ARABELLA ⇢ BENNY RODRIGUEZ

two

The next day, Benny knocked on Arabella's door half an hour earlier so they could fit in some practice.

They walked towards The Sandlot in silence for most of the time, but once she had a baseball bat in her hand, Benny began to talk.

"So, you're holding the bat perfectly - there's nothing you need to change about that." Benny said as Arabella firmly gripped the bat in her hands.

"You just need to hold it more confidently." Benny said, standing in front of her and pretending he was holding the bat. "Like this."

Arabella nodded, mimicking his actions. Benny smiled. "Yeah, you got it!"

"Okay, well." Arabella sighed, letting her arms drop. "If this is all fine, how am I supposed to hit it as well as you do?"

Benny smirked. "I'm sure you can. Let me help you with your swing."
She nodded and walked him make his way behind her.
"Is it okay if I-" Benny trailed off as he pressed himself against her and put his hands over hers.
Arabella struggled to get any words out for the first five seconds, but she soon replied with a nod and a mumble of: "Yeah, uh, that's fine."

She let Benny control her swing and instruct her on how far she needed to come back and follow through, giving it all the strength she had got to hit the ball far.

To Arabella's dismay, he soon stepped away from her and picked up the baseball he brung with her for practice. "I'm gonna pitch, okay? Do you think you're ready to give it a shot?"

Arabella nodded, making Benny smile.
He jogged over towards the pitcher's marker and positioned himself.

Arabella did what Benny advised her to: she made sure she had a wide stance, that she was holding the bat firmly and confidently.

As the ball came flying towards her, she kept her hazel eyes on it the whole time. She swung backwards at the perfect timing, so the ball and the bat would connect perfectly. She followed through, hitting the ball as hard as she could.

Benny and Arabella watched as the ball flew through the air and landed just before the dead area of grass in front of the fence.

"Wow!" Benny exclaimed. "That was great!" He shouted at Arabella.
"Really?" She asked as her eyes lit up.
Benny nodded and ran towards her. "You've got strength!"

Arabella scoffed. "You sound surprised."
Benny frantically shook his head. "No, no, no! I didn't mean it like that! I mean like, you've got a lot of strength that'll come in handy."

Arabella didn't answer, she just stared at Benny. She believed him when he said that he meant it in a good way, but she couldn't take her eyes off his.

"Look who came here early!" Ham yelled, making the two spin around in shock.

"Uh, yeah. I was teaching Arabella some tips." Benny called back.
"Really?" Scotty asked. "How did you do?"

"Apparently I did good." Arabella laughed.
"Good? You did great!" Benny exclaimed.

"Let's see then!" Squints said, excitedly. "You can bat first."
Arabella nodded, gripping onto the bat. She turned to Benny, who gave her a reassuring smile. "Just remember what I said, and you'll be fine."

Arabella positioned herself and held up her bat confidently as Kenny got ready to pitch.
It was Benny's turn to stand behind Arabella and catch the ball if she missed it, so she felt twice as pressured since he was stood so close.

Kenny threw the ball. It was going faster than Benny's, and Arabella wasn't ready. As she swung back, the ball had already flown past her.

She felt her face heat up as the boys laugh. "Wow, Benny wasn't kidding." Ham yelled, obviously being sarcastic.

"Hey, Ham, shut up!" Benny yelled. "There's a lot more people watching so it's just the nerves - you can all relate to that." He then turned to Arabella. "You're gonna do great, okay? First tries are never the best."

She nodded and bit her lip as Benny threw the ball back. Kenny caught it and repositioned himself.
"They all take this so seriously." Arabella thought to herself.

Kenny threw the ball again. With Benny on her mind, she swung back and hit the ball as hard as she possibly could, taking this as an opportunity to let out her anger on the boys for laughing at her.

She heard Benny gasp behind her as she watched the ball fly through the air, this time, it went much further than she expected.
"Holy shit..." Arabella mumbled.

"Oh my God, she hit it over the fence!" Squints exclaimed as Scotty clapped for his sister.

The rest of the boys then began to applaud her, and she sheepishly smiled. "I've gotta say," Bertram said as he ran up to her. "I wasn't expecting you to hit it far... you know, you being a girl and all."

Arabella froze. "Excuse me?"
"I said, I wasn't-"
"Hey, hey, hey." Benny said, stepping in between the two. "Ignore him, okay?" He said to Arabella, who was narrowing her eyes at Bertram.

The three's attention was drawn away from the small argument by the sounds of the boys yelling, and harshly trying to pull Scotty away from the fence, which he was trying to climb over.
"Oh, shit!" Benny yelled, running over to them, followed by Bertram.

Arabella watched Bertram in disgust as he joined his friends, that were yelling at her brother.
She then started to wonder whether the rest of the boys felt the same way - perhaps that's why they were clapping - they were surprised that she hit it so far. It then hit her that even Benny gasped.

Arabella threw the bat to the ground and shook her head. She folded her arms and began to storm away from the group, and out of The Sandlot - she'd had enough of the boys for a while.