Sunshine // Benny Rodriguez

1

Bella's eyes were filled with joy as her family arrived at their new home. She gazed through the window of the car at the house painted a crisp light blue color. There was a large front porch and small shrubs were surrounding most of the front of the house. As they parked in the narrow driveway, she immediately pushed open her door and rushed towards the house.

"Guys, there's a swing!"

She made her way onto the porch and sat herself in the wooden bench seat, pushing her feet off the ground, allowing it to sway. She took a long look at the neighborhood around her. All of the houses were quite close to each other, but each one was unique. Trees were placed in even intervals next to the sidewalk, going as far as the eye could see. 

Bella turned to see her father standing next to her, unlocking the front door. She quickly moved from her spot on the swing and scurried inside, eager to see her new home. It was small and quaint, but it was exactly how she had imagined it. She walked in to see the connected kitchen and living room, the walls a light beige color. Spinning her head around, she wanted to take in everything that she could. She took note of the furniture from her old house already placed, courtesy of the movers her parents hired. As she moved around the room, she dragged her hand across the smooth wall, eventually reaching the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. Her step quickened as she was anxious to see her new room. The first door she pushed open revealed a large bedroom with a bay window on the far wall. Noticing her parents furniture, she turned around and headed to the next door. As she entered, a smile crept onto her face at the sight. Her bed was pushed up against the wall to her left and sun was beaming into the room through the two windows. For her entire life, her bedroom had been a small corner in the family's basement, so she was thrilled to have a room of her own.

"I see you found your new room." her mother remarked, peeking her head around the doorway.

"Yeah, I love it!" Bella squealed.

"Well, I'm glad you do." her mother smiled, "Now come help unpack, okay?"

Bella made her way back out to the driveway, a moving truck now parked at the end. As her older brother, Donnie, hauled the boxes onto the ground, she picked the ones marked with her name, lugging them to her room. She only had a few boxes, so she unpacked most of her belongings fairly quickly. She placed the majority of her clothes in the small closet along with her shoes. She fumbled through the remaining boxes searching for what, in her opinion, was the most important thing she owned: her baseball glove.

Back in Indiana, she would spend countless nights playing baseball at the local field. The only downer was that she would play alone, repeatedly hitting the ball then proceeding to run to the field and retrieve it. Sure, it was lonely, but she didn't have any other choice. No other girls would play, and there was no way Donnie would let her play with his friends. She would simply wait until the field was empty and play her pitiful game of one-man baseball.

Bella let out a sigh of relief when she found the glove tucked away at the bottom of a box. She spun around, tossing it onto her dresser, before returning to rummaging through the rest of her belongings.

Before Bella went to sleep that night, she made her way over to Donnie's room across the hall. At dinner, he had mentioned that one of the neighbors invited him to play baseball. Although she was sure her attempt would be futile, she poked her head into his room, eager to ask him if she could join.

"Not in a million years, Bella. Find your own friends."

She wasn't necessarily shocked at his response, but she wasn't expecting it to be quite so harsh. Granted, he never let her hang out with him before, but she hoped for at least a little support in a brand new town. She stood in his doorway for a moment, not knowing what to say. Her mouth was slightly open and she stared at Donnie in disbelief.