The Girl That Made Baseball

9

The next morning, everyone sent Yeah-Yeah and Squints to the drug store to get a new ball, and they did.

"Where you guys been? We've been waiting here forever already!" Benny said

"Squints was pervin a dish" Yeah-Yeah set the ball in Jess' hand

"Shut up, I wasn't" Squints said

"Yeah Yeah you were! Your tongue was hangin outta your head, and you was swoonin!" Yeah- Yeah said

"Grow up, Yeah-Yeah. Let's just play some ball" Jess said

"This pop ain't workin, Jessie, I'm bakin like a toasted cheeser it's so hot here!" Ham whined

" It's 150 degrees out there! You can't play baseball!" Squints yelled at the girl

"Vote then. Anybody who wants to be a can't hack it, panty waste, who wears, their mamas bra, raise their hand" Benny said

Everyone raised their hand but Benny and Jess.

"Fine, fine. Be like that. So what are we gonna do?" Jess asked

"SCAM POOL HONEYS" Squints and Yeah-Yeah yelled at the same time

Everyone met at the pool, the boys all jumping in, and Jess sitting out to put on some sunscreen.

"Ah, man" Benny said, while everyone was looking at Wendy, he was lookin at Jess

"Yeah-Yeah, too cool" Yeah-Yeah said

"She don't know what she's doin." Timmy said

"She dont know what she's doin" Repeat said

"Yeah she does. She knows exactly what she's doin" Benny said, still talking about Jess

"Gross, Benny's pervin a dish on Jessie!" Yeah-Yeah pushed him

"I've swam here every summer of my adult life. Every summer, there she is. Lotioning, Oiling. Oiling, Lotioning. Smiling. I can't take this no more!" Squints got out of the pool and started for the diving board, catching the attention of both Jess and Wendy.

Jess slowly got in the pool and joined the boys, who were all watching what Squints was doing

"Whats he-" Smalls started

"That's the deep end, he can't swim!" Jess said

Everyone ran to the edge of the pool, Benny getting out then helping Jess out and running to the diving board.

Wendy noticed Squints was still down there and jumped in.

She pulled the boy above the surface and set him on the edge, getting out herself after.

Wendy started giving the boy mouth to mouth.

"C'mon, Squints!" Jess said

"He looks pretty crappy" Yeah-Yeah said

"God, he looks like a dead fish!" Bertram said

Then, Squints opened his eyes and smiled, making everyone confused

Wendy went down to give the boy mouth to mouth, and he held the back of her head down, making her kiss him.

"Little pervert!" Wendy yelled, grabbing Squints by the ear and pulling him out of the fenced pool, the team following.

The whole team ran trough an alley

"Did you plan that?" Jess asked while handing the kid his glasses

"Course I did" Squints said

Jess smiled and shook her head, looking up to the sky and whispering something.

"What's on your mind, Jess?" Benny asked, putting an arm around the girl

"It's stupid, but uh, Hannah, sh-she always said what a perv Squints was" Jess laughed

Hannah, Jess' older sister, was once friends with Wendy, and Veronica, for that matter. The 3 were the same age. Hannah always said things like that about the team, that Benny was charming but too serious, Yeah-Yeah needed to grow up, Ham was super funny but real full of himself, Timmy was cool and all, but Repeat and him were always fighting, Squints was a pervert, Denunez could make a joke out of just about anything, but took it way to far, and Bertram couldn't hit the ball when Hannah knew him.

"Yeah? What'd she say about me?" Benny asked

"That you were charming" Jess smiled "But me and you were to serious about baseball"

"Really?" Benny laughed

"Mhmm" Jess said

Benny went home, but Jess and Smalls hung out together for a bit, throwing the ball back and forth in his front yard

That night, Smalls ate dinner at Jess' house, sitting in Hannah's spot right next to Alex and Jess.

"So Jess, we wanted to talk to you about the end of summer" Lisa said

"What about it?" Jess asked, while Smalls and Alex talked baseball

"We were thinking of putting you in a type of boarding school, so you can focus on something more than ball" Lisa said

"I'll pass" Jess laughed

"Oh honey, that wasn't a question, we already put you in it" Lisa said

"Wh-What? You put me in a boarding school without even asking me first?" Jess raised her voice, making Alex and Smalls' conversation stop.

"It's for the best, sweet heart" Paul said

"The best of what?" Jess got up and slammed her hands on the table

"Your school work. You're a smart girl, Jess, but your so focused on baseball, your grades slipped" Lisa said

"You're kidding, right? Because Alex didn't get straight A's, and he's in college on a scholor ship!" Jess said, pacing the kitchen

"But Alex was also good at ball!" Paul said

"Uh, with all do respect, Mr.Logan, Jess is the best baseball player in the neighborhood, better than me, even better than Benny" Smalls said

"Stay out of this, Scott" Paul said

"You're kidding, right? I play ball for you. I play ball to make you proud!" Jess yelled

"I'm not proud, okay! I'd be proud if my second daughter was a cheer leader, not a baseball player! Why can't you be a lady, like Hannah was? Why can't you follow in Hannah's steps?" Paul in turn got up and slammed his hand on the table

"That is not fair! You never listened to Hannah! If you did, you'd know that she played soccer, and was damn good at it, but instead, you were to wrapped up in whatever you were doing!" Jess yelled

"You're are going to a boarding school at the end of summer, and that is final!" Paul yelled

"This is bull shit!" Jess stomped towards the door, Smalls not hesitating to get up and follow.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that" Jess said, rubbing her arms. Smalls noticed she was crying

"H-hey, don't cry. It'll be okay." Smalls said quietly

"Do me a favor, Smalls?" Jess asked

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Don't tell the team. Let me do that" Jess said

"Y-Yeah, okay."

"You better be getting home now, Scotty" Jess said

That was the first time Jess had ever called Smalls his real name.

"Bye, Logan"

"Bye, Smalls" Jess walked inside her house and stomped up the stairs, slamming her door and grabbing her bat, hugging it close to her body while she drifted to sleep.

She decided that she wasn't going to tell Benny just yet. How do you tell your best friend their going to high school alone? She decided she'd wait till the end of summer, to tell the team.