After the boys explain to me who Wendy Peffercorn is we all head home. Scotty and Benny walk ahead of me. Mainly because I can barely move with these skates on. Maybe I won't wear them tomorrow. Yeah, I'm not gonna.
"Bye Benny!" Scotty waves at him from our driveway.
"Bye Scotty, Bye Marjie." He waves. Oh my gosh! He knows my name? He called me by my actual name!
"Bye." I say too quietly for him to hear. Butterflies fill my stomach, mostly because I'm so excited that Benny called my by my name!
"Hi kids." My mom greets us as we enter the house. I take my skates of and my feet feel so free. I can actually walk correctly now.
"Hi mom." We both say.
"Hey kids." Bill our stepdad waves at us from the kitchen. He's really nice and cool, but my mom wants us to call him dad. It's just weird. My dad died when we where really young so I don't really remember him.
"Hi." We just say cause we're too scared to call him dad.
"Guess what, Marjie?" He says walking over to the living room.
"What?" I ask eagerly. He brings over a brown cardboard box and sits it on the dining room table.
"Remember when we went to England for my business trip?" He asks. I nod remembering how fun it was.
"My bud Tom sent this soccer ball." He pulls out a ball the size of a basketball. "Soccer is really popular in England. It's pretty cool." He drops the soccer ball down at his feet and starts kicking it from one foot to the other in the air. "Remember learning?" I nod.
Soccer is really fun. I like juggling cause it's one of the easiest things, and it makes you look really cool.
I remember going to watch a soccer match. The players were so good. Only men though, women don't really play too many sports. But I think it's cool of Bill to teach me a sport.
"Bill, not in the house." My mom scolds him.
"Sorry." He laughs. "Here, you can practice." He hands the soccer ball to me.
"Okay, thanks." I nod.
"After dinner." My mom tells me setting down a plate of mashed potatoes.
"Okay." I groan pulling out the chair next to Scotty and sitting down.
"So," My mom starts saying once everyone is sitting down. "How was your guys's day?"
"Good." We all nod eating.
"4th of July's soon." My mom says trying to start another conversation. We all nod. "Mrs. Rodriguez says that it's a big event in the neighborhood. They make a big cake too." That grabs Scotty's attention.
"Yumm." Scotty smiles just thinking about it.
"Marjie, Mrs. Rodriguez wants you to help her make the cookies." My mom tells me. Really? My mom talks to Mrs. Rodriguez? I like the idea of my mom and Benny's mom becoming friends. And I that means I get to go to Benny's house, I'm all for it.
"Okay." I nod taking a sip of water. "Sounds like fun."
After I get excused from dinner I remember that I forgot my book at the sandlot. It's not in the tree house because right before we left we all sat in the dugout to finish our colas. I probably left it in there.
I tell my mom I'm gonna run over really quickly before it gets dark. Once I make it there I see Benny. Benny! I almost turn back around and sprint home. But I need to get my book. Plus I get alone time with Benny. Which honestly, is a little nerve racking. I've never had a real conversation with him. Only 'hi's' and 'goodbyes'. I barely know anything about him. Other than, he's really good at baseball and he has a really nice mom. Benny's throwing the baseball in the air for himself and hitting it. I watch him until he's running the bases and sees me. He raises his eyebrows than smiles.
"Hey." He waves, not running to home plate and walking towards me. I walk towards him shakily.
"Hi." I smile.
"What're you doing here?" He asks, not trying to interrogate me but in a caring way.
"I, uh, forgot my book in the dugout." I tell him.
"Oh." He nods looking over at the dugout. I walk over to look for it and see it sitting on top of the bench. I grab it and turn around. To find Benny standing there, watching me. I half smile at him than look up at the sky. The suns setting and it looks really pretty.
"Isn't the sky so pretty when the sun sets?" I ask him, my eyes still on the sky.
"Yeah, it really is." He agrees looking up at it too. I look at him while he's focused on the sky. Ahh, he's so perfect, like I always say. But it really is true. His brown hair is perfectly cut, but just wavy enough. And his brown eyes, make me melt. I can barely look into them. I really like Benny, a lot. He's so sweet to all the boys and takes care of them. And Scotty looks up to Benny he practically worships him. He looks over at me and catches me staring at him. He gives me a half smile and steps towards me. Now we're on a couple inches apart. Is he gonna, kiss me? Pssh, no! Of course not. Never. He doesn't even like me. Benny's probably to busy with baseball to care about girls. And if he did, the girls would be pretty, like Marilyn Monroe pretty. We're still standing there, looking at each other. This is getting a little awkward no.
"Well, uh, I promised my mom I'd be back soon." I tell him stepping backwards and then turning around.
"Oh, okay." He nods, following me without saying anything. He stops remembering to grab his bat then returns to my side. He wants to walk back with me! We walk back in silence, with me occasionally stealing a couple of looks at his adorable face.
"Bye." I say once we reach our houses. I'm so sad to part ways with him.
"Bye, Marjie." He smiles heading towards his house. Butterflies fill my stomach again, whenever he says my name it makes me feel so, so I don't even know. It makes me all warm inside and happy. So happy I could just bounce of the walls in my house. Wow, Benny is so adorable.
YOU ARE READING
The Sandlot Girl
Novela Juvenil"Whoa, who's that?" "That's my sister, man!" The summer of your life, friends you'll never forget Scotty and Marjie Smalls move to Utah , during the summer of 1962. Marjie doesn't have any friends. But she has to watch her little brother during th...
