𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 | 𝐛. 𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 - 𝐬𝐢𝐱 | 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧

"YEAH, it's easy when you play with a bunch of rejects, a fat kid, and a chick, Rodriguez." A man says, approaching me.
      "Shut your mouth, Phillips." I say out of instinct, then look back up at him. "Phillips?"
      He's tall, taller than I remember him being, and he wears a Diamondbacks Jersey. His hair is deep chocolate brown, almost black, and curly.
      "Holy Shit, man, what the Hell are you doing here? You play for the Diamondbacks?" I ask.
      He shakes my hand and we both smile. We were never really friends, Hell, we never even acquaintances. We were enemies for two sole reasons—Baseball and Lennon Davis.
      "Nah, just a Skipper." He says, looking back at the Diamondbacks dugout. "I only wear the jersey on big-ticket game days."
He didn't make it to the big-League. I remember hearing about him playing triple-A ball. He played for a team up north, the San Jose Giants if I remember correctly. He was good, although he wasn't good enough for major leagues. I played for the Quakes, named after a sort of inside joke, seeing as California is known for it's lifestyle of living on the edge of the San Andreas Fault where Pacific and North American tectonic plates meet. I was lucky enough to be picked by The Dodgers, the team that ran the Quakes and sent to play for my dream team. Others, however, friends that I had made on the team, weren't so fortunate.
"I guess I'd better get going. The boys usually aren't super excited when they lose a game and tend to cause hell for the rest of us. I'll see you tomorrow though?" He asks.
I nod, watching him run away. He runs towards his dugout and approaches a few of the players.
"Was that Phillips? The same Phillips from the L.C. Romney Tigers?" Lennon asks, approaching me.
I nod, spinning around to look at her. She furrows her brows and watches him go.
"He made it to the Diamondbacks?" She asks, raising on eyebrow.
I smirk and lick my lip quickly, twisting my lips to hide my smile.
"No," I say. "Phillips isn't a player, he's actually their Skipper."
She raises both eyebrows and suppresses a laugh. She bites down on her gum to stop herself from laughing.
"We play on a real diamond, Porter!" She mimics him. "You ain't good enough to lick the dirt off our cleats."
I laugh, exhaling sharply through my nose to try and keep quiet until he's gone for sure.
"God, I hated that guy. He was a huge jerk when we were kids." She says.
I smile again and look back at him, crossing my arms over my chest.
"You know, he had the biggest crush on you. Couldn't shut up about it." I say.
She stares at me, biting her lip, eyebrows furrowed.
"You're joking," She states. "You can't be serious about that."
I shrug then nod. I start to walk towards the dugout, hooking my thumbs in the belt loops of my pants.
"He really did, Len. You were just too blind to see it." I say.
She smiles, walking towards the dugout with me. She adjusts her jacket, an eyebrow raised.
"Or it might be because someone better caught my eye first. You might know him, huge dodger fan." I say. "Talked a lot though."
I shove her arm, scrunching up my nose. She exhales and her smile drops. She stares ahead, deep in thought.
"Lennon, are you alright?" I ask, an eyebrow raised.
She exhales and looks up at me, pursing her lips together firmly.
"I could lose my job for what I did today." She says, closing her eyes, furrowing her brows even more. "I could be sued by one of the biggest names in history. If you don't get traded to the Yankees and those big-shot Assholes want, they can take this up to the big guys up top and take away everything I have."
I shake my head, approaching her. She looks up at the sky, rolling her eyes.
"God, how could I be so stupid, so reckless!" She exclaims. "I'm gonna lose it all."
I shake my head, watching her. She swallows the lump in her throat and looks back at me.
"Nothing is going to happen. I won't let it. The Yankees want me, they'll do anything to keep me happy. They want me, and we'll make it seem like they've got me. We'll go through with the majority of the trade, then, in the last second, Daniel is going withdraw me from the trade. It will keep them entertained long enough to forget about you borrowing their folder." I say.
She raises an eyebrow and watches me even closer now.
"But, Benny, that's an awful lot of extra work just for me." She says. "I can't let you do this if it's just to help me."
I shake my head and smile at her. Why do we argue so much? We get along just fine most of the time. Why can't I just let go of the past, get it over with, and proceed with our friendship? Why must I be such a burden?
"Lennon, this is to help you get out of whatever grave you dug for yourself, but also to experience a trade. I never plan on genuinely trading. The Dodgers are where I belong. This gives me an opportunity to experience what would happen if I ever traded. I'm excited. It's going to be fun." I say. "Don't worry, if anything legal comes into the matter, we'll withdraw as soon as possible."