure, she can watch."
Scotty smiled and turned to his sister. "You can come sit next to where I stand, which is left centre."
Arabella nervously nodded, playing with her thumbs. "Okay, sure.

"Alright, let's play ball!" Squints yelled as the boys cheered. Arabella watched the boys run off in their separate directions, all ready to begin.

She saw Benny with the baseball bat in his hand, stood confidently with the bat in the air. She sighed, wishing she had as much confidence as him.

Bertram held the ball in his hand and threw the ball at a speed. As it flew towards Benny, Arabella eagerly watched, waiting to see if he'd hit the ball, and if he did, how far it would go.

Benny swung the bat, hitting the ball perfectly. Arabella and the boys watched in awe as the ball soared through the air.

She heard her younger brother groan. "Not again!"
Arabella laughed as she watched Scotty run towards the fence with his gloved hand in the air.

She furrowed her brows as he stumbled towards the fence and hesitantly kneeled down and tentatively reached out for the ball. Once he got it, he pulled his arm away immediately and sighed.

"What was that about?" Arabella laughed. "You looked almost nervous to pick up the ball."

Scotty shrugged. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Arabella scoffed and shook her head. "Whatever you say."

For the rest of the day, Arabella watched the boys play, trying to take in every move and technique used. If she was going to be spending some time here, she thought she might as well try and pick up a few things - she mostly watched Benny, since he was so good at it.

She also got to know some of the boys more. As she did, they gradually became nicer, although their occasional sexist comments annoyed her, but she decided not to say anything - the last thing she wanted was her one chance at making friends to go down the drain.

Arabella was now on her way home. She was walking with Scotty and Benny - since he lived in the house opposite them.

Scotty said his brief goodbyes to Benny and just as Arabella was about to follow, Benny called out her name.
She stopped and turned around to see him jogging up to her.

"What is it?" Arabella asked.
Benny licked his lips before speaking. "Do you wanna learn how to play?" He asked.

Arabella thought for moment. She quickly turned around to see her brother waiting for her a few metres away.

The brunette turned back to Benny. "I don't know... I guess I would like to join in instead of sitting there all day."
Benny smiled. "That's great! I can teach you, if you want."
Arabella nodded. "Uh yeah, sure, okay! When do we start?"

"Tomorrow?" Benny suggested. "We usually meet at The Sandlot at 8am. But if just us two get there half an hour earlier, I could help you out."
Arabella smiled. "Okay - sounds like a plan."
Benny returned the facial expression as his eyes lit up. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow."

Arabella hadn't felt the strange feeling of when your heart skips a beat and when your stomach churns at the sight of someone - and it was weird. (that was so cheesy I wrote this at like 3am sorry)
"Yeah," Arabella smiled, trying to ignore the feeling. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Arabella watched Benny jog off towards his house before turning and catching up with his brother.
"You and Benny seem to be getting along." Scotty grinned as they made their way towards their front porch.
Arabella scoffed and playfully hit her little brother. "Shut up."